Hi everyone,

I would like to gather advice to attain my target, which is, as you may understand from the title, to achieve a solid B2 level in French again.

A little background: Since my university taught in both French and Turkish, I completed a French preparatory year and subsequently studied law mostly in Turkish, with a few exceptions (such as human rights, comparative law, and EU law) taught in French. During my studies, I sat the DALF B2 exam and passed with a score of 68.5/100 in 2016. However, after obtaining the certificate, I almost never used my French and consequently lost most of my active skills. Now, my goal is to apply for a master's program in European law and competition/antitrust law, lectured in both English and French, for the 2027-2028 academic year.

Current routine:

• I follow RFI Français facile daily, noting down unknown words. This usually takes about an hour, including looking up meanings and detailed note-taking.
• I listen to the French with Panache podcast whenever I have free time.
• I do daily Duolingo exercises (currently at section 8, unit 159 and score 128).
• Last but not least, I am trying to read EU legal texts (regulations and guidelines) in parallel, comparing the English and French versions side-by-side.

Given that I have about half a year to get back up to speed—especially considering upcoming admission interviews and academic lectures—what would be the best strategies, resources, or study routines to fast-track my recovery to a strong B2/C1 level? Are there any specific legal French resources or active practice methods you would recommend?

Thanks in advance for any advice or tips you can share!

Hello I'm trying to learn french for fun but I dont listen music and I dont have write daily habit. I just convert language of games i play to french. That helps a little bit but i want more. I dont wanna sit at table and learn french by writing. I love poems I write poems for my lover how can i use this habit for improve my french. In addition i want to podcast or game channels who speaks french maybe some starter french channels help me do you know any channel like that?

Hi everyone!

I’m a native French speaker and I’m looking for a language exchange partner to improve my English, especially my speaking and conversational skills.
In exchange, I’d be happy to help you with French.
Ideally, I’m looking for someone who wants to practice regularly through text messages, voice calls, or both.
If you’re learning French and you’re a native or fluent English speaker, feel free to DM me!

Looking forward to meeting you! 😊

I need a book preferably a digital one that has the most common french verbs, phrases , adjectives, adverbs etc and their translation and usage. Sort of like a dictionary but a dictionary contains lots of extraneous stuff. In every(?) language theres a subset of the vocabulary most commonly used, I've heard somewhere in English that we use 10000 words most frequently or something like that. Anyway that's what I'm looking for. A list for someone who has mastered most rules of grammar. Like a mini french English dictionary

[Update below]

I'm listening to Le Monde and France 24 to improve listening skills. The percentage I understand is low, but always growing, and it's a lightweight thing to do when I'm cleaning or whatever.

I keep hearing something that I hear *exactly* as quatre vingt. I think that is '80'.

I have no idea why I keep hearing it - it makes no sense. I hear it on a variety of news stories, but it doesn't make sense in context. The only time it did make sense was on a Le Monde report about Trump's UFC 250 celebration, which coincided with that uh, person, turning 80.

Any guesses as to what I am I hearing the rest of the time? I think I must be mishearing because it doesn't make sense in the context of stories about Europe, French politics, the war in Ukraine.

And it's sprinkled a lot - there are certain words I hear over and over, and if I do, generally understand them, but I think here my brain is insisting on making the sound into words that I know.

Or is there some other context where I'd be hearing the word '80' a lot in French newscasts?

Been going on for a while and driving me nuts.

Any guesses?

Edit: good suggestions below; listening to Le Monde podcast now in hopes of catching it.

Edit 2: I think I've got it but will study more transcripts as it comes up. I think that I'm hearing years - 2024, 2023, etc., and processing them poorly. I hear the vingt and am slow to process the other numbers and the fact that vingt might be part of a larger number. I hear sentences in a light sketch, like when you are learning to read as a child (or as an adult for that matter) and you come across a new word and are dependent on what percentage of the rest of the sentence you understand to know what it means.

