Did you know there are many free resources online to learn languages? YouTube is one of them. In the case of French, there are many channels packed with useful information for your review. I have used them myself, and I can attest to their effectiveness. But how do they work? How can you find them? Don’t worry. I’ll give you some guidance on how to learn French on YouTube.
YouTube is a great tool for any language learner. You can learn grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and most importantly, you can connect with qualified teachers who can give you private lessons if you desire so. If you’re serious about learning French, this will be necessary down the road. We talked about it in a previous post.
By using YouTube, you can also connect with other French students who can give you a hand in your learning process. The list of benefits goes on and on. So, which channels do I recommend? Read on to find out!
Learn French with Vincent
Vincent is one of my favorite YouTube French teachers. In fact, he was my first teacher, and I learned a lot from him. You can tell he is a professional and has a lot of experience. He has been teaching French for over 20 years. His channel has over 800,000 subscribers and almost 200,000,000 views. He has been uploading content regularly since he opened his channel in 2007.
Vincent’s videos cover a wide selection of topics. Not only can you learn the basics like grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, but he goes the extra mile by teaching real French, the one that French people use on the street and in everyday situations. Some teachers still focus on the traditional way of teaching, but not so Vincent. His videos are well explained and entertaining. His channel is always my first point of reference when looking something up about French.
He owns a website and gives private lessons via Skype, but I will talk about that in more detail in a future post.
It doesn’t matter what level you are in. He has videos with mini-courses and quizzes for all levels.
His videos are in English, so don’t worry if you’re an absolute beginner. Some teachers only speak French when teaching the language, but Vincent speaks English during the lesson, which can be convenient for some. I highly recommend you visit his channel.
Learn French with Alexa
Alexa is another of my favorite teachers. She has a ton of content on YouTube. Her channel has around 900,000 subscribers and 70,000,000 views, making her one of the most popular French teachers online.
I like the way she explains the topic in question. She breaks it up into little pieces that are easier to understand. Just like Vincent, she explains everything in English. She has a strong French accent when speaking English, but that’s not a major problem to understand what is being said.
Alexa is very active on social media and even has private Facebook groups where she covers specific topics such as travel, French movies, and French food. She also does live sessions where you get to ask her questions in real time. You can visit her YouTube channel here.
Français avec Pierre
Pierre is another great teacher I recommend. Together with his polyglot wife Noemi, Pierre uploads videos to YouTube regularly. His channel has around 1.2 million subscribers and 61,000,000 views.
For starters, what I love about Pierre’s channel is that he only speaks French in his videos. Unlike Vincent and Alexa, he doesn’t use English to explain the topic in question. I think this is great because it forces you to put more effort into understanding what is being explained. We sometimes tend to depend too much on English or our native language to learn, which can be counterproductive.
Secondly, having two people on screen makes the videos more interactive and fun. I love the way Pierre and Noemi interact and explain any topic no matter how simple it is.
One more thing I like about Pierre is his versatility. He’s not afraid to dress up and even do some acting to explain something more visually. He teaches not only the language but other French cultural aspects as well. His videos are extremely fun and you learn a lot. Check his channel out!
Français Authentique
Johan is the founder and creator of this channel. It currently has around 900,000 subscribers and 40,000,000 views since its creation in 2011.
Although Johan is a native French speaker, he didn’t have a teaching background like Vincent, Alexa, or Pierre. He’s an engineer by profession. However, that does not mean he’s not a good teacher. He has learned how to teach along the way. That’s why he’s not your typical French teacher.
He does teach the basics of the language, but he focuses a lot on providing learning tips and making the learning experience more enjoyable as seen in his channel motto: “Apprenez à parler français en prenant du plaisir!” (Learn to speak French while having fun!) Overall, he wants you to overcome those fears of speaking French. You might understand it, but speaking it can be intimidating.
Johan never speaks English in his videos. He always explains everything in French. Even though he speaks slowly, I don’t recommend this channel for absolute beginners. You must have some knowledge of the language. Check out his channel here.
Easy French
Last but not least, we have Easy French. This channel is great for all those interested in improving their listening skills. Now, let me warn you, despite the name, Easy French is not for absolute beginners. But how? Let me explain.
The concept of Easy French is conducting interviews on the street. There is a group of young people that select a random topic and ask strangers about it. It’s a very interesting strategy if you ask me.
Most of the interviews take place in France, and yes, as you can imagine, everything is in French. You will be able to hear people speak real French, not the one you learn in the classroom. The interviewees are native speakers that speak fast and use a lot of slang and idiomatic expressions. Therefore, I don’t recommend this channel unless you are at an upper-intermediate or advanced level.
Even though all interviews are carried out in French, all of them have English subtitles for your convenience. I try not to look at them, but it’s inevitable at times. It’s still a great option to learn French. Visit their channel here.
Conclusion
As you can see, the quantity of YouTube channels to learn French is massive. We just saw a glimpse of them today, but there are way many more you can check out. I just talked about the ones I’ve personally used and recommend.
There are options for all levels. You can be an absolute beginner, an advanced learner, or somewhere in between. You can find a lot of options to choose from. Pick the one that suits you best.
Don’t limit yourself to just one or two channels. I recommend you explore and use a combination of all of them. You can learn different things from each channel. As you saw earlier, French teachers use different teaching strategies. For instance, some of them speak English when teaching, while others only speak French.
What about you? Which channels do you know or can recommend? What would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments below.
Well, folks, that’s all for today. Au revoir!
Virtually everything is possible to gain knowledge about via anywhere online and YouTube most especially because of the array of a lot of individuals that are offering free services which makes a lot of things better and more easily accessible. Thank you for sharing this here and honestly, if I can, I will ensure that I do my very best with what you have shared to boost my knowledge in another international language
Hi, Abel,
Yes, learning is not limited to physical classrooms anymore. We can study from the comfort of our own homes.
Let me know how it goes. Glad you liked it.
Another great article. I do enjoy the way you write and your expression is very good. I like your recommendations and apply to all levels of learners.
I will definitely have a look around and see what there is. I am what you probably call an intermediate speaker having learnt on the ground so to speak my grammar is not as good as it could be.
Thanks for a good article.
Hi, Ronald,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. It’s greatly appreciated.
Since you are at an intermediate level, you can skip some lessons. Most channels indicate the difficulty level for your convenience. If you want to perfect your grammar, I recommend you check out the first three channels on the list.
Let me know how it goes. Good luck!