French Videos for Beginners: 30 Great Resources

Looking for French videos for beginners?

These French videos for beginners cover everything from basic vocabulary and grammar rules to real-world French conversation skills.

Don’t believe me?

Watch and learn!

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Wait, So I Can Just Start Learning French with Videos?

You heard me right!

Get on your comfy clothes, pull out your headphones and prepare to watch your way to fluency with these French videos for beginners.

I would even say that starting with videos as a beginner French learner is crucial.

And yes, I am suggesting that some of those videos should be entirely in French. It’s a method that has worked for so many language learners before you—but why?

First of all, when you watch a French video, you hear native pronunciations and the native intonation and natural rhythm with which the language is spoken. So the earlier you start listening to a native French accent, the faster you’ll perfect your own.

But the learning doesn’t stop there. Not only are online videos good for practicing your pronunciation, but they also help your listening comprehension skills and can be used to build grammar and vocabulary knowledge.

For example, many French videos for beginners offer transcriptions, French subtitles and even translations so learners can follow along.

This is perfect for beginners, because not only will you understand what’s being said in the video, but you’ll also learn new vocabulary and see grammatical structures in action.

Additionally, the best thing about some beginner videos is that you can be exposed to native, natural spoken French without having to be completely fluent in the language yet.

The language in French videos for beginners is often spoken relatively slowly and clearly, and they use vocabulary that’s simple but useful.

The 30 Best Sites and YouTube Channels to Find French Videos for Beginners

This list starts with videos for beginners who just know the absolute basics. As you go further down the list, the videos get gradually more difficult.

I suggest starting at the beginning and advancing through the list as you get more comfortable with the language.

Podcast français facile

These videos are for people who have just recently started learning French.

Just know the basics in terms of vocabulary and conversational conventions?

Not really comfortable with all that grammar just yet?

Not a problem!

Simply click on a video with a thumbnail or a title that interests you, and you can begin watching a simple, slow French video about that topic.

Not sure what to watch?

Video topics include introducing oneself, eating, exercising and mock news reports.

I suggest starting with people introducing themselves since that’s perhaps the most important skill for beginners. Try clicking a video under the Se présenter (Introducing/presenting yourself) heading.

Best of all, each French video on this website also includes a transcript to follow along with, and some even include comprehension questions.

After a watch or two, try watching without the transcript and complete the comprehension questions to see how much you understand.

“Learn French # 30 Dialogues” from Learn French with Vincent

While a little cliché, watching and listening to dialogues is perhaps one of the best ways to learn French.

Why?

Well, by watching others communicate in French, you’ll be able to imitate vocabulary and grammar conventions to communicate in it yourself.

This video is available on YouTube from the channel Learn French with Vincent.

While the channel includes many French videos for beginners, this particular clip includes over two hours of easy French dialogues spoken slowly and clearly on all sorts of conversation topics.

Better yet, each dialogue also has accompanying French transcriptions and English translations so that you can understand the dialogue no matter where the speakers take it.

FLEvideo.com

While this resource can still definitely be used by beginners, I would suggest having a little bit of a base in the language so that the videos are a perfect cross between challenging and familiar.

First of all, FLEvideo offers many French-language videos for all levels.

For their débutants (beginner) level, there are hundreds of easy French videos to watch, ranging from conversations to short stories and everything in between.

The videos are spoken in clear, slow French, even if they throw in a challenging new vocabulary word every now and then.

Some videos even come with comprehension quizzes to test your understanding of what happened in the video.

And once you’ve completed the beginner videos, you can move on to more difficult levels.

That means you can start as a beginner and continue to use FLEvideo through all your progress in French!

“Partir” from TV5MONDE’s Parlons français

For those looking for a little je ne sais quoi in their French videos for beginners, “Partir” from TV5MONDE’s Parlons français (Let’s Speak French) is the perfect video series for you.

In French, the word partir means “to leave,” and this beginner web documentary follows Nadine, a French-Canadian woman who moves to Paris.

It follows her adventures in this new place, her challenges and even the new relationships she forms.

While you’re enjoying the actual storyline of these French videos, don’t forget to check out the accompanying transcription files to follow along. Simply download and open up, and you’ll be able to understand everything that’s being said.

Best of all, the videos in this series are fairly short, and once you’re done, there are other interesting video-documentary series to follow on TV5MONDE.

Français avec Pierre

Taking things up one more level now, this resource is for learners who are at the top end of French for beginners, perhaps at the stage that we might call the “waystage,” or A2 on the CEFR scale of language proficiencies.

