{"id":427,"date":"2022-01-02T16:23:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-02T16:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/?p=427"},"modified":"2026-02-17T13:27:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T13:27:30","slug":"french-listening-comprehension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/french-listening-comprehension\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Understand Spoken French Like a Parisian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wondering how to quickly and effectively improve your French listening comprehension? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most online language learning tools are for beginners. Advanced students can watch movies and TV shows, where characters might casually discuss modern pastimes like cash app casino games<\/a> amid everyday banter, and talk easily to mother-tongue speakers to pick up on slang and small refinements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intermediate students, though, are often caught between the two levels. It can be hard to find the right partners or content for mastering oral understanding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s tricky, then, but doable, if you know where to look. These are the best ways to improve French listening comprehension: 
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\"french<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. Yabla\u2019s Scribe<\/a> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re biased, but this feature is great \u2014 so great it earned a patent. With this game, you\u2019ll listen to native speakers of French, from across the francophone world, and transcribe what you just heard, in clips taken from news reports, TV shows, music videos, and more. The more accurate you are, the more stars you\u2019ll earn \u2014 and the more videos you watch, the better you\u2019ll improve your French listening comprehension, making it easier to understand French speakers in all contexts \u2014 whether you\u2019re ordering a baguette at a boulangerie or you want to watch the final episodes of Engrenages <\/em>without subtitles. (If you haven\u2019t seen Engrenages, <\/em>and might be in the market for a show best described as a gritter-than-usual Law & Order: Paris, <\/em>we strongly recommend it.) There\u2019s no better, easier-to-use way to improve your French listening comprehension \u2014 and it\u2019s fun. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"\"\n\n\n\n

2. French-Language Netflix (Subtitles On) <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you already saw Lupin<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>the French-language smash hit on Netflix starring Omar Sy as Assane Diop, a Frenchman employing all of his skills to avenge his father\u2019s death at the hands of a wealthy industrialist. Great French programs come in and blow quietly out of Netflix with great regularity \u2014 like the aforementioned Engrenages, <\/em>which once was on Netflix but is now on Amazon\u2019s Prime Video. The easiest way to keep up with it all is to use Netflix\u2019s \u201csecret codes\u201d for going directly to its category for French movies: 58807<\/a>. At least for the moment, you\u2019ll find everything from crossover hits like The Intouchables<\/em><\/a> and The Artist<\/em><\/a> <\/em>to edgier titles like Cuties<\/em><\/a> <\/em>and Madame Claude<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


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3. French-Language Video Series <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

YouTube is rife <\/em>with language series for intermediate speakers \u2014 if you poke around, you\u2019ll find your favorites. Of course, none of them offer Yabla Scribe\u2019s<\/a> training aspects, but they can make a great complement to Scribe. For our money, one of the best of the lot is Inner French, made by a French language teacher now living in Poland. His topics range from grammatical topics of concern (\u201cNe dites pas J\u2019ai deux<\/a>\u201d or \u201cLa torture des nombres francais<\/a>\u201d) to more contemporary subjects like whether Ars\u00e8ne Lupin really existed<\/a>. 
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4. French-Language Podcasts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Podcasts are great for French listening comprehension, but many of them move too fast for intermediate learners. You can get around this by subscribing to French podcasts with transcripts \u2014 since most people\u2019s reading abilities outpace their listening comprehension, you\u2019ll likely be able to bolster your understanding by referring to the written text. For a deluxe example, consider the fabulous La Poudre<\/a>, hosted by journalist Lauren Bastide, which has published books of its collected interviews. They\u2019re available for delivery via Amazon<\/a> or Albertine<\/a>. 
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5. French-Language Audiobooks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chances are, your favorite epic book from childhood is available in French, whether that\u2019s Harry Potter \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9cole des sorciers<\/em><\/a> <\/em>or Le Hobbit<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Their considerable length \u2014 Le Hobbit <\/em>is 10 hours long \u2014 should give you enough time to settle in with the narrator’s unique accent and rhythm, while your familiarity with the story should help out when the language itself is unclear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to improve your French listening comprehension quickly? Try Yabla stress-free for 15 days<\/a><\/em> \u2014 or take a deeper dive into the fun, engaging games it offers<\/a>. <\/em>
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\u0412 \u0440\u0430\u0437\u0434\u0435\u043b\u0435 \u043a\u0430\u0437\u0438\u043d\u043e \u043d\u0430 1\u0445\u0411\u0435\u0442<\/a> \u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u043d\u044b \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u043c\u0430\u0442\u044b, \u0440\u0443\u043b\u0435\u0442\u043a\u0430 \u0438 \u043a\u0430\u0440\u0442\u043e\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0438\u0433\u0440\u044b.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wondering how to quickly and effectively improve your French listening comprehension?  Most online language learning tools are for beginners. Advanced students can watch movies and TV shows, where characters might casually discuss modern pastimes like cash app casino games amid everyday banter, and talk easily to mother-tongue speakers to pick up on slang and small […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1017,"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions\/1017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}