🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 150 (from laksa066)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa150.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical, ml_categories_json AS ml_categories_json, ml_types_json AS ml_types_json, ml_intent_types_json AS ml_intent_types_json, meta_language AS meta_language, attrs_author AS attrs_author, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(attrs_publish_time), 0) AS attrs_publish_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(attrs_original_publish_time), 0) AS attrs_original_publish_time, ifNull(attrs_is_republished, 0) AS attrs_is_republished, ifNull(attrs_nr_words, 0) AS attrs_nr_words, ifNull(attrs_boilerpipe_nr_words, 0) AS attrs_boilerpipe_nr_words, ifNull(body_ext_links_number, 0) AS body_ext_links_number, ifNull(body_int_links_number, 0) AS body_int_links_number, ifNull(meta_nofollow, 0) AS meta_nofollow, ifNull(meta_noarchive, 0) AS meta_noarchive, ifNull(props_was_rendered, 0) AS props_was_rendered, ifNull(src_redirect, \'\') AS src_redirect, ifNull(download_time_msec, 0) AS download_time_msec, ifNull(download_ttfb_msec, 0) AS download_ttfb_msec, ifNull(download_size, 0) AS download_size FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/","crawl_time":1776919758,"first_indexed_time":1648753976,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,frenchtoday!www,\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/ s443","src_root_hash":"1510784334078464550","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"How To Learn French For French Beginner Level (A1 & A2)","meta_descriptions":["Total French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Total French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips.\nFrench Beginners Must Be Patient\nAs a French beginner, your goals should be:\nto be confident enough so that you are not afraid to exchange a few words with a French person,\nget a grip of French pronunciation so you can understand the French when they speak to you, and be understood by them,\nhandle basic conversations in specific situations,\nNotice quick results and feel good about yourself.\nMy first tip is to always keep in mind these goals.\nYou cannot be\nfluent in French\nright away. You’ll have to be patient, and work your way step by step to reach fluency.\nRight now, every interaction you have involving the French language is a success!\nHow to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels)\nI will start with the most important French learning tip I can give:\nModern spoken French\nand traditional written French are VERY different: if you only learn French from a written source, it’s unlikely you will understand the French when they speak to you, and it’s unlikely they’ll understand you!\nNow, let’s see how someone who is just starting to learn French should proceed.\nWhat is a Beginner Student?\n“French Beginner”: this simple expression is used to describe people with quite different needs.\nSo… what kind of beginner French student are you? The following paragraphs will give precise tips for different kind of French beginners. However, you may want to read them all since they will all help you to learn French efficiently.\nTrue French Beginner – French Level A1\nYou are a blank canvas. And that’s great! At least, you don’t have any bad habits and you cannot wait to start your French language journey!\nYou need help on every possible front:\nFrench pronunciation\nand vocabulary, but also very accessible explanations to clarify the differences between the French and English languages.\nA lot of schools follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): it is an international standard for describing language ability. It’s commonly used to describe learners’ language skills, and the program you need to cover to pass exams. You will find more about it on \nWikipedia\n.\nFrench Today’s approach is unique. The À Moi Paris method progresses differently than the traditional methods, in particular in regard to tenses and moods. So this is not a perfect match with the CEFR. Read my article to see which French Today’s\naudiobook level\n approximately corresponds to which CEFR level.\nHere are my tips to best learn French as a self-learning beginner student of French, learning French for his\/her own benefit, not just to pass written tests.\nTotal French Beginners Should Always Start With Politeness\nEven for the most basic interactions in French, you will need to master the precise vocabulary and modern pronunciation of\nFrench politeness\nexpressions.\nThe French are known to be sticklers on etiquette and you do not want to start off on the wrong foot.\nOf course, you need audio to learn how to pronounce the French politeness expressions correctly.\nFrench politeness is a great way to start learning French pronunciation, and when explained properly, should also cover fundamental\nFrench grammar\nsuch as “tu” versus “vous, some verb conjugations and introduce the notion of adjective agreement.\nTo Prepare For A Trip To France, Learn Sentences In Context\nIf you are just learning French to prepare for a trip to France, you may not need to get involved in deep French studying.\nOn top of politeness, learn useful French sentences and their correct pronunciation, focus on the “je” form of the verb and asking information questions:\nÇa coûte combien ?\nHow much is-it?\nJe voudrais un café américain s’il vous plaît\nI’d like an [American-style] long coffee.\nJe suis désolé, je ne parle pas très bien français –\nI’m sorry, I don’t speak French much.\nJe comprends un peu si on parle lentement\nI understand a bit when people speak slowly.\nA French list of sentences will give you the pleasure of saying a couple of things in French and will show the French people your good will. I suggest you take a look at my\n1100+ phrases and essential dialogs\nall recorded at 2 different speeds and levels of enunciation by a Parisian native.\nHowever, don’t expect to be able to handle a real conversation without a minimum of sentence structure. It may be possible in other languages, but not French.\nSo, take it for what it is: a fun challenge, a positive attitude, and a way to communicate the bare essentials should no one speak English at all.\nLearn Vocabulary YOU Are Likely To Use\nOne of the first sentences I learned in English class was “the cat climbed onto the roof”. Try placing that in an English conversation…\nSo, to improve your French as a beginner, you should focus on learning things you would actually use.\nThe French method you use should understand that need and use re-usable examples to illustrate the points of grammar… Nothing too fancy, nor poem quotes, but daily things, truly useful examples you could actually re-use in a French interaction.\nSo say you have a dog: it’s likely you’ll talk about him… Pets are a common conversation topic. Say your dog has a beloved red ball. Then you may be interested in saying “my dog likes to play with his red ball”: “mon chien aime jouer avec sa balle rouge”… Try making up simple sentences you could actually use in real life.\nOrganising Your French Studies As a Beginner Student\nOne of the challenges a beginner student will face is prioritizing.\nWhat should you study after you studied politeness? Adjectives? Pronouns? Verb conjugations? More\nFrench vocabulary\n?\nIn order to remember things, the way you organize your newly acquired French data is as important as the data itself.\nMy 23+ French teaching experience shows that to learn French efficiently, students need to learn with a structured audio method which addresses four needs:\nintroduce truly useful vocabulary such as greetings and politeness, asking questions, ordering\nfood\n, talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies…\nimplement both traditional and modern French pronunciations,\nset the foundations of French grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step way: like building blocks,\ngive you plenty of examples so you can also learn French in context.\nTo study French the right way from the very start, I suggest you check-out my French downloadable audiobook\nÀ Moi Paris Method – Beginner\n. It’s written with the true French beginner in mind.\nÀ Moi Paris Audiobook Method\nA new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.\n(836 Reviews)\nMore Details & Audio Samples\nFalse French Beginner – French Level A2\nYou’ve studied French before (maybe in school), but you forgot most of it.\nMaybe you remember the logic of beginner’s French grammar but you need to refresh it all, set fast reflexes when speaking and gain confidence to use your French in conversations.\nFrench Beginners Should Focus On The Present Tense\nThe Present Indicative tense is the tense you’ll use in most of your French interactions. So, studying the present tense is what will give you the best return for the time you invest.\nThe tenses of the past are a real mess in French. It’s like opening a Russian doll: there are so many layers of things to understand and memorize before you can truly use them.\nOf course,\nlearning the French tenses of the past\nis important, and they would be part of an A2 level exam. However, if you are not learning French to pass exams, communicating simple orders, being polite, talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies – and doing it with a decent accent – should be more important than spending hours drilling over your French verb tenses…\nWhich bring me to my next point.\nUnique Audio-Based\nModern French Level Test\n20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. \nCompletely free, no signup required\nLet’s Start…\nBeware Of The Intellectual In You\nLots of students actually enjoy the learning challenge. I’ve seen many people spend hours on drilling\nFrench verb tenses\nthey didn’t even understand! Or take real pleasure at doing “find and replace the direct object” kind of exercises.\nHowever, as a beginner, you need to stay focused on your priorities. Don’t get lost in the intellectual challenge. Drill on the present tense only, drill on “être” and “avoir”, adjective agreement, questions, pronunciation…\nIt may not be extremely intellectually stimulating, but it’s what you need to master at this stage of your French studies.\nSimplify Your Sentences\nYes, it will be nice to be able to say one day in a restaurant: “I would be delighted if you could kindly seat us by the window, so we may enjoy the spectacular view”.\nHowever, as a beginner, you should be happy if you could say: “une table à côté de la fenêtre. C’est possible ? C’est très beau là !” (A table by the window. Is it possible? It’s very pretty there!) smile and point to the view…\nThe method you use should reflect this. Along with teaching your French, it should teach you how to simplify your sentence, and use “simple” French.\nMy downloadable audiobook\nÀ Moi Paris Method – Beginner\nfeatures a fun French story written with the beginner French student in mind. You’ll enjoy learning French in the context and then\ntest\nyourself with the Q&A section.\nWatch out for the free resources\nThere is a lot of free resources out there: they are fun, but a huge part of a successful learning process is time management. Setting up a structured approach, which clearly takes you from point A to point B is essential if you want to build up a solid foundation.\nAre you really learning French when you are jumping from one YouTube video to the next? Or are you just having fun?\nDon’t get me wrong. Fun is good. And you may even learn a thing or two. But it’s also very easy to lost track of your goal and end up losing your time.