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The Best Apps to Learn French! Learn French Faster🇫🇷

The Best Apps to Learn French! 🇫🇷

Are you looking for the best apps to learn French? Learning a new language can be daunting, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Luckily, technology has made it easier than ever to learn a new language from the comfort of your own home. In this blog post, I’ll be reviewing 10 of the best apps to learn French, from the perspective of a French teacher.

Before I dive in, I want to make it clear that this is not a sponsored post. I have paid subscriptions to some of these apps in order to give you an honest and unbiased review. If you decide to try any of these apps, I do have affiliate links for three of them, which means I may earn a small commission if you subscribe.

I’ve chosen to review these apps in alphabetical order and have started each one as complete beginners to provide a fair and accurate comparison. I share a screen recording of each app on my Youtube channel. So, if you’re ready to start your French language learning journey, let’s dive in!

The Best Apps to Learn French! 🇫🇷

Here is the list of all the best apps to learn French I have tried for you:
Babbel – Pimsleur – Lingopie are affiliate links

Babbel

Babbel offers a variety of interactive courses and exercises to help users improve their French skills. The app focuses on practical language skills and includes personalized review and progress-tracking features. Babbel is one of the oldest language programs online so we are looking at quality content.

Pros:

Babbel has a well-structured approach with lessons that cover various topics such as grammar, vocabulary, reading, and speaking.
It provides a personalized learning experience, tailoring lessons based on your skill level and interests.
The app includes speech recognition technology, allowing learners to practice their pronunciation and speaking skills.
Babbel also includes grammar explanations for learners who want a more in-depth understanding of the language.
The app offers a podcast with 5-minute French stories with transcripts, which is a great feature.
The pronunciation is excellent.

Cons:

Babbel is a paid app, which requires a monthly or annual subscription to access all content. This can be a disadvantage for learners on a tight budget.
The app may not be suitable for advanced learners, as the content is geared towards beginners and intermediate learners.
The app offers live classes or one-on-one tutoring, but learners have to pay for an additional subscription. You have to pay for the app and then pay for classes, which can be a bit expensive.

Overall, I believe that Babbel is a great app for anyone who wants to improve their French skills. The app has a lot of advantages such as a personalized learning experience, speech recognition technology, and grammar explanations. However, the cost of the app can be a bit expensive for some learners.

The link for Babbel is an affiliate link.

Beelinguapp

Beelinguapp is a reading app that teaches French through bilingual texts. Users can read stories and articles in French and English side by side to improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Pros:

Beelinguapp offers bilingual texts with audio in both the target language and your native language. This feature can be helpful for beginners who need help with pronunciation and understanding the meaning of words and phrases.
The app has a wide range of content, including stories, news articles, and song lyrics, making language learning more engaging and interesting. This is my favourite part.
Beelinguapp provides interactive features such as quizzes and vocabulary lists to help reinforce your learning.
The app has a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate and use.

Cons:

Beelinguapp doesn’t provide much grammar instruction, so it may not be the best app for learners who need more structured lessons.
Some users have reported issues with the audio quality. I found a couple of mistakes in the audio such as “PLUS SHAUT” instead of “Plus haut,” which is a double pronunciation mistake in French.
While the app offers a lot of content, not all of it is free. Some users have reported frustration with the app’s pricing model and the need to pay for certain features and content.
I also had issues with the app not loading at times, and it only loaded after I had to purchase a plan to review the content because not enough of it was free.

Overall, I love the concept of Beelinguapp, but I would say that the pronunciation can be off at times. However, the app is a great tool for language learners looking to improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Busuu

Busuu connects users with native French speakers for language exchange. The app also includes a range of interactive exercises and lessons to help users improve their French skills.

Pros:

I appreciated the interactive lessons in Busuu, which combined various types of exercises and activities to help reinforce different aspects of the language.
The focus on speaking and writing skills, as well as the ability to get feedback from native speakers, made Busuu feel more immersive and engaging than some other apps I’ve used.
The personalized study plans were also a nice touch, allowing me to tailor my learning to my specific needs and goals.
The social aspect of Busuu, allows you to connect with other learners and native speakers, was a fun way to practice my French and learn more about the culture.
I also thought the app’s pronunciation was excellent.

Cons:

One downside to Busuu is that many of its features are locked behind a paywall, which may be a barrier for some learners.
I found that some of the lessons in Busuu felt repetitive or overly simplistic, especially as I progressed to higher levels of proficiency.
Finally, the social aspect of Busuu can be hit or miss, depending on whether you’re able to find compatible language exchange partners.

