Free audio to teach you how to say thank you in French in the most common ways and occasions.

The most used French word that expresses thank you is ‘merci‘. If you want to express more gratitude, you say ‘merci beaucoup‘ which means "thank you very much".

Merci comes from the more formal French phrase: ‘Je vous remercie‘ which translates into: I thank you.

Another cute way to express gratitude and some added affection is the phrase ‘C’est gentil‘ : it’s kind.

How to say thank you in French : audio

A very common situation where you would say thank you is when ordering food or a drink in a restaurant or a pub or when shopping people hand you things:

• Waiter: S’il vous plaît! (please)
• You: Merci!(thank you)
• Waiter: Voilà! (please as in: ‘take this’)
• You: Merci beaucoup! (thank you)
• Waiter : De rien! (you are welcome)

Download the audio to learn how to say thank you in French.

• Learn French Music Learn French fast and fun by listening to your favorite French music for free and our best ways to learn French: take for example the French music from Aicha.   Learn French music vocabulary   When it comes to learning French or any language for that matter, you know that......
• How to say five in French Learn how to say five in French: cinq, with free French flashcard: sounds like "sank"....

Learn how to say five in French: listen and repeat the French audio below:

Hear French pronunciation how do you say five in French – mp3 – 8kb

How do you say 5 in French

As you can hear: five in French sounds like the English word ‘sank’ but pronounced as if you closed your nose by pressing your fingers on it. Always try to make your own French flash cards using an image that makes you immediately remember the French translation.

Five translated in the French language becomes cinq, where "in" stands for a typical French nasal sound.

Learn more about French numbers in How to count in French.

• Learn French Free Speak French fast when you join our Learn French Free course. Free French language courses using free French flashcards, audio and fun video. First French lesson starts June, 2.   What French will you learn for free?   In our series of free French language courses you will learn......
• How to say how are you in French Listen to the most common ways how to say how are you in French: part of our free French language lessons online: French greetings.   Listen how to say how are you in French   Download and listen to the French audio how to say how are you in......

See, hear and learn the 3 most common ways to say how are you in French: comment-allez vous, comment vas-tu and (comment) ça va?

When my niece who learned how to speak French taking French classes saw me this new year, she greeted me with : ‘comment-allez vous?’ in order to ask me how are you in French. Quite impressive for the following reason:

Comment-allez vous is the most formal and polite way to ask somebody how are you in French. When you are amongst friends, you would use the more informal or casual way to say how are you: comment vas-tu?

• Comment means "how" in French.
• Allez-vous and vas-tu are 2 ways to say "go you" in French: the first way is the formal and utterly polite way, the latter is the one you will use amongst your friends or who-ever you feel related to on a similar level (colleagues at work, your brothers and sisters…).

Then there is the third way to say how are you in French that you will hear a lot: (comment) ça va? , translated from French to English as : "it goes"? If you only want to remember one way of saying how are you in French, then remember ça va:

• as you can both use it in formal and informal conversation – be it more informal than formal – and
• it’s a perfect way to say "that all goes well".

However if you want to impress people with your politeness, then repeat what my niece said: comment allez-vous? You can’t go wrong with this way of saying how are you in French. And when the French person feels that you are ‘allowed’ to use the more casual way of saying how are you in French, he will answer your question with comment vas-tu.

How to say how are you in French audio examples

Below some common phrases that you can hear when you greet somebody in French,
illustrated with images from Megavocab Rocket French – the best way to learn over 1000 common French phrases easily:

 Buy Megavocab Rocket French now for only $99.97

How are you in French audio transcript

• Comment allez-vous? How are you? (formal-polite)
• Comment ça va? How are things going with you?
• Bonjour. Goodmorning / Goodday
• Comment ça va? How are things going with you?
• (Pas) très bien. (Not) very well.
• Et vous? And you? (formal-polite)
• Et toi? Comment vas-tu? And you? How are you (in a more casual French way)

If you want to learn more common French words and speak French fluently in 3 months, we recommend you buy Megavocab Rocket French now for only $99.97 and leave us your comments in the French you learn!