\nNow, let’s address a particular but common French problem for the beginner – or even intermediate (hopefully not advanced) students: the\nFrench accent\nand understanding of Spoken French.\nSpeaking\/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate\nYou really understand basic French grammar, know your verb conjugations etc… You even ace your French A1 and A2 written exams!\nHowever you can’t understand the French when they speak, and they can’t understand you. How come?\n“The spoken \nFrench taught in American classrooms is a fiction, based on ideas about how people should speak, not on how they do speak”\nWaugh & Fonseca-Greber – University of Arizona\nThat’s why.\nYou need to learn the “real” modern spoken French language: not slang, not “hood” French, but the way everybody speaks in a relaxed, casual environment.\nI call this “modern French”: French like you’ll hear it used daily in the streets of France. And it’s quite different from the enunciated traditional French pronunciation (like a TV news host would use) – and it’s also likely to be different from what you have learned in school.\nLearn The Rules Of French Pronunciation\nI am shocked to see the number of students who never learned the rules of French pronunciation.\nWhy do you pronounce the verb in “ils écoutent” as zécoot” (with a strong liaison in Z)\nbut the verb of “les enfants écoutent” as “écoot” (no liaison)?\nIt’s because there is a strong liaison after the subject pronouns “on, nous, vous, ils, elles” but usually no liaison after a noun (such as “les enfants”.\nIf you don’t know that, you can’t invent it.\nSecrets of French Pronunciation\nIn-depth audiobook covering the foundations as well as the difficulties of today’s French pronunciation\n(76 Reviews)\nMore Details & Audio Samples\nDrill On The Most Difficult French Sounds\nIt takes practice to master the French R. Or the difference between “u” and “ou”, “é” and “è”. The French learning method you use should explain how to form these sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips…\nFrench pronunciation will become much clearer when it’s\nexplained to you the right way\n. Of course, more than ever, audio is a must!\nLearn Both Traditional And Modern Spoken French\nNow, there are the rules, and then there is the reality.\nOn top of all the\nFrench liaisons\n, elisions etc which obey the pronunciation rules, the French also apply lots of “glidings” when they speak.\nFor example, the “ne” part of the negation is often silent.\nOr “\nil y a” is pronounced “ya”\n.\nIf you want the French to understand you when you speak, you don’t necessarily need to apply these glidings. Actually, I would not encourage you to speak this way as a beginner. The French would kind of expect you to speak French the “traditional” way: a lot of glidings may sound a bit weird in the mouth of a beginner. Imagine your reaction if a beginner said: “I gonna” in English. Even if used in the right context, it may surprise you.\nHowever, if a foreigner wanted to understand English people when they speak, s\/he would need to understand “I gonna” since it’s used frequently.\nThere are even more “street” glidings in French than there is in English. We do them without thinking about it, no matter our age, or our level of education: it’s very natural to apply some glidings when you speak French casually nowadays.\nEach chapter of the story of my\nbeginner level French audiobooks\nare recorded in 3 different ways:\nA slow version: very enunciated French which you can easily repeat to help you conquer traditional French pronunciation\nA normal version with French glidings and elisions (you’ll learn about these in the method)\nA modern street version as natives would actually speak so that you are ready to understand them\nVoilà. Apply all these tips and you’ll be on your way to becoming a French intermediate speaker in no time. If you fee you are already a solid A2 French level, then you may want to look at my advise for\nintermediate speakers of French\n.\nRemember, as a French beginner, you should:\nset realistic goals for yourself,\nfind a structured audio method which doesn’t assume you are a grammar genius and explains everything clearly,\nget plenty of audio practice: repeat, repeat, repeat,\nand keep your priorities straight.\nGood luck with your French studies!","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/#content \"Skip to content\")\n\n[frenchtoday](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/)\n\n**🌍 EARTH DAY SALE** – 20% OFF ALL AUDIOBOOKS **[ENDS APRIL 26](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/)**\n\n[frenchtoday](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/)\n\nMENU\n\n- [French Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/)\n  - [Beginner French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/)\n  - [Intermediate French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-intermediate\/)\n  - [Upper Intermediate Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-upper-intermediate\/)\n  - [Advanced French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-advanced\/)\n  - [Exercise Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-exercise-audiobooks\/a-moi-paris-beginner-exercise-book\/)\n  - [French Audio Novels](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-novels\/une-semaine-a-paris-audiobook\/)\n  - [French Verb Drills](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-verb-drills\/verbs-vol-1\/)\n  - [All Our French Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/)\n- [Audio Magazine](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/misc\/monthly-audio-magazine\/)\n- [Free Lessons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n  - [Latest Lessons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/)\n  - [How To Learn French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/)\n  - [French Vocabulary](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/)\n  - [French Grammar](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/)\n  - [French Pronunciation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/)\n  - [French Verb Conjugation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-verb-conjugation\/)\n  - [French Stories](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-story\/)\n  - [Traditional French Food & Wine](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-food-wine\/)\n  - [French Culture](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-culture\/)\n  - [French Poetry](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-poetry-reading\/)\n- [Immersion](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-immersions\/)\n- [More](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n  - [About Us\/ Contact](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/about-us\/)\n  - [Support\/FAQ](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/support\/)\n  - [French Level Quiz](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-language-audio-quiz-test\/)\n  - [French Lessons by Zoom](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/worldwide-french-lessons-via-phone-skype\/)\n  - [Our Unique French App](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/unique-french-app\/)\n  - [Cool Merchandise](https:\/\/merch.frenchtoday.com\/)\n  - [Subscribe To Newsletter](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/newsletter\/)\n\n[Free AUDIOBOOK](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/free\/)\n\nMENU\n\n- [French Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/)\n  - [Beginner French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/)\n  - [Intermediate French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-intermediate\/)\n  - [Upper Intermediate Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-upper-intermediate\/)\n  - [Advanced French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-advanced\/)\n  - [Exercise Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-exercise-audiobooks\/a-moi-paris-beginner-exercise-book\/)\n  - [French Audio Novels](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-novels\/une-semaine-a-paris-audiobook\/)\n  - [French Verb Drills](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-verb-drills\/verbs-vol-1\/)\n  - [All Our French Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/)\n- [Audio Magazine](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/misc\/monthly-audio-magazine\/)\n- [Free Lessons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n  - [Latest Lessons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/)\n  - [How To Learn French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/)\n  - [French Vocabulary](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/)\n  - [French Grammar](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/)\n  - [French Pronunciation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/)\n  - [French Verb Conjugation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-verb-conjugation\/)\n  - [French Stories](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-story\/)\n  - [Traditional French Food & Wine](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-food-wine\/)\n  - [French Culture](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-culture\/)\n  - [French Poetry](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-poetry-reading\/)\n- [Immersion](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-immersions\/)\n- [More](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n  - [About Us\/ Contact](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/about-us\/)\n  - [Support\/FAQ](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/support\/)\n  - [French Level Quiz](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-language-audio-quiz-test\/)\n  - [French Lessons by Zoom](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/worldwide-french-lessons-via-phone-skype\/)\n  - [Our Unique French App](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/unique-french-app\/)\n  - [Cool Merchandise](https:\/\/merch.frenchtoday.com\/)\n  - [Subscribe To Newsletter](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/newsletter\/)\n\n[Free AUDIOBOOK](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/free\/)\n\n## FREE LESSONS\nClick To Select Topic\n\n- [How To Learn French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/)\n- [French Pronunciation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/)\n- [French Grammar](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/)\n- [French Conjugation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-verb-conjugation\/)\n- [French Vocabulary](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/)\n- [French Culture](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-culture\/)\n- [Food & Wine](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-food-wine\/)\n- [French Stories](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-story\/)\n\n[How To Learn French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/)\n\n# How To Learn French For French Beginner Level (A1 & A2)\nBy [Camille Chevalier](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/author\/camille-chevalier-karfis\/)\n\nUpdated:\n\nMar 31, 2022\n\n![Author: Camille Chevalier](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2025\/08\/camille-chevalier-immersion-en-france-150x150.jpeg)\n\nTotal French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/beginners-learn-french-cover-660x330.jpg)\n\n**Table of Contents**\n\n[French Beginners Must Be Patient](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/#french-beginners-must-be-patient)\n\n[How to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/#how-to-learn-french-as-a-beginner-a1-a2-levels)\n\n[What is a Beginner Student?](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/#what-is-a-beginner-student)\n\n[True French Beginner – French Level A1](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/#true-french-beginner-french-level-a1)\n\n[False French Beginner – French Level A2](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/#false-french-beginner-french-level-a2)\n\n[Speaking\/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/#speakingunderstanding-challenged-beginner-intermediate)\n## French Beginners Must Be Patient\nAs a French beginner, your goals should be:\n\n- to be confident enough so that you are not afraid to exchange a few words with a French person,\n- get a grip of French pronunciation so you can understand the French when they speak to you, and be understood by them,\n- handle basic conversations in specific situations,\n- Notice quick results and feel good about yourself.