Overall, I think Busuu is a good app with some unique features, but it may not be the best fit for every learner’s needs or budget.

Duolingo

One of the most popular language learning apps, Duolingo uses a game-like approach to teach languages. The app includes reading, writing, listening, and speaking exercises, as well as a variety of levels and progress-tracking features.

Pros:

Duolingo is a free app, which makes it accessible to a large audience.
The app is designed to be fun and engaging, with a lot of exercises and game features that keep learners motivated.
Duolingo‘s content is structured and sequenced, which helps learners to progress through the language learning journey in a logical and manageable way.

Cons:

Duolingo‘s content can sometimes feel repetitive, which can be frustrating for more advanced learners or those who want to focus on specific aspects of the language.
The app’s focus on gamification and progress tracking can sometimes lead learners to prioritize earning points over actual language learning.
Duolingo‘s exercises can feel disconnected from real-life language use, which can make it difficult for learners to apply their skills in practical situations.
The app’s speech recognition software can be inaccurate, which can result in learners not receiving accurate feedback on their pronunciation. It counted a couple of my words wrong and I am pretty sure I am saying it right.
Duolingo’s content is not tailored to individual learners’ needs and goals, which means that some learners may find the content too easy or too difficult.

Don’t include the gender of nouns

Overall, I think Duolingois a great app to keep your foot in the door when it comes to learning. It’s easy not to study or practice for a full week so Duolingocan be useful to keep you engaged. It’s free, it’s interactive, it’s a great app.

FluentU

FluentU is a video-based language learning platform that teaches French through engaging, real-world videos. Users can watch videos and complete interactive exercises to practice their French listening and comprehension skills.

Pros:

Authentic content: The app uses real-life videos, which exposes learners to a wide range of accents and speaking styles in various contexts.
Interactive subtitles: The interactive subtitles allow learners to click on any word for its definition and usage examples, which helps learners understand the meaning of unfamiliar words in context.
Personalized learning: The app tracks learners’ progress and tailors the learning experience to their skill level and learning style.
The quizzes are nicely organized and focus on the gender of nouns, which I appreciate as a teacher.

Cons:

Cost: FluentU requires a subscription fee to access all its content and features, which may be costly compared to other language learning apps.
Limited exercises: While the video content is engaging, the app offers limited exercises and quizzes for practice, which may not be enough for some learners who prefer more structured and varied practice for grammar.
Not for complete beginners: FluentU assumes some prior knowledge of the language being learned, so it may not be suitable for complete beginners who need more basic instruction.

Overall, I would highly recommend FluentU to French language learners who are willing to pay for it and who have some basic knowledge of the language.

The link for FluentU is an affiliate link.

Grammar-course — The Complete French Grammar Course

French-conjugation-textbook — The Complete French Conjugation Course

Pronunciation-small-ad — The Complete French Pronunciation Course

The Complete French Idioms & Expressions Course

French-short-stories-improve-your-vocabulary — French Short Stories for Beginners

Passé Composé vs Imparfait - The textbook

FunEasyLearn

FunEasyLearn is a gamified language learning app that teaches French through interactive games and exercises. The app includes a range of vocabulary and grammar lessons, as well as progress tracking features.

Pros:

I found that FunEasyLearn has a vast library of vocabulary words and phrases, with over 15,000 words and phrases in more than 20 languages. This feature is very helpful for building a strong foundation in French vocabulary.
The app offers a variety of different learning modes, including flashcards, quizzes, and games, which made the learning experience fun and engaging for me.
The app is user-friendly, with a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to navigate. I appreciated not having to spend time figuring out how to use the app.
FunEasyLearn offers offline access, so you can continue learning even when you don’t have an internet connection. This feature was particularly useful for me during travel when I didn’t have access to the internet.
I was impressed with the app’s pronunciation, which was clear and easy to understand. It also includes the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which can be useful for learners who want to improve their pronunciation. If you followed my pronunciation course you will be able to use it easily.

Cons:

While FunEasyLearn does have a large vocabulary library, it may not be as comprehensive as other language-learning apps.
I noticed that the focus is more on vocabulary and phrases rather than grammar and sentence structure. This may not be suitable for learners who want to focus more on grammar.
The app may not be suitable for advanced learners, as it is geared more towards beginners and intermediate learners.
The free version of the app has limited access to content, so learners may need to upgrade to a paid version to access all the features.