• Learn French Music Learn French fast and fun by listening to your favorite French music for free and our best ways to learn French: take for example the French music from Aicha.   Learn French music vocabulary   When it comes to learning French or any language for that matter, you know that......
• How to say how are you in French Listen to the most common ways how to say how are you in French: part of our free French language lessons online: French greetings.   Listen how to say how are you in French   Download and listen to the French audio how to say how are you in......

Learn French music vocabulary

• When it comes to learning French or any language for that matter, you know that the more you repeat the words, the more you will remember them.
   
• You also know that some songs just stick into your memory and can go on and on when you wish they wouldn’t…

Combine these 2 learning methods and you have just found yourself the best way to learn French but…

Don’t go learning the French songs by hearth: just listen to your favorite French music and pay special attention to words and expressions you can use every day when you travel to France.

Learn where to find French music for free

Just go to Youtube and look for French Music or French Songs and add the words lyrics if you prefer as some videos will even display the vocabulary of the French music you want to learn from, like the learn French music video we made for you below:

Now don’t break your head in memorizing all the French words in a French song, but do concentrate on French vocabulary that you could use every day. In the above video "Aicha" from Cheb Khaled, very common French expressions and words are:

• Comme ci, comme ça: soso
• à côté de: next to
• moi: me
• sans: without 
• j’ai: I have
• prends: take
• tout est pour toi: all is for you
• voici: take (when you hand something to somebody)
• les bijoux: jewels (not to confuse with bisous: kisses!)
• aussi:also
• miel: honey
• si tu m’aimes: if you love me
• où: where
• dans:in, inside
• rien: nothing
• beau / belle : beautiful
• écoute-moi: listen to me
• t’en vas pas: do not go
• regarde moi: look at me
• reponds-moi: answer me
• ciel: sky
• les rayons du soleil: the rays of the sun,
• tes yeux: your eyes
• je vaux mieux que tout ça: I am worth more than that
• Je veux: I want
• droit: right
• chaque jour: each day,
• je ne veux que l’amour: I want only love "

That’s about 60 common French words you will learn by just listening to this French music. Of course in order to learn French even faster, you need to learn from the French music you love the most, so do browse around in your record shop or online at Youtube.

• Learn French Free Speak French fast when you join our Learn French Free course. Free French language courses using free French flashcards, audio and fun video. First French lesson starts June, 2.   What French will you learn for free?   In our series of free French language courses you will learn......
• Learn French In France Would you like to learn French in France? Then read on which level to choose, which French city you will love and how you prepare yourself best for your French course in France.   In this post you will learn:   how to choose a French course that suits......

Speak French fluently: free and fun way to learn how to count in French. Look, listen and repeat to learn French numbers pronunciation.

Numbers 1 to 10 in French

Learn French numbers from 0 to 10 in the video below.

French numbers up to 100

The best way to learn French is only learning the numbers from 0 to 10 in one day or week if you only have little time daily to learn French at home.

Learning French numbers should be done in stages, as counting in French is a bit odd.

French language schools will give you a list of all French number to memorize. Unfortunately, your memory will get stuck pretty fast when you need to learn French words without any context. Praise yourself once your learned how to count in French from 0 to 10 and stop there!

If you want to say and speak French numbers to 100 or to any amount, just read each French number separately. That explains why we added 0 to the list of French numbers 1 to 10.

Learning French numbers : Words sound different than how they are written

You will notice that only now we will show you the French spelling of the French numbers. This is because you will notice that not all written letters in the French language are pronounced:

How to count in French from 0 to 10 :

• zéro = 0
   
• un = 1
   
• deux = 2
   
• trois = 3
   
• quatre = 4
   
• cinq = 5
   
• six = 6
   
• sept = 7
   
• huit = 8
   
• neuf = 9
   
• dix = 10
   

Written letters you don’t pronounce:

• de ‘x’ in the number dix is pronounced as an ‘s’ and you won’t hear it at all in the French number deux
   
• you don’t hear the ‘p’ in the French number sept
   
• you don’t pronounce the ‘s’ in the French number trois

Why do the French write letters they don’t pronounce?

Because French spelling still looks like how it was around the 1600′s. However French pronunciation has evolved since, especially more letters have been "swallowed" but still need to be written.