\n\nMy first tip is to always keep in mind these goals.\n\nYou cannot be [fluent in French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-top-12-tips\/) right away. You’ll have to be patient, and work your way step by step to reach fluency.\n\nRight now, every interaction you have involving the French language is a success\\!\n\n## How to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels)\nI will start with the most important French learning tip I can give:\n\n[Modern spoken French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/spoken-french-language\/) and traditional written French are VERY different: if you only learn French from a written source, it’s unlikely you will understand the French when they speak to you, and it’s unlikely they’ll understand you\\!\n\nNow, let’s see how someone who is just starting to learn French should proceed.\n\n## What is a Beginner Student?\n“French Beginner”: this simple expression is used to describe people with quite different needs.\n\nSo… what kind of beginner French student are you? The following paragraphs will give precise tips for different kind of French beginners. However, you may want to read them all since they will all help you to learn French efficiently.\n\n## True French Beginner – French Level A1\nYou are a blank canvas. And that’s great! At least, you don’t have any bad habits and you cannot wait to start your French language journey\\!\n\nYou need help on every possible front: [French pronunciation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/audio-guide\/) and vocabulary, but also very accessible explanations to clarify the differences between the French and English languages.\n\nA lot of schools follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): it is an international standard for describing language ability. It’s commonly used to describe learners’ language skills, and the program you need to cover to pass exams. You will find more about it on [Wikipedia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages).\n\nFrench Today’s approach is unique. The À Moi Paris method progresses differently than the traditional methods, in particular in regard to tenses and moods. So this is not a perfect match with the CEFR. Read my article to see which French Today’s [audiobook level](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/level-french-french-audiobook-choose) approximately corresponds to which CEFR level.\n\nHere are my tips to best learn French as a self-learning beginner student of French, learning French for his\/her own benefit, not just to pass written tests.\n\n### Total French Beginners Should Always Start With Politeness\nEven for the most basic interactions in French, you will need to master the precise vocabulary and modern pronunciation of [French politeness](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/\/french-greetings-politeness) expressions.\n\nThe French are known to be sticklers on etiquette and you do not want to start off on the wrong foot.\n\nOf course, you need audio to learn how to pronounce the French politeness expressions correctly.\n\nFrench politeness is a great way to start learning French pronunciation, and when explained properly, should also cover fundamental [French grammar](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/guide\/ \"French grammar\") such as “tu” versus “vous, some verb conjugations and introduce the notion of adjective agreement.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/learning-french-politeness-e1568641615784-660x354.jpg)\n\n### To Prepare For A Trip To France, Learn Sentences In Context\nIf you are just learning French to prepare for a trip to France, you may not need to get involved in deep French studying.\n\nOn top of politeness, learn useful French sentences and their correct pronunciation, focus on the “je” form of the verb and asking information questions:\n\n1. Ça coûte combien ?   \n   How much is-it?\n2. Je voudrais un café américain s’il vous plaît   \n   I’d like an \\[American-style\\] long coffee.\n3. Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas très bien français –  \n   I’m sorry, I don’t speak French much.\n4. Je comprends un peu si on parle lentement   \n   I understand a bit when people speak slowly.\n\nA French list of sentences will give you the pleasure of saying a couple of things in French and will show the French people your good will. I suggest you take a look at my [1100+ phrases and essential dialogs](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-lessons\/modern-french-audio-phrasebook\/) all recorded at 2 different speeds and levels of enunciation by a Parisian native.\n\nHowever, don’t expect to be able to handle a real conversation without a minimum of sentence structure. It may be possible in other languages, but not French.\n\nSo, take it for what it is: a fun challenge, a positive attitude, and a way to communicate the bare essentials should no one speak English at all.\n\n### Learn Vocabulary YOU Are Likely To Use\nOne of the first sentences I learned in English class was “the cat climbed onto the roof”. Try placing that in an English conversation…\n\nSo, to improve your French as a beginner, you should focus on learning things you would actually use.\n\nThe French method you use should understand that need and use re-usable examples to illustrate the points of grammar… Nothing too fancy, nor poem quotes, but daily things, truly useful examples you could actually re-use in a French interaction.\n\nSo say you have a dog: it’s likely you’ll talk about him… Pets are a common conversation topic. Say your dog has a beloved red ball. Then you may be interested in saying “my dog likes to play with his red ball”: “mon chien aime jouer avec sa balle rouge”… Try making up simple sentences you could actually use in real life.\n\n![Dog with Ball and French Text](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/beginners-dog-660x340.jpg)\n\n### Organising Your French Studies As a Beginner Student\nOne of the challenges a beginner student will face is prioritizing.\n\nWhat should you study after you studied politeness? Adjectives? Pronouns? Verb conjugations? More [French vocabulary](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/)?\n\nIn order to remember things, the way you organize your newly acquired French data is as important as the data itself.\n\nMy 23+ French teaching experience shows that to learn French efficiently, students need to learn with a structured audio method which addresses four needs:\n\n1. introduce truly useful vocabulary such as greetings and politeness, asking questions, ordering [food](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/food-audio\/), talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies…\n2. implement both traditional and modern French pronunciations,\n3. set the foundations of French grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step way: like building blocks,\n4. give you plenty of examples so you can also learn French in context.\n\nTo study French the right way from the very start, I suggest you check-out my French downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/). It’s written with the true French beginner in mind.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2019\/08\/A-Moi-Paris-Method-Full-Method@300x-230x230.jpg)\n\nÀ Moi Paris Audiobook Method\n\nA new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.\n\n(836 Reviews)\n\n[**More Details & Audio Samples**](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/)\n## False French Beginner – French Level A2\nYou’ve studied French before (maybe in school), but you forgot most of it.\n\nMaybe you remember the logic of beginner’s French grammar but you need to refresh it all, set fast reflexes when speaking and gain confidence to use your French in conversations.\n\n### French Beginners Should Focus On The Present Tense\nThe Present Indicative tense is the tense you’ll use in most of your French interactions. So, studying the present tense is what will give you the best return for the time you invest.\n\nThe tenses of the past are a real mess in French. It’s like opening a Russian doll: there are so many layers of things to understand and memorize before you can truly use them.\n\nOf course, [learning the French tenses of the past](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-upper-intermediate\/) is important, and they would be part of an A2 level exam. However, if you are not learning French to pass exams, communicating simple orders, being polite, talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies – and doing it with a decent accent – should be more important than spending hours drilling over your French verb tenses…\n\nWhich bring me to my next point.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2021\/06\/modern-test.jpg)\n\nUnique Audio-Based  \nModern French Level Test\n\n20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. *Completely free, no signup required*\n\n[**Let’s Start…**](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/modern-french-level-placement-test\/)\n### Beware Of The Intellectual In You\nLots of students actually enjoy the learning challenge. I’ve seen many people spend hours on drilling [French verb tenses](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-verb-conjugation\/secret-to-master-french-verb-conjugation\/) they didn’t even understand! Or take real pleasure at doing “find and replace the direct object” kind of exercises.\n\nHowever, as a beginner, you need to stay focused on your priorities. Don’t get lost in the intellectual challenge. Drill on the present tense only, drill on “être” and “avoir”, adjective agreement, questions, pronunciation…\n\nIt may not be extremely intellectually stimulating, but it’s what you need to master at this stage of your French studies.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/learning-french-beware-the-intellectual-e1568641689573-660x375.jpg)\n\n### Simplify Your Sentences\nYes, it will be nice to be able to say one day in a restaurant: “I would be delighted if you could kindly seat us by the window, so we may enjoy the spectacular view”.\n\nHowever, as a beginner, you should be happy if you could say: “une table à côté de la fenêtre. C’est possible ? C’est très beau là !” (A table by the window. Is it possible? It’s very pretty there!) smile and point to the view…\n\nThe method you use should reflect this. Along with teaching your French, it should teach you how to simplify your sentence, and use “simple” French.