French is and always has been one of the most popular languages for English speakers to learn all over the world.
Whether it's with language learning apps, French videos, French websites, or French podcasts, there are plenty of ways you can learn what many think is one of the world's most beautiful languages.
If you've decided that French is the right language for you to learn, we've got plenty of tips to help you find the best resources and teachers.
A lot of aspiring francophones learn French online, but this mostly means using websites and apps. That isn't to say that these can't be invaluable resources for students, but you sometimes need the human touch to start speaking French fluently.
In this article, Superprof is going to help you in your search for the perfect French teacher.
Work Out the Finer Details of Why You Want to Learn French
Firstly, who will you be learning French with? Are going to learn on your own, with your partner, family members, or your kids?
Some people want to learn French because they have family connections in French-speaking countries like France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
Others have no connection but want to learn the language to learn more about them, connect with the people who live there, or even move to one of these countries to work or study. Learning a second language can also benefit your career, even if you don't specifically use your second language as part of your job.
These are all things you need to consider when learning French and choosing the right resources and approaches for your language-learning journey.
Perhaps you'd be willing to learn French online with a tutor or teacher via webcam.
Let's see how you can find the best teachers online.
Learn French Online with Italki
Italki offers thousands of teachers and hundreds of different languages. While all these different languages are nice, we'll only concern ourselves with French teachers today.
Once you've signed up, there are a bunch of videos introducing the various French teachers on the site. You can watch these videos and choose the teacher that seems right for you. This is just one of many great websites for learning French so don't head over the Italki just yet.
When browsing potential French teachers, you can also look at their profiles and see what their other students had to say about them. It's also important that you find a tutor or teacher whose schedule lines up with yours.
With online tutoring and French lessons, it's much easier to schedule lessons as neither of you will need to travel anywhere to have a lesson. On Italki, you can block in a time and a date on the teacher's appointment page and you'll soon be enjoying your first French lesson with them.
Italki recognises that private tutoring should be adapted to the student and not the other way around. With private tutoring and online teachers, you won't have a strict curriculum to follow and your teacher can make sure every lesson focuses on what you want and need to learn in French.
These services aren't free, though. While you won't have to pay anything upfront, you do have the pay for your lessons.
On Italki, you can also enjoy the lessons and also be an active member of the learning community on the site. You can find people to practise speaking French with, read articles, talk about things you're struggling with, and look for answers on tricky French grammar.
Learn French Online with Lingoda
Lingoda takes a different approach to teaching. Lingoda works more like a MOOC (massive open online course). In this case, your French lessons will be delivered to you online, but you'll also be one of several students "attending" the class.
The class you attend would depend on your level in French so it's important that you do a level test to work out whether your level is beginner, intermediate, or advanced. Being in a French class that's too easy or difficult would be both a waste of time and money.
With Lingoda, the classes are usually limited to around 5 students at a time so you won't just be a face in the crowd. There are also one-to-one sessions between you and your French tutor that take place via Skype, Zoom, etc.
If you're studying French at school or university, you may want tailored one-on-one tutoring that can focus on what you need to learn to pass your exams.
Lingoda's lessons line up with the Common European Framework of Reference for Language, or CEFR levels, which is regularly used to express competency in European languages.
The levels from easiest to most difficult are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. You could also consider the letters as beginner, intermediate, and advanced with 1 and 2 denoting lower and upper levels respectively. By C2 level, students speak fluently at a level close to that of native speakers.
With Lingoda, you pay a monthly subscription based on how many classes you're taking. That said, you'll pay this amount whether you attend the class or not. The classes come with learning materials and resources, though that doesn't mean you can't also find your own to use outside of class. We highly recommend listening to these great French podcasts, too.
Unlike Italki, Lingoda doesn't have an obvious learning community that you can be a part of, but if you're in group classes, there's no reason why you can't study or practise with them outside of your lessons.
Other Places You Can Learn French Online
The two platforms we've mentioned so far will adapt lessons to their students, but Learn4Good focuses fully on the student.
You'll start by outlining your goals and then teachers and tutors can offer lessons to you. Much like the other platforms, these are accredited and certified teachers and native speakers of French.
Whether you want to study French grammar lessons, focus on specific French vocabulary, or regularly practise speaking French to work towards fluency, having your own French teacher can help a lot. If you get stuck, you can always look up the word in a dictionary or use one of the best online translators.
Offline, you can also look for your local Alliance Française, which is an international organisation promoting France, French-speaking culture, and the French language around the world.
Hire an Online French Tutor
Beyond French classes through teaching platforms like the ones we've mentioned so far, you could also just hire a French tutor directly. There are plenty of websites for finding tutors as well classified ads and social media.
The main problem with going directly to private tutors is that it can be harder to check how good they are.
Learn French with a Private Tutor from Superprof!
With Superprof, you can find private tutors directly while also checking how good they are. Every tutor on the website has their own profile where you can see what their other students had to say about them.
Tutors have also been checked and vetted before they make their profile on the site so you know that they're who they say they are and have the French qualifications that they say they have.
There are tutors for all levels and budgets and whether you end up working with a native French speaker or a student who's offering French tutoring to earn some cash, you'll know exactly what you're signing up for.
If you're on a budget, students or tutors with less experience tend to charge less for private tutoring. This generally means that they're not suitable for advanced French lessons, but beginners and even intermediate students can still effectively learn French without breaking the bank.
For the very best tutors, though, you'll want experienced and qualified teachers who either speak French natively or have spoken French at a high level for years. These excellent tutors come at a cost, but you can rest assured that you're getting the best French tuition throughout every minute of your private French lessons.
Since they don't have to travel, online tutors tend to charge less than face-to-face tutors, but there are still a lot of factors that can affect how much they charge per hour, which you can see prominently displayed on their Superprof profile page.
With private French tutors, you also get to directly control the kind of French you want to learn. Not everybody has the same learning objectives so you don't need to waste money on learning French for business if you're just going to France on a family trip.
With many of the tutors on Superprof offering the first lesson for free, you can also try out a number of different French tutors before deciding on which one is right for you.
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