The ultimate guide to learning French with series and films

Published by Manon · 27 October 2019

I think the best way to learn a foreign language is by having fun. And what better way than to sit down in front of a good series or a movie, with a good tea or hot chocolate and work on your French without even realizing it. So I offer you this guide to give you all the keys you need to learn French thanks to films and series.

Contents

#The advantages of watching series and movies in French
#Step by step
#Some Tips
#Where can you find series and films in French ?
#Which French series and which French movies to watch ?

⚠️ Beware, I'm not saying that you're going to become bilingual just by watching films and series in French, but you also have to vary your activities and not neglect reading, speaking, etc. However, watching series and films in the target language is still a very good way to see your French improve quite quickly.

#The advantages of watching series and movies in French

In most series, the French you will hear is everyday French. It is French spoken by "real French". What I mean by this is that often in class you will hear recordings of people speaking French quite slowly, without any accent to make it easier for you to understand.

Passe à la pratique

Les conseils aident. Une vraie méthode donne des résultats.

Construis une habitude orale avec de la structure, de la flexibilité et de la vraie pratique chaque semaine.

Commencer à pratiquer

But, if you go to France, I can assure you that no one speaks that way. So, why don't we just jump right into it ?

This is an excellent exercise to get your listening used to the different pronunciations, accents and rhythms that exist in French. You will learn a vocabulary that you don't learn at school! Simplified turns of phrase, "young" expressions, expressions from everyday life.

#Step by step

At first, I'm not going to lie to you, you're going to find it a bit complicated. Also, if you're not used to subtitles, it will take a little time for your eyes to get used to looking at two things at the same time.

Your ear also needs to get used to the different accents, the rhythm of the actors' eloquence, the new vocabulary that you may not be familiar with. Yes, there is work to be done, but don't worry. It's going to be a difficult time, but once you get used to it, you won't even pay attention to everything that bothered you in the beginning.

You will later enjoy watching French-language series.

As for the viewing rhythm, you should not be forced to watch French-language series fairly regularly. If you're used to watching series every day, I advise you to start with one episode per day in French. You need to watch at least one episode every other day.

Image regarder des séries

#Some Tips

If you are new to French, I invite you to put subtitles in your mother tongue or a language you are comfortable with. A little extra that is important: on most platforms such as Netflix or Youtube, subtitles are offered !

If you are starting to have a good level of French, you can put the subtitles in French. And if you feel completely comfortable, we'll take out the subtitles !

I can assure you that this is an accomplishment you're going to be extremely proud of, the day you're going to understand a series without the help of subtitles.

Don't stumble upon a word or phrase you don't understand, the important thing is that you understand the whole picture. If there is really a word or phrase that you don't understand that is very important in the series, you can pause and look for the definition in French.

I also invite you to try to repeat sentences you have heard and to imitate the accent you hear to work on your pronunciation. You can pause and imitate the pronunciation of a line that an actor has just said.

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#Where can you find series and films in French ?

→ On Netflix

Few people don't have a Netflix subscription today! This platform offers a huge range of series and films from all over the world. Audio and subtitles are also available in multiple languages. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for on Netflix.

→ On Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is also a pay platform offering series and films of different nationalities with audio and subtitles in several languages.

→ On YouTube

If you are not yet lost in the troubled waters of YouTube, you can find a good number of films and series in French. The video platform also offers automatically generated subtitles. They don't perfectly transcribe the French you hear, but they do a good job.

→ To buy it

If you don't find what you're looking for, you can also buy series and films. This can be in a specialist shop or of course Amazon.