\n\nMy downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/) features a fun French story written with the beginner French student in mind. You’ll enjoy learning French in the context and then [test](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-language-audio-quiz-test\/) yourself with the Q\\&A section.\n\n### Watch out for the free resources\nThere is a lot of free resources out there: they are fun, but a huge part of a successful learning process is time management. Setting up a structured approach, which clearly takes you from point A to point B is essential if you want to build up a solid foundation.\n\nAre you really learning French when you are jumping from one YouTube video to the next? Or are you just having fun?\n\nDon’t get me wrong. Fun is good. And you may even learn a thing or two. But it’s also very easy to lost track of your goal and end up losing your time.\n\nNow, let’s address a particular but common French problem for the beginner – or even intermediate (hopefully not advanced) students: the [French accent](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/improve-french-accent\/) and understanding of Spoken French.\n\n## Speaking\/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate\nYou really understand basic French grammar, know your verb conjugations etc… You even ace your French A1 and A2 written exams\\!\n\nHowever you can’t understand the French when they speak, and they can’t understand you. How come?\n\n> ***“The spoken*** ***French taught in American classrooms is a fiction, based on ideas about how people should speak, not on how they do speak”***\n> \n> *Waugh & Fonseca-Greber – University of Arizona*\n\nThat’s why.\n\nYou need to learn the “real” modern spoken French language: not slang, not “hood” French, but the way everybody speaks in a relaxed, casual environment.\n\nI call this “modern French”: French like you’ll hear it used daily in the streets of France. And it’s quite different from the enunciated traditional French pronunciation (like a TV news host would use) – and it’s also likely to be different from what you have learned in school.\n\n### Learn The Rules Of French Pronunciation\nI am shocked to see the number of students who never learned the rules of French pronunciation.\n\nWhy do you pronounce the verb in “ils écoutent” as zécoot” (with a strong liaison in Z)  \nbut the verb of “les enfants écoutent” as “écoot” (no liaison)?\n\nIt’s because there is a strong liaison after the subject pronouns “on, nous, vous, ils, elles” but usually no liaison after a noun (such as “les enfants”.\n\nIf you don’t know that, you can’t invent it.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2016\/12\/Secrets-of-French-Pronunciation@300x-230x230.jpg)\n\nSecrets of French Pronunciation\n\nIn-depth audiobook covering the foundations as well as the difficulties of today’s French pronunciation\n\n(76 Reviews)\n\n**[More Details & Audio Samples](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-lessons\/secrets-of-french-pronunciation\/)**\n### Drill On The Most Difficult French Sounds\nIt takes practice to master the French R. Or the difference between “u” and “ou”, “é” and “è”. The French learning method you use should explain how to form these sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips…\n\nFrench pronunciation will become much clearer when it’s [explained to you the right way](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/\/secrets-of-french-pronunciation). Of course, more than ever, audio is a must\\!\n\n### Learn Both Traditional And Modern Spoken French\nNow, there are the rules, and then there is the reality.\n\nOn top of all the [French liaisons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/liaison\/), elisions etc which obey the pronunciation rules, the French also apply lots of “glidings” when they speak.\n\nFor example, the “ne” part of the negation is often silent.   \nOr “[il y a” is pronounced “ya”](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/how-to-use-the-pronoun-y-in-french\/).\n\nIf you want the French to understand you when you speak, you don’t necessarily need to apply these glidings. Actually, I would not encourage you to speak this way as a beginner. The French would kind of expect you to speak French the “traditional” way: a lot of glidings may sound a bit weird in the mouth of a beginner. Imagine your reaction if a beginner said: “I gonna” in English. Even if used in the right context, it may surprise you.\n\nHowever, if a foreigner wanted to understand English people when they speak, s\/he would need to understand “I gonna” since it’s used frequently.\n\nThere are even more “street” glidings in French than there is in English. We do them without thinking about it, no matter our age, or our level of education: it’s very natural to apply some glidings when you speak French casually nowadays.\n\nEach chapter of the story of my [beginner level French audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/) are recorded in 3 different ways:\n\n1. A slow version: very enunciated French which you can easily repeat to help you conquer traditional French pronunciation\n2. A normal version with French glidings and elisions (you’ll learn about these in the method)\n3. A modern street version as natives would actually speak so that you are ready to understand them\n\nVoilà. Apply all these tips and you’ll be on your way to becoming a French intermediate speaker in no time. If you fee you are already a solid A2 French level, then you may want to look at my advise for [intermediate speakers of French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/how-to-learn-french-audio\/french-intermediate-level).\n\nRemember, as a French beginner, you should:\n\n1. set realistic goals for yourself,\n2. find a structured audio method which doesn’t assume you are a grammar genius and explains everything clearly,\n3. get plenty of audio practice: repeat, repeat, repeat,\n4. and keep your priorities straight.\n\nGood luck with your French studies\\!\n\n![Author: Camille Chevalier](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2025\/08\/camille-chevalier-immersion-en-france-150x150.jpeg)\n\n#### Camille Chevalier\nBorn and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 25+ years in the US and France. Based on my students' goals and needs, I've created unique downloadable [French audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french) focussing on French like it's spoken today, for all levels. Come to Paimpol and enjoy an exclusive [French immersion homestay with me in Brittany](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-immersion\/teacher-homestay-paimpol-brittany\/).\n\nMore Articles from [Camille Chevalier](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/author\/camille-chevalier-karfis\/)\n\n## You Might Also Enjoy...\n[![French woman checking the various French learning methods](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/learn-French-best-method--285x147.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-pick-the-very-best-learning-method-and-avoid-scams\/)\n\n[French Learning Methods : Scams + Pros & Cons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-pick-the-very-best-learning-method-and-avoid-scams\/)\n\n[![Old picture woman with beret using dictaphone](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2021\/03\/how-to-spell-in-french.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-spell-in-french\/)\n\n[How to Spell in French?](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-spell-in-french\/)\n\n[![How to make flashcards to study French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2016\/03\/IMG_1248.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-make-flashcards-for-french-studies\/)\n\n[My 9 Tips To Make French Flashcards](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-make-flashcards-for-french-studies\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2010\/08\/6cdb4ac6ccf86fc9922b1b1ecf5faa0d.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/scared-to-speak-in-french-how-to-get-over-speaking-anxiety\/)\n\n[Scared To Speak in French – 10 Tips To Get Over Speaking Anxiety](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/scared-to-speak-in-french-how-to-get-over-speaking-anxiety\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2020\/05\/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-FrenchToday.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-top-12-tips\/)\n\n[How to Learn French Efficiently – 12 Top Tips](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-top-12-tips\/)\n\n[![French language register formal casual street slang French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2019\/03\/My-Post.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-language-register-everyday-formal-modern\/)\n\n[Which French Language Register Should I Learn?](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-language-register-everyday-formal-modern\/)\n\n[![French teacher and adult French student drinking coffee and laughing](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2021\/01\/french-immersion-homestay-in-france.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/why-learn-french-in-france\/)\n\n[Why You Need to Learn French in France at an Immersion Homestay](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/why-learn-french-in-france\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2019\/04\/Learning-French-While-Living-In-France-is-not-easy.jpg)](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/learning-french-when-living-in-france\/)\n\n[Learning French While Living in France is Easy. Wrong\\!](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/learning-french-when-living-in-france\/)\n\n[View More Articles](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/)\n\n#### Comments\nPlease enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.](https:\/\/disqus.com\/?ref_noscript)\n\n#### More free lessons\n- [How to learn French efficiently](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-top-12-tips\/)  \n  My 12 top tips\n- [French placement test](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-language-audio-quiz-test\/)  \n  Audio based French quiz with immediate answers & explanations\n- [Beginner French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french-audio\/french-beginner-level\/)  \n  How to start learning French with confidence\n- [How to get past the French intermediate frustration?](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-intermediate-level-b1-b2\/)  \n  Setting realistic goals & a strong study plan\n- [Advanced French speaker](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/how-to-learn-french-audio\/french-advanced-level\/)  \n  How to understand everything and speak without thinking\n- [How to choose the best French learning method?](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-pick-the-very-best-learning-method-and-avoid-scams\/)  \n  Pros & cons, scams\n- [I’m scared to speak in French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/scared-to-speak-in-french-how-to-get-over-speaking-anxiety\/)  \n  Lots of people are. But there’s hope\\!\n- [Learn French with movies](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-improve-your-french-with-french-movies\/)  \n  From entertainment to serious studying tool\n- [French for seniors](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-learn-french-senior\/)  \n  Learning French is stupendous for your brain\n- [How to make the French speak French with you](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/make-french-people-speak-french\/)  \n  It’s so annoying when they answer in English...