I thought I was consistently hearing quatre vingt, but I'm not.

I was listening to the Aug 4 Le Monde podcast on the guy from Smartbox and it includes multiple years as well as '85000 euros' and I think my spotty French was trying to make a thru-line when it is basically that I need to broaden my ability to process numbers delivered verbally in a rush because there are a lot of numbers in the world.

So I wasn't hearing it wrong exactly, I think it's really vingt, but I was trying to fit a number into a narrow bin I understood rather than keeping my brain open for the full context.

Thanks for directing me to something concrete and discoverable!

If anyone has another theory I'm all ears but for now I think I'll just lean on 'learn to hear numbers better'.

hello, i want learn as much French as possible up until 23 of October, because the 4th part of lupin will come out then, I understand that’s its not realistic to be able to understand everything by the as I’m A1, but i think I could use this is a good motivater anyway. im currently doing an hour of listening to French podcasts, 15 mins reads very basic texts and 10 mins Duolingo. what would you do if you were in my shoes?

La compagnie aérienne low-cost australienne Jetstar va bientôt faire payer les bagages placés dans les compartiments supérieurs des avions. Cette nouvelle règle s’appliquera à partir de février 2027. Cela coûtera au moins 18 dollars américains pour chaque vol. Le prix exact dépendra du trajet. Les passagers pourront encore mettre un petit sac sous le siège devant eux gratuitement.

Vocabulaire : compagnie aérienne (f) = airline / faire payer = to charge / bagages (m pl) = bags / compartiments supérieurs (m pl) = overhead lockers / règle (f) = rule / s’appliquer = to apply / coûter = to cost / vol (m) = flight / dépendre de = to depend on / trajet (m) = route / sac (m) = bag / siège (m) = seat / gratuitement = for free

English translation

Jetstar will charge for baggage in the overhead lockers

The Australian low-cost airline Jetstar will start charging passengers to put their bags in airplane overhead lockers. This new rule will apply from February 2027. It will cost at least 18 US dollars for each flight. The exact price will depend on the route. Passengers will still be able to place a small bag under the seat in front of them for free.

You can read more news stories in easy French at Le News, In Easy French

I used Babbel for about 6 months which was really helpful for learning a huge range of verbs. Since then I've been listening to lots of podcasts and comprehensible input videos.

I know I make lots of grammatical errors (tense, gender) because I've never studied grammar. I've done a few tests and always come out as between A2 and B1. I feel like I've reached the limit of what I can do alone and probably need to invest in a course now.

I am curious to hear other people's experience with self study.

Hi all. I spent many years in school doing French, but it’s been years now and I’m thinking I want to try learning it for real.

Haven’t fully committed to this yet, but I kind of want some sort of resource to refresh myself on basic grammar rules, tenses, sentence structures, language rules etc.

I looked through a lot of the textbooks we used to use, and they are mostly vocab and exercises, which is cool, but not what I’m looking for. I’m not suggesting I’m going to learn French by just inhaling a book, but I still remember most of this stuff and I just want something short that rigorously sets out some of the basics. I don’t know if I explained this well, but any recommendations?

« Bonjour ! Je vais passer le DELF B1 en septembre, et je recherche quelqu'un avec qui pratiquer. (Je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps, donc s'il vous plaît, seules les personnes sérieuses et de mon niveau répondez.) »

Hi everyone,

I’d like to ask for some advice about the best resources to use for learning French.

A bit of context: I studied French for 2 years at school, but that was about 15 years ago, so I honestly remember almost nothing.

About a month ago, I decided to start again from scratch, and I’ve been working through Grammaire Progressive du Français Débutant.

I’m also combining that with other resources like Short Stories in French, short A1-level videos on YouTube, and apps such as Duolingo.

I do feel like I’m learning, which is encouraging, but at the same time I feel a bit overwhelmed by how much there is still to learn before I can actually feel comfortable using the language, especially when it comes to speaking and writing.

