Nicole Baptista

Are you wondering if watching and reading the news in French can help your French language skills? Well, the answer is a big yes! It is a great opportunity to pick up new vocabulary and to practice listening to some French.

Nowadays we can get our news in so many different ways: paper format, websites, radio, YouTube, Instagram, and even via podcasts.

If you are in the process of learning French, using a mixture of these sources can really boost your French knowledge and expose you to brand new words. Today, we have put together a list of 10 different ways you can get your News in French, and some tips on how to make the most out of each of them. Let's take a look.

1. Listen to the ‘Inner French’ Podcast

This podcast is a great way to get some news in French. Each podcast talks about current issues/events in France like the upcoming Olympic games and immigration etc. There is a ‘difficulty’ rating for every podcast so you can get an image of what kind of level the speaking is. For podcasts, we highly recommend using the transcript accompanied. Reading along whilst listening will enhance your learning. To get the transcript you need to create a free account.

2. Listen to the ‘News in Slow French’ Podcast

Another wonderful podcast is News in Slow French. This podcast has material for beginner, intermediate and advanced French learners. It is very up to date on news like war and the American elections. You can get the full transcripts to the podcasts, but only through a monthly subscription payment of $23 a month.

3. Watch ‘1jour 1actu’ videos

Un jour une actu

This website is actually aimed at children, but adult French learners can get a lot out of it!

There are videos on topics such as health, sports, science and technology and culture (so you can pick up a wide variety of vocabulary). You can also learn about French culture (there is a video on who is Molière - for example). Every video comes with a transcript underneath it, plus a quiz where you can test your understanding!

4 - Watch ‘TV5 monde’

TV5 monde is a francophone TV news channel, but they also have a great website for French learners. There are many videos for French levels A1 to B2. All videos come with a transcript as well as some exercises for you to test your listening comprehension. This is a great way for French learners to stay up to date with some French news.

5. Watch ‘Learn French with Elisabeth’s’ YouTube channel

This is one of my favorite YouTube channels. Recently, Elisabeth has started creating videos about the news in French. All her videos come with subtitles in French to make the listening easier to follow along. We recommend noting down any new vocabulary you come across as you watch, and then looking up the definitions. Some of her videos are entertaining. For example the love story between Brigitte and Macron!

6. Watch ‘Hugo Décrypte’s’ YouTube channel

Hugo Décrypte is a very popular French YouTuber who posts videos every day about the current world news. Hugo does speak rather quickly, so I would only use this channel if you have a higher level of French. You can switch on the subtitles in French with the settings button. You can also follow him on both Instagram and TikTok.

7. Listen to RFi- Radio

RFi is a French radio channel with great content for French learners. They have a section for people learning French, where the news is spoken with automatic French transcripts for you to follow along. Again, it is a great idea to look up any new words you come across and keep them in a vocabulary book for you to memorize.

8. Do French exercises on the ‘RFi Francais Facile’ website

To test your French understanding, RFi has a page dedicated to French exercises for all levels (A1 to C2). First, you listen to a voice clip of the news. Then, underneath, you have a quiz which tests you on your vocabulary and understanding of what you listened to. There is then a PDF. file with the corrections, so you can check your answers. Bingo!

9 - Read ‘Le Monde’

Le Monde is one of the biggest newspapers in France. Note that you can read the articles in both French and English. To do this, click on the home page, and right at the very top you will see two options: français | english. We recommend you do read the articles in French, and then look up any new words you come across. Naturally, as it is a newspaper, the vocabulary will be quite difficult, so you will need a solid foundation of French to read Le Monde.

10. Read ‘Courrier international’

Courrier International is a weekly Paris- based newspaper that focuses on politics. It only comes in French so you may have to translate phrases and words into English. One of my favorite websites/apps to look up words is wordreference.com. You will need to make an account to read full articles on Courrier International (which is around 7€ a month).

Improve your reading skills in French with French à La Carte

if you would like to be able to improve your reading / speaking skills related to the lastest news, French à La Carte offers tailor-made private French lessons in person in Paris or online.

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10 Tips on How to Learn French with The News