\n\nI publish posts every week.   \nWant to keep up to date with the new content?   \n✉️ [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/newsletter\/) to my weekly newsletter\n\nDOWNLOAD YOUR FRENCH AUDIOBOOK\n\n🎁 2.5 Hours French Audiobook - 100% Free \/ Keep Forever 🎁\n\nRecorded at 3 different speeds + Study Guide + Q\\&A + Full Transcript\n\n[Download It Today At No Charge](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/free\/)\n\nCopyright - French Today 2026\n\n[French for Beginners](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-start-french-order-topics\/)  \n[French Numbers](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/how-to-best-learn-french-numbers-with-audio\/)  \n[French Pronunciation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/audio-guide\/)  \n[French Immersion](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-immersions\/)\n\n- [About US](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/about-us\/)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/privacy-policy\/)\n- [Mentions Légales](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/mentions-legales\/)\n- [Affiliate Program](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-todays-affiliate-program\/)\n\n[Continue Shopping →](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n\nItem added to cart.\n\n0 items -\n\n£0\\.00\n\n[Checkout](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/checkout\/)\n\nClose\n\n- [French Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/)\n  - [Beginner French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/)\n  - [Intermediate French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-intermediate\/)\n  - [Upper Intermediate Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-upper-intermediate\/)\n  - [Advanced French Method](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-advanced\/)\n  - [Exercise Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-exercise-audiobooks\/a-moi-paris-beginner-exercise-book\/)\n  - [French Audio Novels](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-novels\/une-semaine-a-paris-audiobook\/)\n  - [French Verb Drills](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-verb-drills\/verbs-vol-1\/)\n  - [All Our French Audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/)\n- [Audio Magazine](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/misc\/monthly-audio-magazine\/)\n- [Free Lessons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n  - [Latest Lessons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/)\n  - [How To Learn French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/)\n  - [French Vocabulary](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/)\n  - [French Grammar](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/)\n  - [French Pronunciation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/)\n  - [French Verb Conjugation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-verb-conjugation\/)\n  - [French Stories](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-story\/)\n  - [Traditional French Food & Wine](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-food-wine\/)\n  - [French Culture](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-culture\/)\n  - [French Poetry](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-poetry-reading\/)\n- [Immersion](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-immersions\/)\n- [More](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n  - [About Us\/ Contact](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/about-us\/)\n  - [Support\/FAQ](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/support\/)\n  - [French Level Quiz](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-language-audio-quiz-test\/)\n  - [French Lessons by Zoom](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/worldwide-french-lessons-via-phone-skype\/)\n  - [Our Unique French App](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/unique-french-app\/)\n  - [Cool Merchandise](https:\/\/merch.frenchtoday.com\/)\n  - [Subscribe To Newsletter](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/newsletter\/)\n\n\\[novashare\\_inline\\_content\\]\n\n[Free AUDIOBOOK](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/free\/)\n\n## Can You Understand Today’s Spoken French?\nIt’s not just slang! The French everybody speaks in France today is NOT the overly enunciated, extremely formal French usually taught to foreigners.\n\n[**Take Your Free Audio Test Now**](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-language-audio-quiz-test\/?utm_source=How+To+Learn+French&utm_medium=pop)\n\n0\n\nIn Your Cart\n\nAdd US\\$120\\.00 more to unlock your free Modern French Phrasebook\\!\n\nFree Audio Phrasebook\n\nYour Cart is Empty\n\nFill your cart with amazing items\n\n[Shop Now](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/french-beginner-level-a1-a2\/)\n\nGot a discount code?\n\nApply\n\n**Subtotal**\n\n**US\\$0\\.00**\n\nTaxes might be recalculated when you enter your address\n\nSelect options","attrs_readable_markdown":"Total French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips.\n\n## French Beginners Must Be Patient\nAs a French beginner, your goals should be:\n\n- to be confident enough so that you are not afraid to exchange a few words with a French person,\n- get a grip of French pronunciation so you can understand the French when they speak to you, and be understood by them,\n- handle basic conversations in specific situations,\n- Notice quick results and feel good about yourself.\n\nMy first tip is to always keep in mind these goals.\n\nYou cannot be [fluent in French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-top-12-tips\/) right away. You’ll have to be patient, and work your way step by step to reach fluency.\n\nRight now, every interaction you have involving the French language is a success\\!\n\n## How to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels)\nI will start with the most important French learning tip I can give:\n\n[Modern spoken French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/spoken-french-language\/) and traditional written French are VERY different: if you only learn French from a written source, it’s unlikely you will understand the French when they speak to you, and it’s unlikely they’ll understand you\\!\n\nNow, let’s see how someone who is just starting to learn French should proceed.\n\n## What is a Beginner Student?\n“French Beginner”: this simple expression is used to describe people with quite different needs.\n\nSo… what kind of beginner French student are you? The following paragraphs will give precise tips for different kind of French beginners. However, you may want to read them all since they will all help you to learn French efficiently.\n\n## True French Beginner – French Level A1\nYou are a blank canvas. And that’s great! At least, you don’t have any bad habits and you cannot wait to start your French language journey\\!\n\nYou need help on every possible front: [French pronunciation](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/audio-guide\/) and vocabulary, but also very accessible explanations to clarify the differences between the French and English languages.\n\nA lot of schools follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): it is an international standard for describing language ability. It’s commonly used to describe learners’ language skills, and the program you need to cover to pass exams. You will find more about it on [Wikipedia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages).\n\nFrench Today’s approach is unique. The À Moi Paris method progresses differently than the traditional methods, in particular in regard to tenses and moods. So this is not a perfect match with the CEFR. Read my article to see which French Today’s [audiobook level](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-french\/level-french-french-audiobook-choose) approximately corresponds to which CEFR level.\n\nHere are my tips to best learn French as a self-learning beginner student of French, learning French for his\/her own benefit, not just to pass written tests.\n\n### Total French Beginners Should Always Start With Politeness\nEven for the most basic interactions in French, you will need to master the precise vocabulary and modern pronunciation of [French politeness](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/\/french-greetings-politeness) expressions.\n\nThe French are known to be sticklers on etiquette and you do not want to start off on the wrong foot.\n\nOf course, you need audio to learn how to pronounce the French politeness expressions correctly.\n\nFrench politeness is a great way to start learning French pronunciation, and when explained properly, should also cover fundamental [French grammar](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/guide\/ \"French grammar\") such as “tu” versus “vous, some verb conjugations and introduce the notion of adjective agreement.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/learning-french-politeness-e1568641615784-660x354.jpg)\n\n### To Prepare For A Trip To France, Learn Sentences In Context\nIf you are just learning French to prepare for a trip to France, you may not need to get involved in deep French studying.\n\nOn top of politeness, learn useful French sentences and their correct pronunciation, focus on the “je” form of the verb and asking information questions:\n\n1. Ça coûte combien ?   \n   How much is-it?\n2. Je voudrais un café américain s’il vous plaît   \n   I’d like an \\[American-style\\] long coffee.\n3. Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas très bien français –  \n   I’m sorry, I don’t speak French much.\n4. Je comprends un peu si on parle lentement   \n   I understand a bit when people speak slowly.\n\nA French list of sentences will give you the pleasure of saying a couple of things in French and will show the French people your good will. I suggest you take a look at my [1100+ phrases and essential dialogs](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-lessons\/modern-french-audio-phrasebook\/) all recorded at 2 different speeds and levels of enunciation by a Parisian native.\n\nHowever, don’t expect to be able to handle a real conversation without a minimum of sentence structure. It may be possible in other languages, but not French.\n\nSo, take it for what it is: a fun challenge, a positive attitude, and a way to communicate the bare essentials should no one speak English at all.\n\n### Learn Vocabulary YOU Are Likely To Use\nOne of the first sentences I learned in English class was “the cat climbed onto the roof”. Try placing that in an English conversation…\n\nSo, to improve your French as a beginner, you should focus on learning things you would actually use.\n\nThe French method you use should understand that need and use re-usable examples to illustrate the points of grammar… Nothing too fancy, nor poem quotes, but daily things, truly useful examples you could actually re-use in a French interaction.\n\nSo say you have a dog: it’s likely you’ll talk about him… Pets are a common conversation topic. Say your dog has a beloved red ball. Then you may be interested in saying “my dog likes to play with his red ball”: “mon chien aime jouer avec sa balle rouge”… Try making up simple sentences you could actually use in real life.\n\n![Dog with Ball and French Text](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/beginners-dog-660x340.jpg)\n\n### Organising Your French Studies As a Beginner Student\nOne of the challenges a beginner student will face is prioritizing.