Overall, I think FunEasyLearn is a great app. I particularly enjoyed its simplicity and user-friendly interface. Sometimes less is best when it comes to language learning apps, and FunEasyLearn certainly delivers on that front.

Lingopie

Lingopie uses TV shows, movies and documentaries to teach French. Users can watch French language content with interactive subtitles and translation features to improve their listening and comprehension skills and quizzes.

Pros:

Lingopie offers a wide range of TV shows, movies, and documentaries in various languages and genres, so there’s something for everyone.

The app provides both subtitles and dubbing options, which can really enhance your listening and reading comprehension skills.
The subtitles are interactive and if you click on a word, you can hear its pronunciation, translation, and type of word it is.

Lingopie offers interactive exercises and quizzes to reinforce vocabulary and grammar concepts, and even includes a speech recognition tool to help improve your pronunciation and speaking skills.

The app offers affordable monthly and yearly subscription plans with a 7-day free trial. Plus, if you’re interested, I’ve worked with Lingopie in the past and you can get 55% off your yearly subscription!

Cons:

One downside is that you need to have some level of French proficiency to use this app, as it’s video-based and doesn’t provide any grammar lessons or conjugation explanations.

The flashcards on the app do have pronunciation, but it’s AI pronunciation, which may not be perfect.

Overall, I foundLingopiea really useful and enjoyable language-learning tool. If you’re someone who likes to learn through TV shows and movies, I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

The link for Lingopie is an affiliate link.

Memrise

Memriseuses flashcards and spaced repetition to help users memorize French vocabulary. The app includes a range of user-generated and official courses and grammar and pronunciation lessons.

Pros:

Memriseincorporates multimedia tools, including videos and audio clips, to offer different learning styles.
The app provides multiple study modes, such as flashcards, multiple choice questions, and speed review.
Memrise offers a gamified approach, making it an engaging and enjoyable way to learn.
The app also features spaced repetition, which helps users review material at intervals to aid long-term retention.

Cons:

While the user-generated content can be great, it can also be inconsistent in quality and accuracy, as I found a few mistakes.
The free version of Memrise has limited features, and users may need to upgrade to a paid subscription to access all of its content and features.
Memrise may not be the best choice for learners who want a more structured or comprehensive language learning program.

I really wanted to love it but honestly I didn’t. I found it unorganized. Maybe it’s me.

Pimsleur

Pimsleur uses audio lessons and repetition to teach French. The app includes a range of beginner to advanced lessons, as well as pronunciation and listening exercises.

Pros:

Audio-based learning and speaking skills emphasized
Spaced repetition system used to reinforce language learning
Useful phrases and practical vocabulary taught for everyday situations
Good for learners who prefer a structured and guided approach to learning a new language
Helpful in developing pronunciation and speaking fluency

Cons:

Limited amount of vocabulary and grammar covered in each lesson
Can be repetitive and tedious for some learners
More expensive than other language learning resources
May not be as engaging or interactive as other language learning apps

Although I enjoyed the Flash Cards, Skills, and Quick Match games, I found the lessons confusing and disorganized.

Rosetta Stone

The app uses the same immersive language learning method as the original Rosetta Stonesoftware, with interactive activities, speech recognition technology, and personalized feedback to help learners improve their language skills. A subscription is required to access all the features and content of the app. No free trial.

Pros:

Rosetta Stone‘s immersion method is excellent for mimicking how people learn their first language.
The app offers a wide range of exercises and activities to practice all language skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Speech recognition technology helps improve pronunciation.
The app creates personalized learning plans based on individual progress and level.

Cons:

The immersion approach may be overwhelming, especially for beginners.
The program lacks explicit grammar explanations, which could be an issue for some learners.
It’s more expensive than other language-learning apps.

While I like the app overall, I found that the lessons lacked structure. Jumping into passé composé without explanation can be overwhelming.

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Dennis says:

March 9, 2023 at 5:56 am

Dylane,

For an A1/B2 student, who is not deterred by cost, which of these Apps would you recommend?

Thanks

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1. Dylane says:
  
  March 9, 2023 at 9:21 am
  
  Do you mean B1/B2? If yes,for this level it’s more about immersion than rules. I would recommend Lingopie if you like TV, or Beelinguapp for reading 🙂
  REPLY
  
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Dennis says:

March 9, 2023 at 10:38 am

Dylane–

Never mind–

I sent you my second email before seeing your answer to my first–

THANK YOU

What you do is awesome.

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