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 vacances' and the return to a new school year. In this lesson we’ll hear Amélie and Alex talk about what needs to be organised before the kids go back to the classroom.

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 around. We'll learn new expressions including 'Ça marche du tonnerre!' and 'prendre un abonnement'. We'll study some verbs, too, including 'assombrir', 'se réjouir de' and 'mettre en place'.

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 examine what he said … and what he promised. We'll hear Jacques' and Laure's views on some of those promises, too…

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 precarious state of our planet. In this lesson, let’s focus on some vocabulary which relates to environmental issues. We’ll start with a role-play between Natacha and Matthieu.

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 particular. Let's listen to a conversation between Christian and Marie in which Christian chastises Marie for not standing up to her boss and saying enough is enough…

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 out how to approach this task. We'll revise the expression 'I'd like [+ infinitive]…', we'll discuss the verbs 'exister' and 'circuler' and we'll see how to respond to the expressions 'Ça fait' and 'Ça fera' when making a payment.

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 of the car hire company. We'll study the expressions 'être garé', we'll practice the Imperative in the context of giving directions and we'll discover the names of specific parts of the body of a car. Let's begin...

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 as some more specific vocabulary including 'car insurance', 'driving licence', 'deposit', 'petrol', 'a refill (of the tank)', and more.

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 groaning. So, let's learn how to say 'You never stop moaning!'. There are lots of other interesting expressions, too, including: 'You didn't have to (come, you know!)', 'Try to talk more quietly!' and 'Don't draw attention to yourself!'...

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 the basics in this short lesson. We’ll see how to ask how someone is, we’ll learn a little about the weather, and we'll see examples of 'tout' and 'toute'. Let's get going.