\n\nWhat should you study after you studied politeness? Adjectives? Pronouns? Verb conjugations? More [French vocabulary](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/)?\n\nIn order to remember things, the way you organize your newly acquired French data is as important as the data itself.\n\nMy 23+ French teaching experience shows that to learn French efficiently, students need to learn with a structured audio method which addresses four needs:\n\n1. introduce truly useful vocabulary such as greetings and politeness, asking questions, ordering [food](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary\/food-audio\/), talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies…\n2. implement both traditional and modern French pronunciations,\n3. set the foundations of French grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step way: like building blocks,\n4. give you plenty of examples so you can also learn French in context.\n\nTo study French the right way from the very start, I suggest you check-out my French downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/). It’s written with the true French beginner in mind.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2019\/08\/A-Moi-Paris-Method-Full-Method@300x-230x230.jpg)\n\nÀ Moi Paris Audiobook Method\n\nA new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.\n\n(836 Reviews)\n\n[**More Details & Audio Samples**](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/)\n## False French Beginner – French Level A2\nYou’ve studied French before (maybe in school), but you forgot most of it.\n\nMaybe you remember the logic of beginner’s French grammar but you need to refresh it all, set fast reflexes when speaking and gain confidence to use your French in conversations.\n\n### French Beginners Should Focus On The Present Tense\nThe Present Indicative tense is the tense you’ll use in most of your French interactions. So, studying the present tense is what will give you the best return for the time you invest.\n\nThe tenses of the past are a real mess in French. It’s like opening a Russian doll: there are so many layers of things to understand and memorize before you can truly use them.\n\nOf course, [learning the French tenses of the past](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-upper-intermediate\/) is important, and they would be part of an A2 level exam. However, if you are not learning French to pass exams, communicating simple orders, being polite, talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies – and doing it with a decent accent – should be more important than spending hours drilling over your French verb tenses…\n\nWhich bring me to my next point.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2021\/06\/modern-test.jpg)\n\nUnique Audio-Based  \nModern French Level Test\n\n20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. *Completely free, no signup required*\n\n[**Let’s Start…**](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/modern-french-level-placement-test\/)\n### Beware Of The Intellectual In You\nLots of students actually enjoy the learning challenge. I’ve seen many people spend hours on drilling [French verb tenses](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-verb-conjugation\/secret-to-master-french-verb-conjugation\/) they didn’t even understand! Or take real pleasure at doing “find and replace the direct object” kind of exercises.\n\nHowever, as a beginner, you need to stay focused on your priorities. Don’t get lost in the intellectual challenge. Drill on the present tense only, drill on “être” and “avoir”, adjective agreement, questions, pronunciation…\n\nIt may not be extremely intellectually stimulating, but it’s what you need to master at this stage of your French studies.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2018\/09\/learning-french-beware-the-intellectual-e1568641689573-660x375.jpg)\n\n### Simplify Your Sentences\nYes, it will be nice to be able to say one day in a restaurant: “I would be delighted if you could kindly seat us by the window, so we may enjoy the spectacular view”.\n\nHowever, as a beginner, you should be happy if you could say: “une table à côté de la fenêtre. C’est possible ? C’est très beau là !” (A table by the window. Is it possible? It’s very pretty there!) smile and point to the view…\n\nThe method you use should reflect this. Along with teaching your French, it should teach you how to simplify your sentence, and use “simple” French.\n\nMy downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/) features a fun French story written with the beginner French student in mind. You’ll enjoy learning French in the context and then [test](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/french-language-audio-quiz-test\/) yourself with the Q\\&A section.\n\n### Watch out for the free resources\nThere is a lot of free resources out there: they are fun, but a huge part of a successful learning process is time management. Setting up a structured approach, which clearly takes you from point A to point B is essential if you want to build up a solid foundation.\n\nAre you really learning French when you are jumping from one YouTube video to the next? Or are you just having fun?\n\nDon’t get me wrong. Fun is good. And you may even learn a thing or two. But it’s also very easy to lost track of your goal and end up losing your time.\n\nNow, let’s address a particular but common French problem for the beginner – or even intermediate (hopefully not advanced) students: the [French accent](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/improve-french-accent\/) and understanding of Spoken French.\n\n## Speaking\/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate\nYou really understand basic French grammar, know your verb conjugations etc… You even ace your French A1 and A2 written exams\\!\n\nHowever you can’t understand the French when they speak, and they can’t understand you. How come?\n\n> ***“The spoken*** ***French taught in American classrooms is a fiction, based on ideas about how people should speak, not on how they do speak”***\n> \n> *Waugh & Fonseca-Greber – University of Arizona*\n\nThat’s why.\n\nYou need to learn the “real” modern spoken French language: not slang, not “hood” French, but the way everybody speaks in a relaxed, casual environment.\n\nI call this “modern French”: French like you’ll hear it used daily in the streets of France. And it’s quite different from the enunciated traditional French pronunciation (like a TV news host would use) – and it’s also likely to be different from what you have learned in school.\n\n### Learn The Rules Of French Pronunciation\nI am shocked to see the number of students who never learned the rules of French pronunciation.\n\nWhy do you pronounce the verb in “ils écoutent” as zécoot” (with a strong liaison in Z)  \nbut the verb of “les enfants écoutent” as “écoot” (no liaison)?\n\nIt’s because there is a strong liaison after the subject pronouns “on, nous, vous, ils, elles” but usually no liaison after a noun (such as “les enfants”.\n\nIf you don’t know that, you can’t invent it.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/assets\/2016\/12\/Secrets-of-French-Pronunciation@300x-230x230.jpg)\n\nSecrets of French Pronunciation\n\nIn-depth audiobook covering the foundations as well as the difficulties of today’s French pronunciation\n\n(76 Reviews)\n\n**[More Details & Audio Samples](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-lessons\/secrets-of-french-pronunciation\/)**\n### Drill On The Most Difficult French Sounds\nIt takes practice to master the French R. Or the difference between “u” and “ou”, “é” and “è”. The French learning method you use should explain how to form these sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips…\n\nFrench pronunciation will become much clearer when it’s [explained to you the right way](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/audiobooks-to-learn-french\/\/secrets-of-french-pronunciation). Of course, more than ever, audio is a must\\!\n\n### Learn Both Traditional And Modern Spoken French\nNow, there are the rules, and then there is the reality.\n\nOn top of all the [French liaisons](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-pronunciation\/liaison\/), elisions etc which obey the pronunciation rules, the French also apply lots of “glidings” when they speak.\n\nFor example, the “ne” part of the negation is often silent.   \nOr “[il y a” is pronounced “ya”](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/blog\/french-grammar\/how-to-use-the-pronoun-y-in-french\/).\n\nIf you want the French to understand you when you speak, you don’t necessarily need to apply these glidings. Actually, I would not encourage you to speak this way as a beginner. The French would kind of expect you to speak French the “traditional” way: a lot of glidings may sound a bit weird in the mouth of a beginner. Imagine your reaction if a beginner said: “I gonna” in English. Even if used in the right context, it may surprise you.\n\nHowever, if a foreigner wanted to understand English people when they speak, s\/he would need to understand “I gonna” since it’s used frequently.\n\nThere are even more “street” glidings in French than there is in English. We do them without thinking about it, no matter our age, or our level of education: it’s very natural to apply some glidings when you speak French casually nowadays.\n\nEach chapter of the story of my [beginner level French audiobooks](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/learn-french\/french-audio-books\/a-moi-paris-method-beginner\/) are recorded in 3 different ways:\n\n1. A slow version: very enunciated French which you can easily repeat to help you conquer traditional French pronunciation\n2. A normal version with French glidings and elisions (you’ll learn about these in the method)\n3. A modern street version as natives would actually speak so that you are ready to understand them\n\nVoilà. Apply all these tips and you’ll be on your way to becoming a French intermediate speaker in no time. If you fee you are already a solid A2 French level, then you may want to look at my advise for [intermediate speakers of French](https:\/\/www.frenchtoday.com\/how-to-learn-french-audio\/french-intermediate-level).\n\nRemember, as a French beginner, you should:\n\n1. set realistic goals for yourself,\n2. find a structured audio method which doesn’t assume you are a grammar genius and explains everything clearly,\n3. get plenty of audio practice: repeat, repeat, repeat,\n4. and keep your priorities straight.\n\nGood luck with your French studies\\!","meta_canonical":null,"ml_categories_json":"{\"\/Jobs_and_Education\":920,\"\/Jobs_and_Education\/Education\":920,\"\/Jobs_and_Education\/Education\/Distance_Learning\":422,\"\/People_and_Society\":146}","ml_types_json":"{\"\/Article\":997,\"\/Article\/How_to\":698}","ml_intent_types_json":"{\"Informational\":996}","meta_language":"en-us","attrs_author":null,"attrs_publish_time":1648746397,"attrs_original_publish_time":1648746397,"attrs_is_republished":0,"attrs_nr_words":"3258","attrs_boilerpipe_nr_words":"2446","body_ext_links_number":10,"body_int_links_number":75,"meta_nofollow":0,"meta_noarchive":0,"props_was_rendered":1,"src_redirect":"","download_time_msec":2637,"download_ttfb_msec":2623,"download_size":46682}

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How To Learn French For French Beginner Level (A1 & A2)

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Total French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips.