Français avec Pierre (French with Pierre) is another French YouTube channel dedicated to helping people learn French with videos.

On Pierre’s channel, there are two French video series that beginners will find especially useful.

The first, his “Podcasts pour débutants” (“Podcasts for beginners”), includes short stories and dialogues with accompanying French and English subtitles.

Pierre recites them slowly and clearly, and he really knows how to present French in a way that’s digestible for French learners.

Pierre’s second series, “Apprendre le français en cuisinant” (“Learn French while cooking”) is a shorter video series that’s also great for beginners.

It follows Pierre as he cooks French cuisine and describes his process. It’s perfect for those wanting to master home and kitchen vocabulary.

You can also view grammar and vocabulary lessons aimed at beginners from Français avec Pierre on his website.

Easy Languages

Another resource for pre-intermediate French learners is called Easy Languages.

Easy Languages is essentially a YouTube channel of video series available for many languages, French being one of them, and the videos offer real-life conversations between a host and random people who they encounter on the streets.

There are two series in French from Easy Languages. The first is called “Super Easy French,” and the second is called “Easy French.”

As you can guess, the two series are distinguished by the learner’s fluency in beginner French. I suggest starting with “Super Easy French” and trying “Easy French” after you finish.

The best part about these two series is that their videos are real conversations of people “in the wild,” so to speak.

Topics include travel and festivals and also French culture, and these videos are perfect for spontaneous, spoken French.

Additionally, there are subtitles and English translations, and the comments section of each video is a lively conversation with French learners. So if you’re feeling confident, jump in yourself!

Learn French with Alexa

Learn French with Alexa is hosted by real French teacher and native speaker, Alexa.

The videos are in a mixture of French and English, with Alexa interchanging between both to introduce new vocabulary or explain a grammatical feature more deeply.

As such, the videos on Learn French with Alexa are quite versatile.

Not only does she offer completely free French video lessons that give you a base in the language from zero, but she also hones in on specific topics and skills to help you master them.

For example, Learn French with Alexa has complete playlists that are dedicated to French verbs, French adjectives and even Survival French.

Furthermore, Learn French with Alexa has four series of videos that help learners prepare for the GSCE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) French-speaking exam.

If you’re looking for real French, academics and a splash of humor and fun, you have to check out Learn French with Alexa!

Apprendre le français québécois (Learn Quebecois French)

If you know from the beginning that you want to learn French because you want to move to Canada’s French-speaking province, Quebec, then Apprendre le français québécois is the perfect YouTube channel for you!

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like this is a beginner’s channel. That’s because the videos are completely in French—Quebecois French, at that.

However, immersion is one of the best ways to learn French, and you can click on the closed captions for each video to get accurate subtitles in English.

Each video focuses on content that’s applicable to those wanting to learn the Quebecois variety of the French language.

While much of the language is the same between the two dialects, this channel highlights specific vocabulary, slang and pronunciation differences from the standard European French.

Wandering French

If you love the Quebecois French that you’ve learned from the previous channel, you’ll love Wandering French as well!

As you can imagine, this channel is led by a native Quebec French speaker.

The videos are mostly in French with English subtitles and translations.

They focus on French vocabulary and pronunciation, often with notes about how the Quebec dialect of French differs from Standard French and other dialects from around the world.

There’s also a second type of video on Wandering French that’s particularly useful for beginner French learners.

These are called Frenchpresso (a portmanteau of French and espresso), and they’re vlog-style videos that are filmed on location.

These include simple vocabulary spoken slowly and clearly on interesting topics as well as subtitles in both English and French for comprehension.

innerFrench

Like the previous YouTube channel, the idea of innerFrench is to teach the French language using authentic French and only authentic French.

That means that there’s no English found in these videos.

None!

The idea of this French-only immersion isn’t to leave you completely unable to understand, however: there are complete English subtitles for all the videos.

Instead, innerFrench focuses on tuning your ear to the French language, practicing French pronunciation and hearing French as it’s actually spoken.

As such, there aren’t many videos that explicitly teach the French language on innerFrench.

Conversely, the videos focus on interesting topics in French culture or in the modern world, and the learners listen to the video in slow, clear French.

I recommend pairing this YouTube channel with one that teaches grammar more directly, but don’t discount the power of digital French immersion!

Language City

Language City is a YouTube channel that focuses on having learners speak French like a native (as per the tagline in their YouTube banner).

