Welcome to ListenToFrench.org, the sister site to sonsenfrancais

Because learning to listen is so hard, the level here is intended to be intermediate, that is to say extracts up to the starting level in sonsenfrancais. It's about the same as the magazine
Authentik en français

You might also want to check out another excellent magazine
Champs Elysées

What I want to do here is use the experience gained over four years of listening to the French language through radio, tv and films, as well as of editing the sonsenfrancais site, to present some exercises that will be useful to students at an intermediate level.

 

The other thing I want to do is use video rather than the audio that is still the norm even with the best of the audio magazines. Video helps enormously. Body-language, the movement of the lips, the context of the images. Traditionally we've always used radio - because it's easier. Video is better, much better. Not to mention that TV gives us interesting and varied content

 

At this level, the content will be news and documentaries, with some discussions. However, I like to laugh, and I'm going to add some comedy clips, not as exercises, just to cheer us up from time time. The clips are accompanies by subtitle files, so I hope that you will find even the most difficult clips useful.

Learning a language is hard.

email me : David Archer

 

New here ? The video clips on this site are mostly from French Television. As well as the video file you get a subtitle file. The subtitles can be switched on and off. You also get a text document and an audio version. If you have trouble playing the clips, read the advice on the tools page

 

 

2009 July August September October November December
2010 January February March      


I have received clips from kind people, and I am very willing to put the clips that interest you up here, as well as transcribe and subtitle them. No 'complete works' - ie song tracks. And because you will email them  to me as attachments, they need to be reduced to about 30Mb per five minutes. Instructions on the software page

2010

27 February  Making amends for the clip of 22nd February, Laurence Piquet gave us a nice piece on the painter Turner. A good Level-1 piece.

28 February  TF1 evening news offers a well-researched enquiry into the possible dangers of Aspartame - synthetic sugar

01 March     A documentary on the Landes and Bordeaux suddenly takes us into the world of regional speech. Interesting, though

02 March     La grande librairie, France 5's book programme, can be a little boring frankly. But when you have Elisabeth Badinter....

03 March     Ever wondered how CDs are made Comment c'est fait tells how...

04 March     When is a pandemic not a pandemic, wonders TF1 News in the context of La grippe H1N1.

05 March     It's American film time. Here is Stephen King's Les langoliers.

06 March     A good documentary (and a rather difficult listening extract) on the hostage-taking in Lebanon, in the '80s.

07 March     Gourmet chocolate and absinthe in Echappées belles.

08 March     An exceptional documentary, le making-of La Rafle that I am putting on both sites, and here with a subtitle file.

                 Sunday evening is Inspecteur Barnaby on France 3

09 March     A very controversial subject is debated between the comedian Dieudonné, and the advocate who in court charges him with racial hatred.

 

 

Clips by type

 

 

Television News
France 2
TF1

Documentaries 1
Documentaries 2

Discussions

French Films

 

Humour

 

 Miscellaneous

English Language Films dubbed into French

 

 

 

Clips by level of difficulty

 

 

What does 'level of difficulty mean ?'

Level 1 should be very clear and immediately comprehensible - typically documentaries with voice-overs.

Level 2 gives the ear more to work on - often news items where interviews are inserted, or anglo-american films dubbed into French

Level 3 is to aim for in the future - often comedy sketches which can be followed with the text or subtitles

 

Level 1 Page 1
Level 1 Page 2

 

Level 2 Page 1
Level 2 Page 2

Level 3

If you want to watch French TV at home read this

Please let me have your ideas on listening to French.

Use the feedback form

Thank you !

video/audio players  software vocabulary

accents

new ideas