Improve your French by listening to podcasts, with topics that best suit your level and taste.
Which topics should you listen to? Where can you find materials suitable to your level?
No matter if you can’t tell the difference between a “pain au chocolat” and a “chocolatine” (answer at the article’s end), or if you can ace complex conversations in perfect French, podcasts are essential tools to help you reach your language learning goals. Listening to French podcasts is a great way to train your ear to native French speakers, all while deepening your understanding of French culture. You can listen to podcasts wherever you are, whenever you have time, and always remain updated on current events.
With so many podcasts available online, finding materials that best fit your goals can be a daunting task. Should you purchase a monthly subscription? Or should you just listen to free materials? To avoid spending countless hours navigating search engines, here are 10 French Podcast Suggestions that will make your learning journey fun and effective.
1. Coffee Break French
Difficulty: For all levels, beginner to advanced
Topics: Everyday life, travel, cultural expressions
Available on: Website
Divided in 4 levels, from beginner to advanced, Coffee Break French is the ultimate French learning resource. Each episode teaches French through intriguing stories, providing new grammar points and real-life cultural expressions that can’t be found in conventional textbooks. Access to all these resources is free of charge, making Coffee Break French the perfect choice for low-budget learners.
2. Learn French by Podcast 
Difficulty: For all levels, beginner to advanced
Topics: Everyday life, travel, news, politics
Available on: Website
Focusing on real-life French conversations with methodical explanations, Learn French by Podcast gives you all the learning tools you need, from beginner to advanced. Each podcast comes with pdf lesson guidelines providing vocabulary charts and detailed explanations.
With hundreds of topics to choose from, Learn French by Podcast has a search tool that allows you to find podcasts about topics that attract you the most, which is an especially useful feature in the intermediate to advanced levels (available topics include sports, current events, politics).
3. Parlez Away
Difficulty: Beginner
Topics: Romance, useful expressions, everyday life
Available on: Website, Apple Podcasts, Android
Perfect for absolute beginners, Parlez Away is Babbel’s own French podcast that follows the journey of an American tourist as he tries to learn his French girlfriend’s mother tongue. Most episodes focus on greetings and self-introductions, slowly building vocabulary and grammar towards an intermediate to conversational level. Each episode follows the babble.com French curriculum, so this might be the perfect option for language learners already familiar with this platform.
4. JeFrench
Difficulty: Beginner
Topics: Travel, everyday life
Available on: Website
Perfectly designed for the traveler trying to learn as much as possible prior to a trip to France, Je French.com offers a comprehensive series of podcasts in basic vocabulary, pronunciation, and useful expressions. All lessons are held half in French and half in English, which can be very beneficial to beginner level students. After listening to all podcasts available for free on JeFrench.com, you will have the necessary foundations to have survival level interactions on your next trip to France, allowing you to start challenging yourself with intermediate level podcasts.
5. French 
BlaBla
Difficulty: Beginner/Intermediate
Topics: Everyday life, pronunciation
Available on: Website, Apple Podcasts,
Growing tired of beginner level courses? After having reached a basic understanding of the language, you may start realizing that the French that natives speak to each other is very different from what you have learned so far. Why are you still failing to understand them? That’s because French people smoothen words out when talking to each other. A great resource to learn about the differences between textbook and spoken French is French BlaBla, a free online platform administered by Caroline, a teacher with great English-speaking skills that helps intermediate learners solve all problems they might come across.
6. One Thing In A French Day
Difficulty: Intermediate
Topics: Everyday life, useful phrases
Available on: Website
Learning about the French language isn’t enough, you must also learn about the way that locals use it in their everyday lives. One Thing In A French Day is a podcast diary by author Laetitia Perraunt, where she uses clear and easy language to share her adventures with French learners worldwide. Each episode is only 5 minutes long and covers a different aspect of Laetitia’s everyday life. This is a turning point for intermediate learners, as they can further elevate their listening skills towards a conversational level.
7. News in Slow French.com 
Difficulty: Intermediate
Topics: News, current events
Available on: Website, Apple Podcasts
Just like the title suggests, News in Slow French.com provides free access to a vast archive of French news stories at a much slower speed than usual. Each podcast comes with a downloadable transcript, allowing the viewer to absorb every single word. The slow speed and simple vocabulary makes this platform a perfect resource for intermediate learners, with increasingly challenging topics to push your French skills to an advanced level.
8. The Inner French Podcast
Difficulty: Advanced
Topics: News, culture, current events
Available on: Website, Apple Podcasts, Audible
Considered by many French learners as the only native speaker “easy” to understand, Hugo is the creator of “Inner French,” a podcast series that explores a wide range of topics regarding the French-speaking world. Some of the topics discussed include climate change, social issues, and differences between French-speaking countries. Hugo’s podcast helps French learners develop their own critical thinking about French language and culture, using real life conversations that are entertaining and useful.
9. Nouvelle École
Difficulty: Advanced/Native
Topics: Biographic, social justice, culture
Available on: YouTube, SoundCloud
If you’re a fan of TED talks, you will love Nouvelle École (“New School” in English), which offers one-hour long conversations with French-speaking icons. Since this is a podcast for native French speakers, a high level of language proficiency is required to be able to follow along. Interviewed figures include high caliber French celebrities, such as rappers, activists, and actors. Nouvelle École uses effective communication to create growth-oriented solutions, each person interviewed is a master in their field, so listeners can expect a high degree of technical terms.
10. Kiffe Ta Race
Difficulty: Advanced/Native
Topics: Racial justice, immigration, current events
Available on: Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Binge Audio
“Kiffe ta race”, which means “Love your race” in French slang, dives deep into France’s racial and social justice issues. If topics like societal inequality interest you, then you should definitely listen to this podcast, where each episode invites a different French speaking activist to bring light on racial/social issues. Since the host and the guests speak quickly, you must be an advanced learner to listen along. Listening to this podcast will give you the necessary fluency to discuss a wide range of issues that are very important in today’s global society, so it will be very beneficial for you to be able to discuss these topics in French.
And there you have it! Listening to podcasts is the most effective way to enhance your language skills, especially if you don’t live in a French-speaking country. You can listen to podcasts while doing anything at all, and with the above suggestions, it’s easy to find materials about topics you’re attracted to. Looking for other ways to improve your French? Try AmazingTalker, an online language learning platform with certified tutors always ready to help. Start taking 1 on 1 French classes regularly, and in no time, you will be able to tell the difference between a pain au chocolat and a chocolatine: there is none!