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Total French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips. French Beginners Must Be Patient As a French beginner, your goals should be: to be confident enough so that you are not afraid to exchange a few words with a French person, get a grip of French pronunciation so you can understand the French when they speak to you, and be understood by them, handle basic conversations in specific situations, Notice quick results and feel good about yourself. My first tip is to always keep in mind these goals. You cannot be fluent in French right away. You’ll have to be patient, and work your way step by step to reach fluency. Right now, every interaction you have involving the French language is a success! How to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels) I will start with the most important French learning tip I can give: Modern spoken French and traditional written French are VERY different: if you only learn French from a written source, it’s unlikely you will understand the French when they speak to you, and it’s unlikely they’ll understand you! Now, let’s see how someone who is just starting to learn French should proceed. What is a Beginner Student? “French Beginner”: this simple expression is used to describe people with quite different needs. So… what kind of beginner French student are you? The following paragraphs will give precise tips for different kind of French beginners. However, you may want to read them all since they will all help you to learn French efficiently. True French Beginner – French Level A1 You are a blank canvas. And that’s great! At least, you don’t have any bad habits and you cannot wait to start your French language journey! You need help on every possible front: French pronunciation and vocabulary, but also very accessible explanations to clarify the differences between the French and English languages. A lot of schools follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): it is an international standard for describing language ability. It’s commonly used to describe learners’ language skills, and the program you need to cover to pass exams. You will find more about it on Wikipedia . French Today’s approach is unique. The À Moi Paris method progresses differently than the traditional methods, in particular in regard to tenses and moods. So this is not a perfect match with the CEFR. Read my article to see which French Today’s audiobook level approximately corresponds to which CEFR level. Here are my tips to best learn French as a self-learning beginner student of French, learning French for his/her own benefit, not just to pass written tests. Total French Beginners Should Always Start With Politeness Even for the most basic interactions in French, you will need to master the precise vocabulary and modern pronunciation of French politeness expressions. The French are known to be sticklers on etiquette and you do not want to start off on the wrong foot. Of course, you need audio to learn how to pronounce the French politeness expressions correctly. French politeness is a great way to start learning French pronunciation, and when explained properly, should also cover fundamental French grammar such as “tu” versus “vous, some verb conjugations and introduce the notion of adjective agreement. To Prepare For A Trip To France, Learn Sentences In Context If you are just learning French to prepare for a trip to France, you may not need to get involved in deep French studying. On top of politeness, learn useful French sentences and their correct pronunciation, focus on the “je” form of the verb and asking information questions: Ça coûte combien ? How much is-it? Je voudrais un café américain s’il vous plaît I’d like an [American-style] long coffee. Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas très bien français – I’m sorry, I don’t speak French much. Je comprends un peu si on parle lentement I understand a bit when people speak slowly. A French list of sentences will give you the pleasure of saying a couple of things in French and will show the French people your good will. I suggest you take a look at my 1100+ phrases and essential dialogs all recorded at 2 different speeds and levels of enunciation by a Parisian native. However, don’t expect to be able to handle a real conversation without a minimum of sentence structure. It may be possible in other languages, but not French. So, take it for what it is: a fun challenge, a positive attitude, and a way to communicate the bare essentials should no one speak English at all. Learn Vocabulary YOU Are Likely To Use One of the first sentences I learned in English class was “the cat climbed onto the roof”. Try placing that in an English conversation… So, to improve your French as a beginner, you should focus on learning things you would actually use. The French method you use should understand that need and use re-usable examples to illustrate the points of grammar… Nothing too fancy, nor poem quotes, but daily things, truly useful examples you could actually re-use in a French interaction. So say you have a dog: it’s likely you’ll talk about him… Pets are a common conversation topic. Say your dog has a beloved red ball. Then you may be interested in saying “my dog likes to play with his red ball”: “mon chien aime jouer avec sa balle rouge”… Try making up simple sentences you could actually use in real life. Organising Your French Studies As a Beginner Student One of the challenges a beginner student will face is prioritizing. What should you study after you studied politeness? Adjectives? Pronouns? Verb conjugations? More French vocabulary ? In order to remember things, the way you organize your newly acquired French data is as important as the data itself. My 23+ French teaching experience shows that to learn French efficiently, students need to learn with a structured audio method which addresses four needs: introduce truly useful vocabulary such as greetings and politeness, asking questions, ordering food , talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies… implement both traditional and modern French pronunciations, set the foundations of French grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step way: like building blocks, give you plenty of examples so you can also learn French in context. To study French the right way from the very start, I suggest you check-out my French downloadable audiobook À Moi Paris Method – Beginner . It’s written with the true French beginner in mind. À Moi Paris Audiobook Method A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers. (836 Reviews) More Details & Audio Samples False French Beginner – French Level A2 You’ve studied French before (maybe in school), but you forgot most of it. Maybe you remember the logic of beginner’s French grammar but you need to refresh it all, set fast reflexes when speaking and gain confidence to use your French in conversations. French Beginners Should Focus On The Present Tense The Present Indicative tense is the tense you’ll use in most of your French interactions. So, studying the present tense is what will give you the best return for the time you invest. The tenses of the past are a real mess in French. It’s like opening a Russian doll: there are so many layers of things to understand and memorize before you can truly use them. Of course, learning the French tenses of the past is important, and they would be part of an A2 level exam. However, if you are not learning French to pass exams, communicating simple orders, being polite, talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies – and doing it with a decent accent – should be more important than spending hours drilling over your French verb tenses… Which bring me to my next point. Unique Audio-Based Modern French Level Test 20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. Completely free, no signup required Let’s Start… Beware Of The Intellectual In You Lots of students actually enjoy the learning challenge. I’ve seen many people spend hours on drilling French verb tenses they didn’t even understand! Or take real pleasure at doing “find and replace the direct object” kind of exercises. However, as a beginner, you need to stay focused on your priorities. Don’t get lost in the intellectual challenge. Drill on the present tense only, drill on “être” and “avoir”, adjective agreement, questions, pronunciation… It may not be extremely intellectually stimulating, but it’s what you need to master at this stage of your French studies. Simplify Your Sentences Yes, it will be nice to be able to say one day in a restaurant: “I would be delighted if you could kindly seat us by the window, so we may enjoy the spectacular view”. However, as a beginner, you should be happy if you could say: “une table à côté de la fenêtre. C’est possible ? C’est très beau là !” (A table by the window. Is it possible? It’s very pretty there!) smile and point to the view… The method you use should reflect this. Along with teaching your French, it should teach you how to simplify your sentence, and use “simple” French. My downloadable audiobook À Moi Paris Method – Beginner features a fun French story written with the beginner French student in mind. You’ll enjoy learning French in the context and then test yourself with the Q&A section. Watch out for the free resources There is a lot of free resources out there: they are fun, but a huge part of a successful learning process is time management. Setting up a structured approach, which clearly takes you from point A to point B is essential if you want to build up a solid foundation. Are you really learning French when you are jumping from one YouTube video to the next? Or are you just having fun? Don’t get me wrong. Fun is good. And you may even learn a thing or two. But it’s also very easy to lost track of your goal and end up losing your time. Now, let’s address a particular but common French problem for the beginner – or even intermediate (hopefully not advanced) students: the French accent and understanding of Spoken French. Speaking/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate You really understand basic French grammar, know your verb conjugations etc… You even ace your French A1 and A2 written exams! However you can’t understand the French when they speak, and they can’t understand you. How come? “The spoken French taught in American classrooms is a fiction, based on ideas about how people should speak, not on how they do speak” Waugh & Fonseca-Greber – University of Arizona That’s why. You need to learn the “real” modern spoken French language: not slang, not “hood” French, but the way everybody speaks in a relaxed, casual environment. I call this “modern French”: French like you’ll hear it used daily in the streets of France. And it’s quite different from the enunciated traditional French pronunciation (like a TV news host would use) – and it’s also likely to be different from what you have learned in school. Learn The Rules Of French Pronunciation I am shocked to see the number of students who never learned the rules of French pronunciation. Why do you pronounce the verb in “ils écoutent” as zécoot” (with a strong liaison in Z) but the verb of “les enfants écoutent” as “écoot” (no liaison)? It’s because there is a strong liaison after the subject pronouns “on, nous, vous, ils, elles” but usually no liaison after a noun (such as “les enfants”. If you don’t know that, you can’t invent it. Secrets of French Pronunciation In-depth audiobook covering the foundations as well as the difficulties of today’s French pronunciation (76 Reviews) More Details & Audio Samples Drill On The Most Difficult French Sounds It takes practice to master the French R. Or the difference between “u” and “ou”, “é” and “è”. The French learning method you use should explain how to form these sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips… French pronunciation will become much clearer when it’s explained to you the right way . Of course, more than ever, audio is a must! Learn Both Traditional And Modern Spoken French Now, there are the rules, and then there is the reality. On top of all the French liaisons , elisions etc which obey the pronunciation rules, the French also apply lots of “glidings” when they speak. For example, the “ne” part of the negation is often silent. Or “ il y a” is pronounced “ya” . If you want the French to understand you when you speak, you don’t necessarily need to apply these glidings. Actually, I would not encourage you to speak this way as a beginner. The French would kind of expect you to speak French the “traditional” way: a lot of glidings may sound a bit weird in the mouth of a beginner. Imagine your reaction if a beginner said: “I gonna” in English. Even if used in the right context, it may surprise you. However, if a foreigner wanted to understand English people when they speak, s/he would need to understand “I gonna” since it’s used frequently. There are even more “street” glidings in French than there is in English. We do them without thinking about it, no matter our age, or our level of education: it’s very natural to apply some glidings when you speak French casually nowadays. Each chapter of the story of my beginner level French audiobooks are recorded in 3 different ways: A slow version: very enunciated French which you can easily repeat to help you conquer traditional French pronunciation A normal version with French glidings and elisions (you’ll learn about these in the method) A modern street version as natives would actually speak so that you are ready to understand them Voilà. Apply all these tips and you’ll be on your way to becoming a French intermediate speaker in no time. If you fee you are already a solid A2 French level, then you may want to look at my advise for intermediate speakers of French . Remember, as a French beginner, you should: set realistic goals for yourself, find a structured audio method which doesn’t assume you are a grammar genius and explains everything clearly, get plenty of audio practice: repeat, repeat, repeat, and keep your priorities straight. Good luck with your French studies!