That’s why you best learn how to speak French by first listening and repeating the French words, before you go into the spelling. This method will ensure you to learn French quickly, more quickly than starting to learn French based on a textbook.

That’s why we recommend you to learn French by listening to the 31 French audio tutorials (for less than $100 with money back guarantee!). With these French audio tutorials, you can learn French easily by listening and learn French in your car or sofa.

How to count to 10 in French

Today in your online French course you learned how to count to 10 in French. You will learn all French numbers in our future free French courses.

People will always write down French numbers on your bill, on a price tag, so we cover more French numbers in our future French language lessons about going to the restaurant and going shopping.

• How are you in French   In this free French lesson you will   learn how to say how are you in French  what to do when people continue the conversation.   How to say how are you in French   Look and listen how in the video French friends say hello how are you......
• Learn French In France Would you like to learn French in France? Then read on which level to choose, which French city you will love and how you prepare yourself best for your French course in France.   In this post you will learn:   how to choose a French course that suits......

Listen to the most common ways how to say how are you in French: part of our free French language lessons online: French greetings.

Listen how to say how are you in French

Download and listen to the French audio how to say how are you in French (mp3, 4KB)

• Polite: Bonjour. Comment allez-vous? Goodday/hello, how are you?
   
• Casual: Salut. Comment vas-tu? Hi, how are you?
   
• Pas mal. Not bad.

Learn how to speak French by simply listening and repeating the above French words as good as you can.

Casual hi, how are you in French.

In this online French class you will learn the difference between the formal and casual French language.

When talking to friends or family, the French say: Comment vas-tu? These French words literary translate to English as:

• comment : how
   
• vas : you go (casual)
   
• tu : you (casual)

When the French become more formal and start talking to people they respect or meet for the first time, the French say Comment allez-vous? These French words literary translate to English as:

When talking to friends or family, the French say: Comment vas-tu? These French words literary translate to English as:

• comment : how
   
• allez : you go (formal)
   
• vous : you formal)

Casual ‘tu’ – formal ‘vous’

The French have 2 ways of translating the word "you":

• When talking to friends, they will use tu when they want to point to one person.
   
• When talking to people they never saw before or in any case they want to point to more than one person, they will use vous.

French language courses will give you an extensive list when to use ‘tu‘
or ‘vous‘ but:

Rule of thumb: always use vous!

The first time you meet a French person, he will address you with "vous". When you get to know each other better (after a few bottles of French wine or after a few days interacting with each other on a more personal level), suddenly the French person will start using "tu".

Once that happens, you can safely start using "tu" as well. As usual follow the golden rules:

• be a parrot: always repeat what you hear
   
• in France, do what the French do

Hello, how are you in French – Not bad.

Listen again to the French audio how to say how are you in French and notice the last sentence:

• Pas mal : Not bad

For now just notice that when you see the word "pas" in a French sentence, the French are expressing "not …":

• pas bien : not good
   
• pas mal : not bad

How to say how are you in French summary

This French lesson seems short but you learned 2 very important things in the French language:

• the difference between formal and casual French
   
• an introduction how the French say ‘not’

Read our previous post to learn more ways how to say how are you in French.

• How are you in French   In this free French lesson you will   learn how to say how are you in French  what to do when people continue the conversation.   How to say how are you in French   Look and listen how in the video French friends say hello how are you......
• How are you in French See, hear and learn the 3 most common ways to say how are you in French: comment-allez vous, comment vas-tu and (comment) ça va?...

Enjoy speaking French greetings in less than 10 minutes! Download this free French language CD snippet. Listen and repeat the French words to learn how to speak French fast: about 10 minutes from now you will be able to fluently pronounce and remember all common French greetings!

Common French greetings

Did you ever tell yourself: "I want to learn French but I don’t have any time to enroll in a French course"?

The good news is that you can speak French or learn any language for that matter at home. Better still, thanks to French language CDs you can learn French anytime, anywhere.

These French language CDs will make you learn French easily, just like you learned your mother language: by listening and repeating.

Download these French Greetings (782KB – Learn French mp3) as an example. You will not only hear the French greetings, but you will be asked to repeat them. After you finished listening and repeating the French words, you will be surprised how fast they are embedded in your memory already.

