Free French Lessons and Courses

Free French Lessons and Courses
We have gathered together here a number of free French language lessons and language courses for those learning French, along with some other French language resources, such as French online courses and exercises, podcasts, video lessons, alphabets, dictionaries, lexicons, verb conjugations, language communities, newspapers, articles, and books. Most of these sites will be in English, although a number are multilingual in nature.

  Video Lessons

DailyFrenchPod: Video Vocabulary
DailyFrenchPod is a complete solution to learning how to communicate in French. It combines free podcasts and a very effective communicative teaching method that enables users to learn French when and where they wish to.
LearnFrenchVideo.com
Find an online French course for beginners including audio and video tutorial lessons covering vocabulary word, grammar, phrases and expressions, song and dialogues on LearnFrenchVideo.Com.
Ma France - 24 Interactive French Videos
Improve or brush up your basic French with the help of Stéphane Cornicard and 24 interactive video units. The films were shot around Lyons, the Alps and in Provence. From the BBC.
Stéphanie Hourie Morrow: Learn Common French Phrases
Whatever your use of French is going to be, whether for travel, vacation, or business, learn some common phrases and expressions that can help you get around, book a hotel, take a taxi, buy some aspirin, make a friend, or go to a party. These lessons are given by a native French speaker, and in each clip she speaks the phrases slowly and with the proper pronunciation.

  Textbook Courses

Wikibooks: French Language Course
A comprehensive free French language course from Wikibooks, the open source books collection, in four levels.

  Courses and Exercises

Alphabet (Clicnet)
Practice your pronunciation of the French alphabet with the aid of QuickTime audio files.
Bab.la Language Portal
"The bab.la language portal offers you dictionary translations, language quizzes and games, vocabulary lessons for learning and much more. bab.la is interactive: You can enter your own translation, create your own language test or your own vocabulary flashcard set. babla - Loving Languages!". Quizzes, games, vocabulary learning and dictionary aids for English, Chinese, French, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
BBC French Steps
French Steps will introduce you to simple, spoken French language. The language you'll learn will help you to find your way, order meals, introduce yourself, etc and to understand predictable things that people will say to you. The course is made up of 24 short steps or units: Taking a taxi, Asking for directions, etc. These are organized into 6 sections: Short break in Paris, Food and drink, etc. We'd recommend that you follow them in sequence, though you can just dip into the individual ones. French Steps has been devised to be used in short sessions that you can fit around your own schedule, whenever and for however long it suits you. Frequent, short visits will also help you fix the language in your memory.
Bonjour!
Learn greetings and courtesies, then continue with numbers, days, months and seasons, question words, quantities, weather and time, asking for help, emergencies, banks, taxis, restaurants, transportation, finding your way, touring, places to see, socializing, and finally some famous French expressions. With French audio files.
Easy French Poetry Podcast
Advanced French with reading of French poetry and literary commentary.
Educaserve French Lessons
French course with more than 200 lessons and 1000 exercises; requires registration.
Fluent French: Experiences of an English speaker (PDF)
The writer lived in France for three years, and kept a record of words, expressions, and perceptions that describe how French is actually spoken in practice. The first section discusses various French words and expressions, the second concentrates on comparisons between French and English, and the third discusses some of the finer points of French.
French Assistant
This site helps you learn French online - learn and practice using our online French language lessons and unique question generator, learn useful French grammar, phrases and essential French, test your knowledge of the French language, and ability to translate, and listen to over 150,000 sound samples.
Learn French With Alexa Podcast
Beginning French podcasts, with audio MP3 files and PDF texts of vocabulary.
French-Learning.com
10 online French lessons; requires registration.
French Revision
This site contains many interactive French exercises, aimed primarily at students aged 11 to 18, but also includes material relevant to teachers. There are listening, reading and writing exercises, which automatically conclude with a score.
The French Tutorial
The French Tutorial is a web-based step by step lesson covering basics, pronunciation, but also grammar, vocabulary and everyday French. It offers audio support for better oral comprehension, a table of contents and an index for faster searches.
Jacques Léon's French Language Course
The following French course is intended to allow you to understand written French (newspapers, articles, magazines, signs on the road during your next trip in France, etc.) and to write a letter to a French friend or correspondent.
Le Journal en Francais Facile
Nightly broadcasts in French from Radio French Internationale.
Languageguide.org Francais
French language lessons, including a pictorial vocabulary guide with audio pronunciations, grammar, and readings.
Learn free: French Lessons
The course is divided into different sections and themes. You can begin straight away and learn some basic phrases, simply click on "learn French". If there is a specific subject that interest you, such as food, hotels or whatever, then select "learn French" by selecting a theme. There are also "French grammar lessons", explaining verbs, tenses and more.
Learn French by Podcasts
Free lessons in French in MP3 audio format; the PDF guides require a subscription fee.
London Speaks French
LSF is a language agency based in London and dedicated to French tuition, and has free lessons for Beginner and Advanced students on their web site.
Phrasebase French Language Learning Resources
The Phrasebase website is the ultimate environment allowing you to read an French Alphabet based phonetic spelling of common and useful everyday phrases in effort to memorize it and it's meaning. Phrases are accompanyed by sound files allowing you to listen repetitively and repeat out loud to practice pronunciation. And lastly, there are thousands of other members who can help you with your target language. With a live webcam audio/video chatroom, French language exchange pen-pals, French online phrasebook, country information, and language information.
Le Point du FLE
A portal whose objective is to facilitate access to the best web-based activities for learning and teaching French. There are sites for interactive grammar, self-correcting exercises, simulations etc., which all can be used for work in the classroom or for self-studies. In French.
Resources for Learning French
This is a summary of resources the author found useful in learning French in order to survive in Neuchâtel. The selection of resources is slanted explicitly toward the goal of survival: mastering the language sufficiently to be able to buy a car, read the newspaper, get your furnace repaired, and all the other fun-filled components of day-to-day life.
Single-Serving.com French Phrase Guides
Free printable and downloadable French phrase guides; also includes audio file MP3 versions.
Super French Web Sites
Listing of web sites that cover a variety French resources for the Francophile and student of French.
VERBcast
The VERBcast is a series of audio programmes which introduce you to French verbs and teach you all about the various tenses you need to know. Verbs are a very important part of any language, and in French it's important to know your verbs in order to make speak and write the language more effectively.
Vocabulary Training Exercises
Vocabulary training for French, English, German, and Spanish.
Wikibooks: French Language Course
A comprehensive free French language course from Wikibooks, the open source books collection, in four levels.
WordProf French Vocabulary Online
This interactive web site will help you learn all the French vocabulary you need, with interactive scenes that teach over 600 words of basic vocabulary (with recordings in French); online lessons which allow you to study and revise over 8,000 words of vocabulary; and vocabulary tests that show how much progress you have made.

