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 April May June
  July August September October November December
2011 January February March April May June
  July August September October November December
2012 January          


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

 

I use subtitling a lot on this site, and regularly I receive emails from people who think - reasonably - that they should be able to play any subtitled video with Windows Media Player which comes bundled with Microsoft Windows.

Sadly, no. I suggest either AlShow or GomPlayer. They both play subtitles and allow you to rewind a few seconds

 

    If you like this site and want to help publicise it with Google - please click on the +1 button. It's free and helps the site !

The series on Churchill

Songs with Subtitles

 


This is the French TV programme guide I use. Essentially the chaînes principales and TNT. 
If you see a programme coming up that would make a good extract - email me !

Have a look at a new site just launched - English videos for the French !

http://www.regardez-des-videos-en-anglais.org/

 

2012

 

                  Back to French TV after a couple of weeks in Scotland. However, before I left I plugged a big hard disk into my satellite receiver and set it record the programmes that seemed the most promising.  So there's a backlog of a couple of dozen to get through now.

  

2012.  The format of video files has changed from .avi to .flv  This is 'Flash video' - the sort that YouTube uses. It means that you can download the video and the subtitle files separately from the text links as before to watch and study on your own PC. However, in addition, if you click on the picture, you will be able to watch the video in your browser, with subtitles and the ability to go full-screen. 

03 January      The first video for the New Year arrived in my email.  A nice little documentary on how kittens grow up from someone who is obviously a cat lover.

05 January      We don't hear much about the clown and comic actor Pierre Etaix, but I very much liked his film Le grand amour

16 January      It's a relief to have this site back after more than a week. I always enjoy updating it. Off we go with a nice little documentary narrated by Jane Birkin on the portrait studio La maison Harcourt

18 January      The best listening exercise is very often a good American film dubbed into French. So here is Tom Cruise in La Firme

20 January      Too long without Signé Furax, and I suffer withdrawal symptoms. So here is Les grosses caisses, now in Flash format

22 January      Here's a classic comedy broadcast at Christmas - La Grande Vadrouille

24 January      A big contrast with the previous clip - the French dubbed version of the British series, The Tudors

26 January      Meet the cheerful lock-keeper Philippe Hubert and his wife Babette in this extract fro Des racines et des ailes

If you need the video in format .avi, that is also possible
AVI Page

 

 

Clips by type

 

 

Television News
France 2  2
TF1  2

Documentaries 1
Documentaries 2

Documentaries 3
Documentaries 4
Documentaries 5
Documentaries 6

 

Discussions

Diction

 French Films 1
French Films 2
French Films 3

 

Humour 2
Poetry

 

 Miscellaneous  2 3
New Ideas
Audio
Signé Furax

English Language Films dubbed into French

 

Songs

 

The television the French watch

A la Recherche de Winston Churchill

 

 

 

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 1 Page 3
Level 1 Page 4
Level 1 Page 5
Level 1 Page 6

 

Level 2 Page 1
Level 2 Page 2
Level 2 Page 3
Level 2 Page 4

Level 3 Page 1
Level 3 Page 2

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 tools  software vocabulary

accents

new ideas