by Olly Richards
With modern technology constantly and rapidly evolving, learning French means you might well imagine that there are now some killer French language apps available that can turbo-charge your language learning. And that since French is one of the most popular languages, you should be spoilt for choice.
Well, yes and no. Nowadays, there are far more French learning apps that can add real value to your learning than even just a few years ago. But, there are still also plenty of duds you’ll want to avoid.
12 Of The Best French Learning Apps
So to help you sort the wheat from the chaff and discover the hits while avoiding the misses, in this post I’ll talk about finding the best French learning apps – as well as giving you 12 of my own top recommendations.
By the way, if you want to learn French through stories, not rules, my top recommendation for language learners is my Uncovered courses, which teach you through StoryLearning®. Click here to find out more about French Uncovered and try out the method for free.
#1 Busuu
If you’re looking for a French app that will help you increase your all-round knowledge of French, Busuu is a good option.
It includes an extensive suite of lessons that teach you a new language in a natural way while giving you ample opportunity to practise.
If you pay for the premium version, you also get lots of useful extras – like additional study materials and a personalised study plan.
One of the best things about this app for learning French is that when you complete a written exercise, other learners from the Busuu community can give you feedback on your work, pointing out mistakes and helping you improve. In return, you can also help other Busuu users by correcting their exercises in English or any other languages you know.
Level: All levels
Good for: All-round language practice and development
#2 Conjuu
One of the biggest challenges when learning French is mastering all the French verb conjugations. And although the best way to do this is through constant use and practice, you can also give yourself a head start by using a French learning app like Conjuu.
This app will help you master all the different verb endings of the various conjugations in French, which you can then perfect through use in more natural situations.
Level: All levels
Good for: Verb conjugations
#3 French Pod101
FrenchPod 101 is an app and website dedicated to language learning that you can use to access a wide-ranging library of French lessons for all levels. The app is subscription-based, but there are lots of different options, including several very affordable plans.
I particularly recommend the mobile subscription, which gives you access to all the lessons on your smartphone as well as allows you to listen to the dialogue tracks, listen line by line, access the lesson expansions, and more.
This is a good app for anyone looking for a source of language input that’s perfectly suited to their level. For more information, check out this honest review of FrenchPod101.
Level: All levels
Good for: All-round language input, especially vocabulary and listening
#4 Linguistica
Linguistica is the updated app that accompanies the popular News in Slow French podcast.
As you can guess, the lessons are based on topical news stories that are read out at a slower speed so learners can understand.
The app provides all the news stories for you to listen to with the accompanying text. More advanced words appear in red, and you just tap on each one for the English translation.
This is an ideal app for working on both your listening and your vocabulary. And it will help you become more confident when speaking about current affairs in French.
Level: Elementary or lower-intermediate and above
Good for: Listening and vocabulary, especially current affairs-related vocabulary
#5 Frantastique
Frantastique gives you one new lesson to work on each day, presenting new language in the form of cute animated videos and then testing you on the language you have seen. This is a good app to supplement other learning materials. It provides content for French listening practice, helps build vocabulary, and trains your grammar through exercises.
After each lesson, you then receive the results of the exercises along with information on anything you got wrong. The main downside is that you have to pay for this app. There are several levels of subscription, but none of them is cheap. However, there is the option of a free trial, so you can see if you like it before you decide to sign up.
Level: All levels
Good for: All-round French practice and daily exposure to the language
#6 Falou
For anyone who wants to work on their fluency or pronunciation, Falou is one of the French learning apps worth checking out.
It’s based on listening to and taking part in dialogues, with the app giving you feedback on the accuracy of your French pronunciation.
Since the dialogues deal with a range of different situations, it’s a great way to build your confidence in using the kind of language you’re likely to need in everyday life.
You have to pay for this app. But you get full access for the first three days to see if it works for you before you decide whether to subscribe.
Level: All levels
Good for: Speaking and pronunciation
#7 Unuhi
Unuhi is a reading and listening app aimed at younger learners.
It consists of stories in French and English (other languages are available, you just choose your native language and the one you want to learn). And you can either read the story or listen to it being read to you.
The main downside is that apart from the translation of the text on each page, there are no grammar notes and no interactive learning tools like clickable vocabulary or a word bank for new words.
The first book is free, and you then simply buy each new book or bundle you are interested in.
Level: Lower levels, aimed at younger children
Goof for: Listening and reading practice; ideal for younger learners
#8 Dr French
For many learners, grammar is the hardest part of learning French, especially via French apps. And part of the problem is that often, there is so much to cover that you don’t know where to start. In that case, Dr French could be the app you need.
It offers you help on different aspects of French grammar, giving you clear explanations as well as exercises that let you practise what you’ve covered.
The app is organised in such a way that allows you to search for specific areas you need to focus on. Or you can simply work through the whole app in sequence.