  Verb Conjugators

ARTFL Project French Verb Conjugation Engine
French verb conjugation courtesy of the ARTFL project. The INFL analyzer is a licensed product of the MultiLingual Theory and Technology team at the Rank Xerox Research Center, in Grenoble, France made available to ARTFL through a technology exchange agreement.
Verbix Online French Conjugator
WebVerbix is a free on-line verb conjugator. It contains a subset of Verbix for Windows features.

  Language Communities

Polyglot
Polyglot is a non-profit community dedicated to language exchange. Polyglot allows you to find the right person ready to exchange languages with you. You will search for penpals according to age, gender, location, hobbies, etc. Polyglot is fully customizable. You will choose your own icons, styles or post your own Polyglot translations, so that more people speaking your language can become a member.
Livemocha French
Livemocha is committed to creating a world in which every human being is fluent in multiple languages, fusing traditional learning methods with online practice and interaction with native language speakers from around the world. All language content and activities on Livemocha are accessible using either points (which you earn) or beans (which you buy).
UniLang Community
The main purpose of the UniLang Community is to provide an online site where people interested in languages can unite, openly discuss, and find resources related to language(s), linguistics and translations. We are an open non-profit organization, meaning that everything on our site is publicly accessible at no cost, and membership is also free and open for everybody. All data, unless otherwise stated, is licensed under an open licence, the UniLang Public License, as opposed to a restrictive copyright.

  Other French Resources

French Dictionaries Online
Comprehensive listing of French dictionaries, technical reference, grammars, and other language aids.
French Internet Radio and Online News Radio
Large directory of internet radio programs with conversation and music in a number of different audio formats.
French Newspapers Online
Directory of online French newspapers.
Dave's French Literature Links
Extensive collection of links to French literature from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
Old French On The Web
The history and literature of Old French and the early Romance languages, with links to related sites, and online versions of early French literature.
University of Virginia: French Language Resources
On-Line French Texts from the University of Virginia Library. Also links to other French sites.