Rather than being a step-by-step course that learners can follow logically, Language City makes targeted video tutorials on topics that are often glossed over by other French video lesson platforms.

For example, you can find a video on expressions with the verb faire (to do), business terms and computer terms in French.

The videos are a mixture of French and English, and each one comes with an in-depth explanation as well as practice activities to help learners internalize and master the skills.

Learn French Through Music

Who doesn’t like to sing and dance?

No one. The answer is no one.

That’s why learning French through music is so effective!

Try as you might, the songs will get stuck in your head and you’ll find yourself singing along even when you don’t mean to. But that just means that your brain is internalizing what you’ve learned in the song!

Some of the songs can be a little infantile since they’re aimed at children, but with dozens of videos spanning topics such as numbers, verb conjugations, months of the year and greetings, you’re bound to learn common French vocabulary in a fun way.

Besides, these songs could act as a precursor to popular French music that will tickle your ears as you advance your French fluency.

Lingoni French

If you’re looking for a French video resource that’s well-rounded and can take you from zero to an intermediate knowledge of the French language, then Lingoni French is the YouTube channel for you.

Founded by the wildly popular “Learn German with Jenny” (now known as Lingoni German), Lingoni French is a channel, smartphone app and website that aims to teach French in a fun and immersive way.

Learners can choose to follow one of Lingoni French’s pre-made French courses.

There are three main playlists: one for learners at the A1 (beginner) level, one for learners at the A2 (elementary) level and one for learners at the B1 (early intermediate) level.

There are also videos that focus on specific skills, such as listening comprehension. To improve this skill, you can binge the channel’s informal French-filled vlogs as well as the authentic dialogues and conversations.

If you feel like spending a small amount of money, you can also download and pay for the Lingoni French app. Included with the video lessons are transcripts, practice exercises and vocabulary lists.

FrenchPod101

Like Lingoni French, FrenchPod101 is so much more than just a YouTube channel with some French learning videos on it. It’s a well-organized and well-rounded learning program.

While you’ll have to pay for the full course if you choose to take it on FrenchPod101’s website, there are loads of free—and high-quality—videos on the YouTube channel.

These range from videos for absolute beginners such as basic greetings, numbers and conjugation patterns to full listening comprehension exercises with subtitles in both English and French.

The videos are often compiled in playlists or in compilation videos such as the one above. In fact, the video featured here truly does give beginner learners a pretty solid base in the French language in just 25 minutes.

The paid option on FrenchPod101’s website includes more videos, audios, transcripts and practice activities.

Ouino Languages

Ouino Languages is similar to FrenchPod101 in the sense that it’s essentially a YouTube channel filled with freebies from its actual paid French learning course.

That being said, it’s full of great content, even if you don’t want to pay for the actual program from Ouino.

These videos are directly connected to lessons that are in the Ouino course and focus on conversational skills, common words for beginners and grammar tutorials.

For example, in its videos on French conversation, the learner is first taken through the French vocabulary words that are to be used in the dialogue.

The learner is prompted to listen, repeat and see the words in French with English translations.

Next, the dialogue is played with native French speech as well as French and English subtitles. Best of all, each sentence in the dialogue is said twice: once at normal speed and once slowly.

Monde des Titounis (World of Titounis)

Like the Learn French Through Music YouTube channel, Monde des Titounis is aimed at children.

Because of that, it’s a gold mine for online French immersion that won’t leave you overwhelmed and discouraged.

Most of the videos are nursery rhymes and songs, often in compilations of an hour or more, and they focus on common topics for children.

These include colors, numbers, the alphabet and even some well-known nursery rhymes such as “Brille, brille petit étoile” (“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”).

While this channel has subtitles in French, it doesn’t have any in English, and that’s actually a good thing.

Between the repetition of the songs and the simplicity of the words, you should have no problem understanding the gist of what they’re about.

Furthermore, the words you don’t know can be mined and practiced for new French vocabulary.

French for Teens and Adults (Rock ‘N Learn)

Our next collection of videos comes from the YouTube channel Rock ‘N Learn.

As a whole, it offers a variety of language learning videos for all age groups, but this playlist, in particular, focuses on easy dialogues for teen and adult learners of French.

Each video ranges from 10 to 30 minutes long, and they include multiple dialogues. The dialogues are in both spoken and written French as well as English.

This playlist is actually a story of two people meeting, and as their relationship develops over the episodes, we learn new words and phrases.

The cartoons are a great touch as well and help with putting the conversations in context!