There is a one-time payment to unlock the whole app. But it isn’t especially expensive, making it worth considering if you need help with grammar.
Level: All levels, especially lower levels
Good for: Grammar explanations and exercises
#9 LyricsTraining
Learning a language through your favourite songs can be a fun and effective way of progressing. And if you're looking for a more efficient and structured way of doing it, you’ll love Lyrics Training.
You choose your level and the style of music you like, and the app finds songs for you to listen to while reading the lyrics and filling in the blanks as the song plays.
This is not an all-round learning app. But it will help build your vocabulary while also giving you exposure to French music culture.
Level: All levels, but better for elementary/lower-intermediate and above
Good for: Vocab, listening, and modern French culture
#10 LingQ
This app is particularly good since it presents new language in context through stories and other texts. You can listen to the texts or read them. And you can also click on words you don’t know for the translation and an explanation.
This is exactly the kind of app that can genuinely help you improve your French since it gives you access to a broad range of languages in many contexts and at exactly the right level for your abilities.
You have to pay for the full version. But there is an extensive library of free material. So you can use it even if you don’t want to spend any money.
Level: All levels
Good for: All-round language exposure, but especially good for listening, reading and vocabulary
#11 Tandem
No matter how many hours you spend studying French, you won’t be able to speak it unless you practise. And that’s where language exchange apps like Tandem come in.
They allow you to find language partners to practise with from around the world, giving you the opportunity to speak French every day and making using French a part of your daily life.
Tandem is one of the best for this, and you can use it to practise by typing at first, followed by voice messages. And when you’re more confident, you can even try voice or video calls.
Level: Elementary and above
Good for: Practising typing, speaking, reading, and listening with native speakers via text, voice message, and voice/video call
#12 HelloTalk
HelloTalk is similar to Tandem but also includes a few additional features. For example, as well as allowing you to find native speakers to practise with, you can also post ‘moments’ accompanied by whatever you want to write in French.
People will then ‘like’ your moments as well as give you feedback and corrections for whatever you wrote. You can then return the favour by correcting other people’s posts in English (or any other languages you know).
Level: Elementary and above
Good for: Practising typing, speaking, reading, and listening with native speakers via text, voice message, and voice/video call
What To Look For In The Best French Apps & What To Avoid
When we learn any language, we progress by seeing the language in as broad a range of contexts as possible. When we see a new word, expression, structure or grammatical form in context, this helps us understand its use. And it also helps fix it in our long-term memory.
However, many French language apps – the majority, in fact – are no more than glorified word lists. They might have pretty visuals, and they might be gamified and fun to use. (That's the app villain at work!). But if they're based on nothing more than memorising lists of isolated words with no context, they have little value since this is not how our brains learn a language.
This means you should avoid word list-style apps, and instead, you should favour French learning apps that present language in the form of audio recordings, texts for reading, dialogues, or other authentic situations so that the content is always encountered in a natural context.
Another vital consideration is finding apps for learning French that give you language input at just the right level. To maximise your learning efficiency, you need material that is hard enough to push you to improve while not being so hard that you don’t understand any of what you are reading or listening to. If you understand about 80%, that’s just about perfect.
Hopefully, this advice will help you choose the best French language apps for you!
Incorporate These Best Apps For Learning French Into A Well-Balanced Learning Schedule
One of the keys to successful language learning is making sure you are exposed to as broad a range of materials as possible.
This means that while you shouldn’t rely too heavily on any one app, incorporating some of the best French language learning apps into your learning schedule can provide a valuable source of language input.
And by trying some of the apps to learn French from my list, you can give your French that turbo-charge you were hoping for.
But an app won't do the hard work for you of speaking the language. You can't get fluent in French just by using an app.
For that, you'll need something more comprehensive. That's why I created…
French Uncovered: For Those Who Truly Want To Master The Language
French Uncovered is my comprehensive beginner programme that teaches you to speak French through the StoryLearning® method. With StoryLearning, you can learn languages quickly — through stories, not rules.
It's not part of the list of French learning apps, you can still use it on ANY device – computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
This comprehensive beginner programme teaches you French through a fun and natural method that makes learning a pleasure, and grammar a breeze!
It goes far deeper than the French smartphone apps listed above. And will give you a very thorough grounding in French.
You see, language apps might appear flashy and modern…
But they lack the depth you need to truly master French.
The only way to achieve a high level of French is to immerse yourself in the language! And that's what you do in Uncovered by learning through story from Day 1.
With stories, you can:
- Learn faster through immersion, instead of rote learning
- Memorise vocabulary more easily, by seeing it in context
- Learn grammar naturally, not through rules!
- Understand French more easily, thanks to lots of reading and listening practice
Pretty effective, right?
To find out more about French Uncovered or to enroll in the programme, click here.