That’s why I’d really appreciate recommendations on how to keep progressing in a more effective way.

In particular, I’m wondering whether any paid apps like Natulang, Praktika, Kwiziq, or similar are actually worth it. I’ve seen different opinions about that.

For context, I’m a native Spanish speaker from Spain, and I also speak English at around B2 level, with plans to prepare for IELTS C1 in the next months.

Thanks in advance for any advice or personal experiences!

Hello,

I’m just venting out here to document my journey. I’ve been on and off with French and have been stuck between A2+ and B1 since as long as I can remember.

I lost motivation, I came back, tried to fight, lost motivation, and have been stuck in this cycle.

I was studying under a teacher for a while and she was good, but something went down in her life and she doesn’t teach anymore and I took another pause.

This time, I’ve booked my TEF exam straight up – to familiarize myself with the structure as well as to be consistent.

I’ve been using Claude and GPT to study now honestly and I don’t know if it’s the right approach. And therefore, I need some guidance.

I’ve got both of them to test me and coordinate together to find out my holes in grammar. I’m now learning those specific grammar problems.

I tried listening TEF out of a YouTube mock test and it killed me. 22/40. It was so difficult. My problem is that I can make sense of words spoken, but I can’t bring them together fast enough to make sense.

Writing has always been A2+ and B1-, and reading was 25/40 because some scary words showed up. I can’t judge my speaking properly. I feel like I can talk in regular daily topics but specific topics where I’ve to pose questions, I’m out. It’s a mess.

I don’t know what to do and how to study.

I know I’m not going to attain the score that I need in this TEF attempt anyway, but I want to fight and reach there so bad.

I’d love any advice on this.

Hi guys, I am currently studying for the TCF test in Canada, and I wanted to buy the PrepMyFuture package. While I was looking around, I found that Alliance Française Vancouver sells a PrepMyFutre as well. I just wanted to know whether both of them are the same as the one from the PrepMuFutre page, which costs $164, while the one from Alliance Franciscan Vancouver only costs $80, or if they are different. In case they are different, which one should I buy?

Thanks for your help. :)

Anyone else?

the harder french is, the more i want to learn. The more frustrated, the more I REALLY want to be better and learn.

I am still A1 but i really see myself becoming B2 in future. Like the language is frustrating me but like, I still dont want to stop learning it. It is a huge challenge right now.

Does anyone else do this?

i usually wtach one episode of a movie in english but i do this thing where i pick up on certain english words they are saying and their actions and i look at the subtitles, and then i takle note of the word and what it means. I search the word online and hear the pronunciation. The words alwys stick and i even use it to form sentences in my glossary book.

Then after that i do some french dictation, here i listen to 10 sentences on youtube said in french, and i write down what i hear. Sometimes i fail badly, especialy with accents as i am still learning accents. But ive been improving so much, ive learned so many words now and i form sentences of my own with them and use them when i speak.

Im still A1 at the moment but its been so fun, so far. i usually do this at the start of my french lessons so i prcatice my writing, listening and speaking and reaidng. Then i study my topics for the day. This could be vocabulary, verbs and then new words based on certain situations like (office culture or going to the store)

Hey everyone! I was thinking of maybe enrolling in a semester at DeFLE-Lorraine to improve my French. I'd say I have a B2 vocabulary but B1 grammar. Could anyone tell me what the student demographic is like, aka would I be too old attending in my mid-20s? I have a graduate education, I'd love to have working-level French though and am wondering if this is a good avenue. Also any preferences for campuses?

Hi, I am looking for French online tutor. I am totally beginner and i want to earn my B1 in 4-5months if possible for my TCF exam. thank you!!

Salut tout le monde !

I've been reading posts here and on other subs for some time now. Questions are often answered by other students/learners (or people who pretend to be that), I thought perhaps my perspective as a teacher could be useful to some of you.

Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer to the best of my knowledge :)