Learn French – Mauwood Academy

If you’re looking for a more straightforward way to learn French vocabulary in bite-sized videos, then this playlist from Mauwood Academy is the one for you.

The playlist is a short video course on basic French vocabulary. There are 32 videos in total, and each is led by Marine, a native French speaker from Paris.

Each video focuses on a particular topic such as basic expressions, the alphabet, food and animals.

Marine reads through the vocabulary in a clear and slow way and offers helpful tips and information in between.

The videos are also quite short. Most are around two minutes long.

This allows for a quick dose of French that truly does pack a punch full of real French language.

This channel is perfect for those who don’t have many hours in a day to dedicate to learning French and is a great add-on for vocabulary practice to an existing French course.

French Children’s Stories from BookBoxInc.

We’ve talked a lot about using children’s songs and cartoons to help you learn French when you’re a beginner, but BookBoxInc’s collection of 26 children’s stories in French really is a jackpot!

BookBoxInc draws on traditional tales for the source of its children’s stories, so you may even recognize one or two of them as you listen and watch along.

In fact, this combination of listening to the native French and watching the expertly crafted cartoon makes for powerful learning.

That’s because you’ll be able to hear French and see the context as it’s happening in the story.

This makes it easier for your brain to associate the French words with the concepts, and these connections will make it easier for you to use and understand the language.

The videos have built-in subtitles for French, but you can also toggle on YouTube’s subtitles for accurate closed captioning in English.

Beginner French Lessons with Natasha

Along the same lines as Mauwood Academy, these beginner French lessons with Natasha are bite-sized tutorials on basic topics in the French language that are perfect for those just starting out but don’t want to get weighed down with heavy grammar.

The videos are a collection of short lessons that are led by Natasha herself as well as rhymes, songs and vocabulary lists.

The songs and rhymes are aimed at children and cover beginner topics such as the alphabet, numbers and colors.

As for the beginner lessons, Natasha leads the learner through pronunciation tips, vocabulary usage and even some grammar points on topics such as greetings, going to the supermarket and weather expressions.

There are even videos for French cultural topics, such as Bastille Day.

Most of the videos are quite short at under five minutes in length.

Natasha is succinct and to-the-point, letting learners get to the meat of the lesson without getting muddled in rules and rule exceptions. Natasha also has a clear and crisp accent, and even though she’s a native British English speaker, her French is quite good.

Learn French with Frencheezi

Learn French with Frencheezi is a well-rounded YouTube channel dedicated to teaching different aspects of the French language for beginners.

In fact, the videos are divided into helpful playlists for learners so that they can target one skill that they’d like to improve at a time.

For example, there’s a playlist for topics like French pronunciation, adjectives and question words. There’s even a full playlist for 26 French grammar lessons that touch on the most useful grammar topics for beginners.

Better yet, there are playlists for stories told completely in French.

In these, the host tells an easy French story in clearly pronounced, slow French. The French transcript is also projected onto the screen for learners to follow along.

While the English translations aren’t available on the screen, they can be easily downloaded from the accompanying transcript in the description box by subscribing to the Learn French with Frencheezi website.

990 French Short Dialogues

Have you ever wanted to learn French by listening to extremely short native French exchanges? Well, with this video, you can!

Over the course of almost six and a half hours, you’ll listen to 990 short French dialogues. These dialogues focus mostly on beginner topics that range from work, school, travel and daily life.

Each dialogue is shown on the screen in French as well as with translations underneath in English.

The dialogue is then said twice. The first time, the native French speakers say the line of dialogue and then repeat the translation in English. The second time, the speakers only say the dialogue in French.

The dialogues are extremely short, often only exchanges of two lines, but they’re a fantastic way to learn vocabulary and phrases related to conversations that you’d likely have as a beginner French learner.

Learn French While You Sleep

In this video from Eko Languages, you can learn 115 common French words and phrases over the course of an hour and supposedly while you sleep!

While I can’t personally attest to how well you can learn French while you sleep, the French words and phrases alongside the calming ambient music is quite relaxing.

Each word and phrase is one that you’d most likely encounter and use as a beginner French learner.

These relate to topics such as greetings, introductions, shopping and travel.

Each phrase is first said in English and then pronounced three times in French. The French is spoken slowly and clearly, and both the French and English are shown on the screen.

Even if you don’t opt to listen to this video while you snooze, this collection is a great way to learn more than 100 words and phrases in a relatively short amount of time.

