How to Learn French by Watching TV

When done correctly, watching TV can be an effective method for learning French. It’s a good way to immerse yourself in the language from the comfort of your own home and hear French as it’s used by native speakers. 

Keep reading to find out where you can watch TV in French and how you can use this method to improve your language skills. Grab some popcorn and get ready for some entertaining language lessons!

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Just settling in and watching TV in French might not improve your language skills at the speed you’re hoping for. To get the most out of this method, there are some strategies you should follow.

1. Choose Shows That Interest You

Make sure you choose a show that you’ll want to stick with. If you love French crime shows, you’re in luck, as there are many. But if you’re more of a comedy fan, make the effort to find a funny show in French.

Finding a show that interests you will help you stay motivated to keep watching, even if it’s a challenge to understand every scene or exchange. Plus, you’ll learn vocabulary that you can use in your French conversations by focusing on topics you’re interested in. 

2. Consider Your Level and Limitations

To use a series for immersion, you don’t have to catch every word that’s said. In fact, if you’re catching everything, you’ve chosen something too easy and need to challenge yourself more to improve your language skills.  

On the other hand, if you’re not understanding anything other than very basic words and phrases, it’s probably best to pick something easier. While no TV immersion experience will hurt you, you don’t want to get overwhelmed by a series that’s too advanced. 

3. Commit to Watching at Least One Entire Season

You can always stop within the first couple of episodes and choose something else if you find that a show really doesn’t interest you or match your level. But in general, you should aim to make it through a season or at least eight hours of a show.

This is useful because you’ll get to know the characters, their voices and the general plot line so you can focus more on the language used. If you’re constantly switching up the series, it will likely take longer to see results. 

4. Don’t Rely Too Heavily on Subtitles

I don’t recommend watching an entire episode with English subtitles, as you’ll likely end up just reading them and not digesting the French audio. Instead, you should try watching the series with French subtitles at first.

If you don’t understand something, you can rewind and replay the scene or line with English subtitles to figure out what you missed. Then switch back to French subtitles to continue watching. Eventually, you can watch French TV without subtitles and really test your comprehension. 

5. Pay Attention to Dialogue

Because TV is primarily a visual medium, you’ll have to make an effort to pay attention to what’s being said. This is particularly true if the scene you’re watching has a lot of action or striking visual elements. 

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use the visual elements to your advantage. They’ll provide useful context that can help you figure out what’s going on in a scene, even if you’ve gotten a bit lost in the dialogue. 

6. Practice Active Listening

There’s a certain happy medium between relaxation and alertness that makes for the ideal immersion mindset. Don’t burn yourself out by watching for too long at one time. Instead, take breaks so you can stay engaged when you return to the show. 

As you watch, try to listen to each string of words without holding on to a particular phrase to the point where you’re distracted from what’s coming after it. Before you pause and rewind the show, try to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word or phrase by the context. 

7. Implement More Structure as Needed

Watching TV is a leisure activity, and it might be difficult to put yourself into a learning mindset while watching, especially when you’re not writing anything down and you know there’s not going to be a test. If you’re finding it difficult to stay present, you may need to implement a little more structure.

You can pause every so often and jot down a few sentences (in French) about what you think is happening. If you have a language exchange partner, you could plan to watch a particular series together and discuss it in French with them. 

Here’s an example of how you can break down a TV series to learn French:

8. Be Patient and Have Fun!

When starting a show, realize that it might take a while before it really starts to make a difference in your language skills. You may experience moments of doubt about whether this learning method is legit, especially at the beginning. 

If this happens, it’s okay—just remember that your brain is constantly absorbing information as you watch. Soon enough, you’ll realize that you’re understanding way more than when you first started. 

It’s also important to keep it an enjoyable, relaxed experience so you can easily make it part of your daily routine. Watching TV in French can serve as a fun way to break up your textbook lessons and grammar review. 

Where to Watch French TV 

You can find plenty of websites to watch TV in French here such as Canal+, TV5MONDE and France 24. You can also find TV series in French on some of the websites and streaming services you might already use: 

• YouTube is a great place to find free video content and preview French TV series. Finding an entire series is often tricky due to copyright issues, but you may find whole episodes or even seasons of some older shows.
• Hulu offers a lot of TV series, including some in French. Their ad-supported plan is pretty affordable, and you can pay more to remove ads if they really bother you. 
• Netflix provides access to many French TV series and movies. Some are available for download so you can watch them without internet access. Check out these French TV series and movies on Netflix (with subtitles!) to get started.
• Prime Video offers access to many French TV series, and some are available to rent or buy even if you don’t have a Prime subscription. If you’re in France or have a good VPN, you can also use Amazon.fr. 

If you’re not sure where to start, you’ll find some great French TV shows here: 

Another place to learn French by watching TV is the immersive language learning program FluentU.

 

Learning French by watching TV doesn’t have to be a rigorous process. However, you should implement these key strategies to make sure it’s effective.

Soon you’ll be confidently saying the dialogue along with the characters of your favorite French TV show! 

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