Learn French greetings

Download and listen to the French Greetings anywhere you can: in your car, going to your office or in the shower and make sure you repeat the French words out loud!

This way you will learn French greetings without any effort as you can rewind the audio over and over again.

Greetings in French:

• Paul: Salut Claire.
• Claire: Salut, Paul. Comment ça va?
• Paul: Bien merci, et toi?
• Claire: Je vais très bien.

French language translation to English:

• Paul: Hi Claire.
• Claire: Hi Paul. How’s it going?
• Paul: Good thanks, and you?
• Claire: I’m going very well. (I am very fine)

French Christmas greetings

"Joyeux Noël" are the French greeting words you will hear around Christmas. Listen to the French pronunciation at : French Christmas Greetings.

How to greet people in French

You can have a look in our previous post how to greet someone in French: it does involve kissing… French greetings and salutations do differ depending on where you are in France:

• most greeting in French is accompanied by one kiss on the left cheek and one on the right

• in the south of France, the French greet by kissing once on the right once on the left
   
• in Paris you could get double as much kisses: right, left right left
   
• and in the west of France people will only give one kiss.

When you are new in France, you simply don’t join in the kissing and stick to the French greeting phrases you learned in the audio of this page.

When you don’t know when to use formal French greetings, informal greetings or French business greetings you have 2 options:

1. always use Bonjour: as that’s both a formal as informal greeting, or:
    
2. simply repeat the French language greetings you heard when the French person greeted you.

Simply repeating what you hear is the most simple and always accurate way to greet people in France!

Learning French greetings with French language CDs

Today you have learned not only the most common French greetings, you also learned that you can learn French fast by just listening to French language CDs.

When you are serious about learning French and you want to speak French fast and fluently, we do recommend you buy the complete set of French Language CDs now and learn more French words in the next few minutes! (Only $99.97: that’s 3 cent less than what I charge for 1 hour of teaching French.)

• How to say how are you in French Listen to the most common ways how to say how are you in French: part of our free French language lessons online: French greetings.   Listen how to say how are you in French   Download and listen to the French audio how to say how are you in......
• How to say hello in French Listen to the 2 most used words in French and learn how to say hello in French.   This introduction to our free French lessons will teach you about French pronunciation, the French 'u' and the French nasal sounds.   Hello in French   In order to help you......

In this free French lesson you will

• learn how to say how are you in French
   
• what to do when people continue the conversation.

How to say how are you in French

Look and listen how in the video French friends say hello how are you in French:

• Hello, how are you : Salut, ça va?
   
• "Fine" : Ça va.

Listen and look for the basics in any conversation

There are 2 ways learning how to speak French:

1. learn to speak French only using your memory to learn French words and phrases
    
2. learn to speak French using your whole body: your eyes, ears, imagination and gut feeling!

Even when you don’t understand any French words, or you switch off the volume of the above French video:

• your gut feeling tells you that these French people are greeting each other
   
• your imagination tells you that they are most likely asking how are you, and you, and what do we do next?

When you want to learn French fast: your imagination is your best friend. Both when it comes to learning French online, offline and especially when you follow French language courses in France:

• although languages use different words,
   
• people do communicate the same things over and over!

In most situations:

• you will be able to imagine and guess what the other person is saying, and
   
• your guessing will improve once you learn to recognise some basic French words.

Look back at the French greetings video above. Knowing that ça va literary means: it goes, try to figure out what the girl called Charlotte at the end is saying to the guys?

• without understanding any words, you see that they are all leaving together…
   
• when you did understand the girl saying "On y va?", you recognized the word va, which means ‘go’
   
• so what do you guess she said?
  Right, Charlotte said: "Let’s go!".

Better than French language courses in France

Yabla French provides a great way to practice your guessing and listening skills.

In stead of following French language courses in France where people speak and speak and speak, Yabla French offers you French videos from native French people with a "guess the missing word game"

All you need to do is look at the French video, listen to the French words and guess the missing French word. It’s a great way to improve your guessing skills and trust me: no other French course will teach you the importance of guessing.