I suggest mining this video and incorporating the French words and phrases into your own learning to maximize its potential. There’s actually some good stuff here, even if you don’t want to sleep through it.

DELF Niveau A1 (DELF Level A1) from French School TV

If you’re interested in learning French and then certifying your progress with an official language proficiency test, chances are you’ve heard of the DELF.

This acronym stands for Diplôme d’études en langue française (the Diploma of Studies in the French Language), and it’s used by French-speaking countries, educational institutions and workplaces to determine how well applicants can speak the French language.

Oftentimes, learners take a DELF exam so that they can prove they can speak French to a certain CEFR proficiency level.

This playlist from French School TV has video examples of the conversation and oral production components of the DELF A1 (beginner) French exam.

If you’re studying for this exam, these videos would be a great way to practice and get a look at what to expect.

Each video is completely in French with a native French speaker as an exam leader and a real French learner as a student.

The videos also come with French subtitles. Because of the lack of English subtitles, I’d recommend these videos for those who already have a base in the language.

Coffee Break Languages (French)

You may know Coffee Break Languages from their podcasts that promise to teach French in short segments that can be enjoyed on your coffee break.

But did you know that they also have a YouTube channel?

In addition to video versions of their audio-only podcasts, Coffee Break Languages also offers a number of interactive French videos that are perfect for beginner and pre-intermediate learners.

These videos are sorted into playlists such as Coffee Break Q&A that have videos based on learner questions. There’s also Walk, Talk and Learn French, a series that explains French found “in the wild” while walking around France.

The videos are completely in French, but the language is pronounced slowly and clearly so that beginners can follow. There are also English subtitles that can be toggled on and off with YouTube’s closed caption feature.

Perhaps the best part of these videos is that you can find corresponding episodes as podcasts. This makes for great learning on the go when you can’t actually watch a video.

Frenchly

While Frenchly doesn’t necessarily teach the French language, it’s still an invaluable resource for French language learners.

The dose of French culture is as useful for anyone as a grammar or vocabulary lesson.

Frenchly focuses primarily on differences between French culture and other western cultures, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

These comparison videos are particularly useful for people who want to move to France or another French-speaking place and want to know what to expect.

Because of this, there are two types of videos: ones that are done completely in English with English speakers and others that are done completely in French with French speakers.

The French videos have subtitles in French, but some of the more advanced videos don’t have subtitles at all.

Easy & Quick French

If you’re looking for an easy and quick video taster course on YouTube, then this one is truly the choice for you!

Each video is a collection of French words and phrases related to a specific topic.

The word or phrase is shown on the screen in both English (at the top) and French (at the bottom). It’s then said in English and repeated in French.

The French is spoken slowly and clearly with a pause afterward so that the learner can practice saying the French as well.

The last video is also a lesson with 100 phrases that are aimed at teaching French grammar in context.

Like the vocabulary videos, the phrases are first said in English and then repeated twice in French with both languages on the screen.

JeFrench

JeFrench is a more traditional video French course.

All the videos are hosted on JeFrench’s website, and they’re the perfect introductory French course for those who have no or limited knowledge of the language.

The course consists of nine video lessons between five and 10 minutes long.

The topics focus on the most important information for complete beginners—such as greetings, noun gender, adjective gender and regular and irregular verbs.

The video host leads the viewer through select words and phrases. As he does so, he says the French words in a clear native French accent.

He also explains the grammar contained in each phrase by translating it word-for-word and explaining how different declinations on the words mean different things.

In addition to the videos themselves, each comes with a list of vocabulary that has English translations. There are also weekly lessons for more advanced learners that can be accessed by purchasing a subscription.

Oh La La I Speak French

Oh La La I Speak French is a French-learning variety channel hosted by actress Soraya.

By variety channel, I mean that there are videos for all levels of French and on various topics related to learning the language and about French culture.

One of the best things about this channel is that host Soraya incorporates her love of acting into the lessons themselves.

That means that after explaining vocabulary and grammar structures related to whatever topic is being covered, Soraya (and friends) perform a short skit to show the lesson’s topic in context.

These aren’t the dry dialogues that traditionally accompany French lessons, however: they’re often humorous and engaging, really allowing you to learn French in a fun way.

The videos often come with French and English subtitles, and the language of instruction is English with lots of examples in authentic French.

 

I told you to “watch and learn,” but I bet you didn’t realize how literally I meant it, did you?

Well, what are you waiting for? It’s time to learn French with videos—you have the tools you need. Start enjoying these French videos for beginners ASAP!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)