French Listening Comprehension
Exercises to practice and improve your French listening skills
Beginning/Intermediate | Intermediate/Advanced
By Name |
By Topic or Style
Top listening exercises
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Listening tips
Work on your French listening comprehension with these exercises, including a
French sound file with study guide, quiz, transcript, and translation.
The sound files for these three exercises, originally published in
Champs-Élysées audiomagazine,
are now available through Plango! by The Plan9 Group.
L'ETA et le
Pays Basque
Introduction to the history behind
the ETA, the Basque separatist movement.
La loi Evin
Learn about the regulation of advertising of alcohol in France,
and the reasoning behind it.
Le viaduc de Millau
Le viaduc de Millau was completed in 2004. Learn about its construction
and safety mechanisms.
LaGuinguette is
an online source of news from France in French, via audio files and transcripts
(read my review).
Accents de France
French varies from country to country and from region to region. Learn about
some of the accents you might encounter in France in this audio report from LaGuinguette.
C'est de l'amour véritable !
Old age does not have to mean the end of living, or even loving. In this
interview, a 90-year-old man shares his thoughts on how to get the most out of
life and love, at any age.
Le CPE
In January 2006, the French government passed a labor reform law that
sparked off protests around the country. Learn about the CPE and why it was
so distasteful to French students and workers.
French in France
Introduction to French in France (dialects and "standard French")
and the Dictionary of French Regionalisms.
Graffiti
Graffiti does not necessarily equal vandalism. It's a means of personal and
even artistic expression. Learn about some of the people and techniques behind
graffiti.
Le jardin des Tuileries
Learn about the famous Parisian park, le jardin des Tuileries, as you work on
your listening comprehension with this three-part discussion.
Mitterrand
January 2006 marked the 10-year anniversary of the death of François
Mitterrand, the first and so far only socialist president of France. Learn
about Mitterrand and some of the people who loved him.
Patois
Discussion about dialects in France and the two main points of view on their
linguistic status.
The Patois of Vendée
Presentation of some characteristics of the French patois spoken in Vendée.
Patois and Regional
Characteristics
Do regional differences in dialect reflect regional
differences in mentality?
Riots in France
On 27 October 2005, riots began in a Parisian suburb and quickly spread across
France and even to neighboring countries. In this three-part discussion, a
reporter discusses the riots with two neighborhood elders in Clichy-sous-Bois
who are trying to calm down the situation.
Ségolène Royal - présidente ?
Ségolène Royal is a socialist and is working hard to become France's first
female president. Learn about her platform and her struggle in this
discussion.
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Champs-Élysées is a French audiomagazine for intermediate and
advanced speakers (read my
review).
NOTE: CÉ has suspended operations pending an ongoing lawsuit,
and because their site is unavailable, these sound files are too. You
can still use these exercises to work on your French reading
comprehension, but the audio files will not work.
Americans in Paris
Learn about Americans in Paris - what they like to do, and what
Paris is doing for them. |
L'Anniversaire de Tintin
Tintin is a world-renowned Belgian comic strip - learn about
Tintin and its creator. |
Bistrots à Paris
Cafés have long been a Parisian institution, but they have
changed a great deal over the years. |
Les Bois de Paris
Discussion of two important
parks in Paris. |
Le Centre Pompidou à Metz
Learn about Le Centre Pompidou being built in Metz: the
idea behind it, the architects who designed it, and some of its
characteristics. |
La
Défaite des Bleus à la Coupe du monde de football
Newscast about the French soccer team at the 2002 World Cup. |
Les
Deux Magots
Interview with the manager of the famous Deux Magots café in
Paris. |
Les
égouts de Paris
Report on the Parisian sewer network and the unusual museum
where you can learn more about it. |
Une Femme
ministre de la Défense
Interview with Michèle Alliot-Marie, the first woman to head the French
Department of Defense. |
Les Galeries Lafayette
Learn about the history Les Galeries Lafayette, one of
the most famous department stores in France. |
La
Grande Arche de La Défense
Learn about the history of
La Grande Arche de La Défense, one of the most visited monuments in
France. |
Le Guide Michelin
Le Guide Michelin is a French institution, but after more than 100 years,
is it still feasible? |
Guignol
Learn about France's beloved puppet Guignol and its creator. |
La
Joconde
The Mona Lisa is sick. Learn about this
famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. |
La Légion d'honneur
A prestigious French order that decorates both soldiers and
civilians for outstanding achievements. |
Narbonne
A little-known town with with a lot of history in the
Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. |
Nicolas Sarkozy for President
Nicolas Sarkozy is one of the front-runners in the 2007 French
presidential election. |
Notre Dame
The history and maintenance of Notre Dame, one of the
largest and most visited cathedrals in France. |
Le
Petit Larousse
This famous French dictionary celebrated its 100th anniversary
in 2005. |
La Révolte des Accents
A fictional tale about a problem that's all too real: the
disappearance of accents in written French. |
Sète
Introduction to Sète, an ancient fishing village on the French
Mediterranean. |
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir was one of France's most beloved authors and
an early French feminist. Learn about her life and work. |
La Tour
Eiffel
A report on visitors to the Eiffel Tower. |
Versailles
Learn about the most visited site in Europe and the restoration
it's undergoing. |
2007 French Presidential
Elections
In April and May 2007, France had some problems with the normal
electoral process. |
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Top listening exercises
There are over a hundred listening exercises on this site, ranging from simple
dialogues to in-depth listening comprehension exercises. The most visited
listening pages tend to be those that offer practical advice or discuss someone
or something famous. Here are the most popular French listening exercises on
this site. |
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More French listening comprehension exercises:
Beginning/Intermediate | Intermediate/Advanced
By Name |
By Topic or Style
Top listening exercises
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Listening tips
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