Try Yabla out now! For only $9.95/month or less than 35¢ per day you can improve your French guessing skills using their huge inventory of French videos for all learn French levels: from French beginners till French experts.

Go and watch learn French videos now, with 7-day Money Back Guarantee.

How are you in French Video transcript

Before reading the French words below, your best way to learn the French language is watch the French video again and guess what they are trying to say.

Improving your guessing skills by watching peoples body language increases understanding the French words for 90%!

• Salut! Ça va? (Hi! It goes?, meaning ‘How are you?’)
   
• Ça va. Et toi? (It goes, meaning: ‘fine’. And you)
   
• Ça va. (I’m fine)

• Ça va?
   
• Ça va. Et toi?

• Salut!
   
• Salut Charlotte!Ça va?
   
• Ça va bien et toi? (I’m very well and you?, bien means well)
   
• Très bien… (very well, très means very) Salut Miloud …Ça va?
   
• Ça va. Et toi?
   
• Très bien. On y va? (Shall we go?, literary translated: one there go?)
   
• D’accord. (OK.)

If you want to remember anything from today’s French lesson is that you need to improve your imagination and guessing skill in order to learn French quick. You will learn how to speak French much quicker than when you only would rely on reading words in French language courses.

French kissing

Again, people all over the world want to express the same things but do it in different ways.

In Rome, do what the Romans do. In France, do what the French do. When it comes to French greetings, the French tend to kiss each other twice (one left, one right). If you don’t want to ruin a French girl’s make-up, do kiss the air left and right!

La bise, translated to ‘the kiss’, is the usual way French friends greet each other. When you visit France and get to know French people better, they could ask: on se fait la bise? Shall we kiss?

Again, listen for the basic word "bise", and you will know what they are trying to say or do

If you are not fond about giving and receiving kisses, you can equally well shake hands in France. Just be prepared for la bise when you decide to study French in France .

French greeting tips

The easiest way to greet anybody in France is starting out with a simple ‘Bonjour‘ which translates to "GoodDay" (listen to the French audio for Bonjour at our previous online French course: How to say hello in French)

Even when entering a waiting room or boarding a bus, the French will mutter bonjour as a general greeting to everyone within earshot.

How are you in French summarized

I can hear you saying: ‘eh, we hardly didn’t learn any new French words nor French phrases today’. (did you notice you learned the very useful French phrases for ‘very good’, ‘let’s go’ and OK – have a look again at the video!)

In this second of our French language lessons I wanted to emphasize that there is more to learning French than memorizing words out of a French course book:

• look and listen to the French person
   
• try to understand basic French words
   
• imagine what he or she wants from you or tries to say to you
   
• act accordingly
   
• answer accordingly when you learn more French words and French phrases in our next course

The only mistakes when speaking and learning French are: closing your ears, mouth and imagination! Other than that: communicate in any way possible!

So how are you in French now? Ça va?

• Learn French Free Speak French fast when you join our Learn French Free course. Free French language courses using free French flashcards, audio and fun video. First French lesson starts June, 2.   What French will you learn for free?   In our series of free French language courses you will learn......
• Learn French Music Learn French fast and fun by listening to your favorite French music for free and our best ways to learn French: take for example the French music from Aicha.   Learn French music vocabulary   When it comes to learning French or any language for that matter, you know that......

Listen to the 2 most used words in French and learn how to say hello in French.

This introduction to our free French lessons will teach you about French pronunciation, the French ‘u’ and the French nasal sounds.

Hello in French

In order to help you in learning to speak French well, you need French audio. We recommend the French tapes / French cds from Rocket French (99.95$ with Money Back Guarantee). Listen to the snippet below to say hello in French:

» Audio 1 Click to hear French Audio

• Hi, how are you? Salut, ça va?
   
• How are you? Ça va?

Hello in French is : Salut

• The letter t is not pronounced and
   
• you have to pucker your lips as if giving a kiss and then pronounce the u.

How are you is translated with saying literary : It goes? Ça va?

Notice that Ç , (a c with a 5 underneath) is one of the French ways of depicting an S sound.

Hello how are you in French?

