This post was originally published on Audible.com.
Bonjour! So, you’ve decided to learn French. Search no further: you've come to the right place to find the perfect audiobook to teach you this beautiful language.
Why audiobooks? They're an extremely convenient and highly effective tool to help you learn French. Learning to speak a new language with accuracy and fluency takes daily practice, and with audiobooks, it’s so easy to fit in a lesson every day—be it minutes or hours, while you’re driving or doing chores. And though you might not pick up every detail and nuance of the language on your first listen, the immersive nature of audiobooks makes the information and pronunciation more likely to stick with you than if you were learning French from reading a textbook.
Here are the best audiobooks for learning French, ranging from absolute beginner to advanced. Allons-y!
Best French Audiobooks for Beginners
Even if you've never attempted to learn a new language, Learn French makes the learning process interesting, accessible, and most importantly, fun! From the Accelerated Language Learning Institute, this audiobook covers all the basics in easy-to-follow learning modules. You'll learn grammar fundamentals, valuable vocabulary, commonly used phrases, and proper pronunciation, as well as how to apply it all through sample conversations and short stories. This title also comes with a PDF to help supplement your learning.
Looking for a laid back approach to language learning, with no supplemental books or materials needed? You might enjoy Paul Noble's unconventional methods in his audiobook, Learn French with Paul Noble. The best part about Noble's method is that he's been there. As someone who has struggled to learn a new language, he understands where students trip up. Noble's approach takes away the intimidation factor and gets right into teaching you the building blocks of French so you can learn quickly.
Looking to learn French the fast, fun, and convenient way? French for Beginners by Paul Frederic and Language Learning Mastery is a great option. And if you're not sure where to start, this audiobook opens with a guide to help you get the most out of your listening experience so you can learn the language as quickly and effectively as possible. This audiobook gives you everything you need to know to start speaking French right away and then helps you build on your knowledge and vocabulary. And listeners have especially praised French for Beginners for its easy-to-follow grammar lessons.
Best French Audiobooks for Intermediate Learners
If you're looking to learn conversational French, the absolute best thing you can do for yourself is to immerse yourself into full conversations and stories in the language. This is how you take what you've learned and begin to apply it to real French language situations. And that's exactly what Conversational French Dialogues offers. This audiobook includes 15 different conversations and scenarios in French to help you learn how native French speakers actually talk. Each dialogue is recorded twice: one slower, so you can take in every word, and one at a normal conversational pace.
This audiobook offers 10 engaging slice-of-life stories in French help you practice and develop your language comprehension skills. Intermediate French Short Stories focuses on relatable topics you would likely come across in everyday French conversations, including talking about traveling and personal relationships. At the end of each story, there's a comprehensive guide with a plot summary and review of key vocabulary to make sure you get the most learning out of the listening experience.
If you loved Paul Noble's unconventional learning style with his beginner French audiobook, then continue on to the next steps. There are no textbooks and no memory drills here. Next Steps in French with Paul Noble offers a fun and laidback way to learn French that is still super effective. This audiobook builds on the foundation of the beginner volume, helping you develop the confidence to construct your own sentences in French and speak the language fluently in a variety of situations.
Best French Audiobooks for Advanced Learners
From the Dupont Language Institute, Learn French is a comprehensive guide to becoming fluent in the language, like a polished native speaker. This audiobook will help you perfect your ability to understand, speak, and read French. Complete with skill-building exercises, it talks you through mastering verb tenses, navigating advanced grammar, constructing complex sentences, and avoiding language mistakes common among non-native French speakers.
If you're looking to master the French language, you won't want to miss out on Power French 3: Accelerated by accomplished language teacher Mark Frobose. In this audiobook, you'll learn the secrets to speaking French like you were born and raised in France, such as idiomatic expressions, complex verb tenses, high frequency French phrases, and much more! Frobose narrates the audiobook himself, pronouncing every word clearly and carefully while still maintaining the natural flow of a native speaker.
If you're looking for more interesting short stories to keep advancing your grasp of the French language, then French Short Stories is an excellent pick. Making learning fun, this audiobook presents a collection of 11 short stories spanning a variety of genres to keep you engaged and entertained. While every story is told in French, this listen also includes an English translation of each so you can test your comprehension.
