French Top Picks: Audio, Books, Movies, Tools
French Audio Magazines
French audio magazines are excellent learning tools, providing authentic French listening practice on a variety of topics. These French audio magazines are listed by how often they are published.
Audio Resources
You can learn a lot of French grammar using the internet and books, but if you want to be able to understand others and make yourself understood, you need to work on your listening and speaking skills. These French audio resources can help.
Beginning French Tools
A selection of resources for beginning students, including a dictionary, a few grammar selections, a video, an extensive tape/CD program, and some non-fiction to distract and reinspire students when fatigue or irritation sets in.
Beginning-Intermediate French Reading Resources
Ready to try reading in French? Here is a selection of French readers for beginning to intermediate students, including short stories, novel exerpts, non-fiction, and poems chosen or written especially for beginning-to-intermediate students.
French English Bilingual Books - French English Dual Language Books
I don't like to read translations, because I believe that something is lost when literature is translated out of its original language. However, bilingual books are a great way to enjoy literature when your language skills aren't quite good enough to read the original. These books are French classics with the original French and English translation, so that you can compare as you read.
Books by Peter Mayle
Did you know that, in addition to the Provence series, Peter Mayle has written three novels set in Provence and a couple of books on other topics? If you're looking for something funny and interesting to read, any of these books will fit the bill.
Books on French Culture
There's more to language learning than vocabulary lists and grammar rules - culture is an essential element. Since language reflects culture and vice versa, fluency implies an understanding of both. If you don't know anything about wine, the Tour de France, or the French Revolution, your French is missing some context. Fill in the gaps with these books about the rich French culture.
Books on French Food
This mix of fact and fiction will teach you everything you could ever want to know about French cuisine: what it is, when it began, who helped it along the way, why it's so good, how to make it, and where to find the best of the best.
Books on Living and Working in France
If you dream of living and working in France, you have to plan ahead. Even if you're a citizen of the European Union, it's extremely unlikely that you'll be able to move to France and have everything fall into place. There are permissions to be acquired, paperwork to be filled and filed, and many important cultural differences to be aware of. These books can help you make your dream come true.
Comedy Movies
I love movies, especially comedies, but I personally don't think that there are many funny French movies. My sense of humor just doesn't "get" most French film. I gave this some serious thought and came up with a number of great French comedies.
Fiction Set in France
I find that books about France, whether fiction or non-fiction, pique my appetite for travel more than anything else. I love writers who weave culture and language into their stories and memories. Of course, the best books are probably those written in French, but since not everyone reads well enough to survive Germinal, here's a list of my favorite English-language novels set in France.
French Dictionaries: Bilingual
When buying a bilingual French dictionary, consider your language skill and what the dictionary is for. Also note that bilingual dictionaries are a great tool, but can have discrepancies. Here are French dictionaries arranged by quantity and quality of entries.
French Dictionaries: Monolingual
Once you're at least intermediate, you need to think about investing in a French-only dictionary. Bilingual dictionaries are a great tool, but the're not infallible. The following monolingual French dictionaries are listed from most to least complete.
French Dictionary Software
If you spend a lot of time reading/writing French, especially on the computer, having a good French dictionary program (or two) can make life a lot easier. I recently purchased several French dictionary programs and already can't remember what life was like without them. Based on my own preferences as well as extensive research, here are the best French dictionary programs you can buy.
French Travel Guides
Here is a collection of useful books for anyone traveling to France. In addition to the guide books you would expect from such a list, a phrase book and two audio books are also included.
Grammar Books
There are hundreds of French grammar books - how can you know which is the best? That's where I come in - here are my favorite grammar books: the ones I use every day as well as those I've grown beyond, but keep because they once helped me so much.
Non-Fiction about French and France
You've probably seen dozens of travel and grammar books; what about the human side of learning French and visiting France? There are some great books - humorous yet helpful, fun but not frivolous. Here's my favorite non-fiction on French and France.
Pronunciation Tools
These resources include detailed explanations of French sounds and some audio tools for listening and speaking practice.
Romantic Movies
Well, they say French is the language of love, so what better language to watch romantic movies in? Here are some that I've loved and I think you and your significant other will too.
Slang and Colloquial French
The French you learn in class is not what you'll hear on the street or in the news. It is important to master correct French and also to understand and use slang and colloquial French. These books teach real French, as spoken by friends and enemies.
Top Software for Learning French
Software can be an interesting addition to your language study. While not a replacement for a teacher or conversation partner, software can help you improve your listening and reading comprehension as well as learn vocabulary, grammar, and even, thanks to speech recognition technology, pronunciation.
Tools for Advanced Students
Advanced students must use authentic, French-only materials: a grammar book with explanations in French, a French-only dictionary, and audio of French spoken at normal speed. These resources are written by (and often for) native French speakers.
Tools for Intermediate Students
Intermediate students may be the most difficult group to buy French resources for, because intermediate is such a vague term. Here is an assortment of tools to meet everyone's needs: grammar references, dictionaries, audio resources, and more.
Tools for Kids
Encouraging your kids to learn French at a young age is one of the best things that you can do for them, but kids won't be happy with some dull grammar book - they need pictures, sounds, and interaction. Here are my favorite resources for kids.
Tools for Translators
Translators need good tools, so take a look at this list of translation books without which I could not work. This list is for French-English/English-French translators, but can be adapted for other language combinations.
French Verb Books
There are many, many French verb books in existence, which offer explanations and conjugations for hundreds - sometimes thousands - of verbs. In my mind, there are only a few contenders for your French reference library.
French Calendars and Date Books
When it's time to start thinking about a new calendar or date book, this page is here to help. Why not incorporate just that little bit more French into your life by using a calendar that's either in French or about France? Here are my favorite French-related calendars and date books.