Try to repeat the French audio as is without looking at the transcript of the French audio because… the French writing will confuse you in the beginning! We will explain more in detail below.

Transcript of the French audio:

• Good day madam : Bonjour Madame.
   
• Good day sir : Bonjour Monsieur.

• Hello Paul, is it going well today : Salut Paul, ça va bien aujourd’hui?

French nasal sounds

French people use "their noses" not only to eat their delicious French food, but also to pronounce what is called "nasal sounds".

Nasal sounds are like trying to speak without opening your mouth and you will feel a kind of humming vibration in your nose!

When a French vowel (a,e,i,o,u) is followed by m or n, the ‘m’ or ‘n’ is silent and the vowel should be pronounced in your nose :

the sound made when kids close there noses to act as if they are speaking on the phone.

» Audio 2 Click to hear French Audio

Listen and repeat as good as you can, open your mouth as little as possible:

• French nasal sounds like un :
   
• un (1)
   
• French nasal sounds like in :
   
• cinq 5), quinze 15), vingt (20)
   
• sounds like en :
   
• trente (30), Henri, Jean, comment (how)
   
• sounds like on :
   
• onze (11), bonjour (good day, hello), bonsoir (good evening), Simon

French greetings

French greetings are the first phrases you can use immediately when learning French.

Equally important are the responses to the greetings. When you have a sharp ear are a master parrot, you French greeting could be just repeating the same phrase as the one you heard when a French person greeted you.

When you learn French in France or travel to France for holidays, you will hear French greetings on a daily basis, so you will internalize them fast. Just go greeting every French person you see in the streets!

How to say hello in French summarized

• Casual ‘Hi", ‘Hello’ : Salut
   
• Casual and formal : Bonjour

 Notice that what the French write doesn’t look the same as what you hear.

Be aware of French nasal sounds written like "an", "in", "en", "on" and "un".

• Learn French Free Speak French fast when you join our Learn French Free course. Free French language courses using free French flashcards, audio and fun video. First French lesson starts June, 2.   What French will you learn for free?   In our series of free French language courses you will learn......
• How to say how are you in French Listen to the most common ways how to say how are you in French: part of our free French language lessons online: French greetings.   Listen how to say how are you in French   Download and listen to the French audio how to say how are you in......

Would you like to learn French in France? Then read on which level to choose, which French city you will love and how you prepare yourself best for your French course in France.

In this post you will learn:

• how to choose a French course that suits your needs
   
• where exactly to study French in France
   
• what questions you need to ask before enrolling in a French course.

Learning French in France is fun. Add to that the enormous amount of French you will learn in a very short tome by being immersed in French day in and day out.

Why following French courses in France

My friend Amy had studied French before, but not in France. She did her French studies in college a long time ago and had started to study again with various French books, tapes, software and Rocket French.

But she didn’t study as much as day-to-day things kept getting in her way. That all changed when she enrolled in a French language school.

That’s why you need to find a "Study French in France program": far away from home and from your daily chores so you can focus 24/7 on learning how to speak French.

Which French language school do you choose?

Once you decide to study French in France, the hardest part is deciding which program to enroll in and which French language school to enroll in. Numerous French courses are available in all parts of France.

You mainly need to decide if you want to:

• study French in a large city in France,
   
• learn French in a small town in France or
   
• take French lessons tucked away on the countryside in France.

Each offers distinct advantages:

• learning French in a city offers more choices in terms of cultural activities and restaurants.
   


• small towns provide a better opportunity to interact with French people and get a real feel for the local French culture.
   


• French language schools situated in the countryside normally provide the most opportunities for
  outdoors activities and are ideal to combine with a French holiday.

Why are you learning French?

It is also important to consider why you want to study French and what you hope to gain from studying French in France.

There is a big difference between someone who has a professional need to study French and people who learns French to feel more comfortable when shopping and dining in restaurants when traveling through France.

Determining how much time you want to devote to your study French in France is also a factor.

French courses in France

The French courses in France tend to fall into three general categories:

1. standard French course
    


2. intensive French course
    


3. immersion French course
    

1. Standard French courses

Standard French courses offer two to four hours of daily formal classroom instruction.

