Learn French by Podcast

It is perhaps the most hated word in the French language. In fact, the noun itself - 'la rentrée' - means simply, 'the return' but, for secondary school students it means the end of 'les grandes vaca…

In this lesson, Amélie will tell us about 'les Vélib' (vélos libres), an initiative in the French capital which puts bicycles at the disposal of those looking for a healthier option for getting aroun…

Continuing our theme of the last lesson, this time we look at the promises made by President Sarkozy in relation to the environment during the run-up to the French presidential elections. Let’s exami…

Though he wasn’t in the final reckoning for the French presidential election, the participation of Nicolas Hulot, a prominent environmentalist, drew the attention of many French voters to the precari…

The number of hours worked per week by French employees has been a hot topic in France recently. In this lesson, let’s study some of the vocabulary which will enable us to talk about overtime, in par…

Perhaps the first thing tourists to the French capital must think about is how best to get around. In this lesson, lesson 70, let’s hear a conversation which takes place at the ticket counter to find…

In the last lesson, we were talking about hiring a car. In this second part of the two-part lesson, let’s complete the task. We’ll hear the final part of the discussion between the customer and agent…

It's summer vacation time. In this lesson, let's discover how to carry out a common task for tourists - to hire a car. We'll learn how to ask the basic questions related to this undertaking, as well …

Antoine and Linda are visiting the Louvre Museum in this lesson. Though it should be an enjoyable outing, Antoine is unhappy about a number of things and is doing his fair share of moaning and groani…

A listener recently asked us: 'Which lesson deals with 'Ça va?'!…' Though it's a simple expression, it's an essential one. As it’s been a while since we’ve had a beginner lesson, let's visit some of …

It’s a physical feeling we experience frequently, after sport, a day’s gardening, whatever. We’ll be talking about feeling stiff in this lesson – lesson 65. We'll see how to say 'What's the matter?',…

A good deed - giving blood, to be precise - is the topic of this lesson, lesson 64. We'll study a variety of expressions, including 'I did a good deed...' and 'It's for that (very) reason that...'. W…

We're looking for someone to help us with a specific task, once again, in this lesson. The job in question is electrical work: we'll discover some electricity-related vocabulary and we'll revise some…

We're looking for someone to help create a website in this lesson - Lesson 62. We'll learn some useful computing-related vocabulary. In addition to this, we'll study the useful expressions 's'y conna…

When we bump into someone we haven’t met for a while, we’ll commonly ask them what they’ve been up to. That’s the topic of this lesson. We'll work with a variety of useful expressions including: 'Ça …

In this lesson, we'll study the vocabulary needed to ask someone how he or she is progressing at an art course. We'll examine a range of useful expressions, including 'avoir peur de', 'il y a toutes …

We'll discover how to discuss a programme from last night's TV schedule in this lesson. In particular, Xavier talks about a documentary he saw on the life of Henri Troyat, a prolific French writer. W…

In our recent discussion of American politics, we mentioned Barack Obama. This time our role-play will focus on whether America is ready for a woman to take the top job at the Oval Office. Let's hear…

France will soon have a new President. So, too, will the U.S. In London, Tony Blair will be leaving 10 Downing Street after 10 years as British Prime Minister. In this lesson, let's study some vocabu…

Hardly a day passes without the terrible conflict in Iraq making the news headlines. In this lesson, lesson 56, we'll study vocabulary which will allow us to offer an opinion on a situation for which…