In the afternoons you are free to do as you like. Some French schools will plan activities for you for an additional fee.

2. Intensive French courses

Intensive French courses follow a curriculum similar to those in the standard French study programs in France program. However, they are supplemented by afternoon French classes that allow you to :

• improve your French conversational skills,
   
• acquire specific professional French vocabulary, or
   
• learn more about the French culture.

Both standard French course and intensive French course programs tend to group students by language ability through placement testing.

The quality and intensity of these French language tests varies:

• some French schools may ask you to complete the test (on the honor system) prior to arrival
   
• others French courses administer the test on the first day of the French class.

Before going to study French in France, try to understand what type of testing your French school offers:

• is it French vocabulary,
   
• French grammar, or
   
• French reading comprehension?
   
• Does the French assessment also include an evaluation of French speaking and French listening skills?

If you study French in France and after a class or two, you feel that you are over your head or totally bored, do request a change to another French course or level!

3. Immersion French courses

French immersion courses are exactly what the name implies. You are “immersed” in the French language continually during the day and evening.

A typical day consists of :

• French breakfast,
   
• instruction in French grammar and French comprehension,
   
• French lunch and
   
• an afternoon excursion in France.

During these French activities you participate in French conversation with the French instructors
and other students in French language. Your French pronunciation, French vocabulary, and French grammar will constantly be corrected.

Dinner typically concludes the day, although sometimes there is an evening activity like a French movie or French concert.

Your French instructors hope "that you go to sleep dreaming in the French language".

While exhausting, a French immersion program enables you to improve your French language skills rapidly, particularly in the area of French communication.

The downside of a French immersion program can be that the French learning experience is too intense and often stressful.

Immersion programs are not for the casual student but more for people who have a professional or personal need to speed their knowledge in the French language quickly.

A French immersion course is often based in the home of the French instructor(s). When this is not the case, French students are usually housed in a hotel nearby.

These language courses are normally limited to fewer than six students.

Some French schools will try to place French students in groups based on their French language levels, but many French schools do not. Why? Because a mixed group more realistically mirrors the real world, where you will encounter French people with different levels of ability and French regional accents.

Always check the size of your French class in advance!

Whichever type French learning program you choose, remember that the French class size is very important.

Experts agree that for French learning or for improving French language skills: six or fewer French students is ideal.

Before you spend your money learning French in France, do inquire as to what happens if there are only one or two French students of a particular level. Many French schools will then reduce the number of French class hours (but not the French tuition) proportionately:

Your 3-hour French class based on six students could turn into an hour and a half French class if only you and one other student are present.

Housing when learning French in France

Most French language courses in France will help arrange housing for you. Housing options can range from:

• staying in a French hotel,
   
• staying in a studio apartment in a French student residence or
   
• boarding with a French family.

The location of your accommodation is important. You do not want to spend a large part of day traveling to and from your French school.

One French school in Paris offered a boarding situation that required three changes of Metro lines and was barely within the city limits. Although interesting to improve your French skills in using the metro, you don’t go to France to learn how to ride their public transport!

 

Do inform yourself about your accommodation in advance when you want to learn French in France.

 

Learn French in France speaking countries

What is similar to learning French in France but outside of France? Maybe you live close by one of the following countries where French is widely spoken?

There are many excellent French programs in Switzerland, Belgium and Canada: all countries where one of the national languages is the French language.

Learn French in France summarized

• know why you want to learn French in order to choose for:
   
• location (cultural city vs small town with lots of people interacting with you)
   
• what kind of French course you want to follow (immersion, intensive, standard language course)
   
• ask in advance:
   
• how far is your accommodation located from your French school?
   
• what happens if there are only 1 or 2 students enrolled in the French class?

And ask yourself whether it wouldn’t be easier and cheaper to study French in other countries than France like Belgium or Canada.

• How to say how are you in French Listen to the most common ways how to say how are you in French: part of our free French language lessons online: French greetings.   Listen how to say how are you in French   Download and listen to the French audio how to say how are you in......
• Best way to learn French The best way to learn French is to use a fun French course that has audio examples and teaches you French quick and easy.   In teaching my students French I use the online course Rocket French because it can be used without a teacher. Some of my students......