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[French Stories](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-story/) [How To Learn French](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/) # How To Learn French For French Beginner Level (A1 & A2) By [Camille Chevalier](https://www.frenchtoday.com/author/camille-chevalier-karfis/) Updated: Mar 31, 2022 ![Author: Camille Chevalier](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2025/08/camille-chevalier-immersion-en-france-150x150.jpeg) Total French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2018/09/beginners-learn-french-cover-660x330.jpg) **Table of Contents** [French Beginners Must Be Patient](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/#french-beginners-must-be-patient) [How to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels)](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/#how-to-learn-french-as-a-beginner-a1-a2-levels) [What is a Beginner Student?](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/#what-is-a-beginner-student) [True French Beginner – French Level A1](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/#true-french-beginner-french-level-a1) [False French Beginner – French Level A2](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/#false-french-beginner-french-level-a2) [Speaking/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/french-beginner-level-a1-a2/#speakingunderstanding-challenged-beginner-intermediate) ## French Beginners Must Be Patient As a French beginner, your goals should be: - to be confident enough so that you are not afraid to exchange a few words with a French person, - get a grip of French pronunciation so you can understand the French when they speak to you, and be understood by them, - handle basic conversations in specific situations, - Notice quick results and feel good about yourself. My first tip is to always keep in mind these goals. You cannot be [fluent in French](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-top-12-tips/) right away. You’ll have to be patient, and work your way step by step to reach fluency. Right now, every interaction you have involving the French language is a success\! ## How to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels) I will start with the most important French learning tip I can give: [Modern spoken French](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/spoken-french-language/) and traditional written French are VERY different: if you only learn French from a written source, it’s unlikely you will understand the French when they speak to you, and it’s unlikely they’ll understand you\! Now, let’s see how someone who is just starting to learn French should proceed. ## What is a Beginner Student? “French Beginner”: this simple expression is used to describe people with quite different needs. So… what kind of beginner French student are you? The following paragraphs will give precise tips for different kind of French beginners. However, you may want to read them all since they will all help you to learn French efficiently. ## True French Beginner – French Level A1 You are a blank canvas. And that’s great! At least, you don’t have any bad habits and you cannot wait to start your French language journey\! You need help on every possible front: [French pronunciation](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/audio-guide/) and vocabulary, but also very accessible explanations to clarify the differences between the French and English languages. A lot of schools follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): it is an international standard for describing language ability. It’s commonly used to describe learners’ language skills, and the program you need to cover to pass exams. You will find more about it on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages). French Today’s approach is unique. The À Moi Paris method progresses differently than the traditional methods, in particular in regard to tenses and moods. So this is not a perfect match with the CEFR. Read my article to see which French Today’s [audiobook level](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/level-french-french-audiobook-choose) approximately corresponds to which CEFR level. Here are my tips to best learn French as a self-learning beginner student of French, learning French for his/her own benefit, not just to pass written tests. ### Total French Beginners Should Always Start With Politeness Even for the most basic interactions in French, you will need to master the precise vocabulary and modern pronunciation of [French politeness](https://www.frenchtoday.com/audiobooks-to-learn-french//french-greetings-politeness) expressions. The French are known to be sticklers on etiquette and you do not want to start off on the wrong foot. Of course, you need audio to learn how to pronounce the French politeness expressions correctly. French politeness is a great way to start learning French pronunciation, and when explained properly, should also cover fundamental [French grammar](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/guide/ "French grammar") such as “tu” versus “vous, some verb conjugations and introduce the notion of adjective agreement. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2018/09/learning-french-politeness-e1568641615784-660x354.jpg) ### To Prepare For A Trip To France, Learn Sentences In Context If you are just learning French to prepare for a trip to France, you may not need to get involved in deep French studying. On top of politeness, learn useful French sentences and their correct pronunciation, focus on the “je” form of the verb and asking information questions: 1. Ça coûte combien ? How much is-it? 2. Je voudrais un café américain s’il vous plaît I’d like an \[American-style\] long coffee. 3. Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas très bien français – I’m sorry, I don’t speak French much. 4. Je comprends un peu si on parle lentement I understand a bit when people speak slowly. A French list of sentences will give you the pleasure of saying a couple of things in French and will show the French people your good will. I suggest you take a look at my [1100+ phrases and essential dialogs](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-lessons/modern-french-audio-phrasebook/) all recorded at 2 different speeds and levels of enunciation by a Parisian native. However, don’t expect to be able to handle a real conversation without a minimum of sentence structure. It may be possible in other languages, but not French. So, take it for what it is: a fun challenge, a positive attitude, and a way to communicate the bare essentials should no one speak English at all. ### Learn Vocabulary YOU Are Likely To Use One of the first sentences I learned in English class was “the cat climbed onto the roof”. Try placing that in an English conversation… So, to improve your French as a beginner, you should focus on learning things you would actually use. The French method you use should understand that need and use re-usable examples to illustrate the points of grammar… Nothing too fancy, nor poem quotes, but daily things, truly useful examples you could actually re-use in a French interaction. So say you have a dog: it’s likely you’ll talk about him… Pets are a common conversation topic. Say your dog has a beloved red ball. Then you may be interested in saying “my dog likes to play with his red ball”: “mon chien aime jouer avec sa balle rouge”… Try making up simple sentences you could actually use in real life. ![Dog with Ball and French Text](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2018/09/beginners-dog-660x340.jpg) ### Organising Your French Studies As a Beginner Student One of the challenges a beginner student will face is prioritizing. What should you study after you studied politeness? Adjectives? Pronouns? Verb conjugations? More [French vocabulary](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-vocabulary/)? In order to remember things, the way you organize your newly acquired French data is as important as the data itself. My 23+ French teaching experience shows that to learn French efficiently, students need to learn with a structured audio method which addresses four needs: 1. introduce truly useful vocabulary such as greetings and politeness, asking questions, ordering [food](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-vocabulary/food-audio/), talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies… 2. implement both traditional and modern French pronunciations, 3. set the foundations of French grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step way: like building blocks, 4. give you plenty of examples so you can also learn French in context. To study French the right way from the very start, I suggest you check-out my French downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/). It’s written with the true French beginner in mind. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2019/08/A-Moi-Paris-Method-Full-Method@300x-230x230.jpg) À Moi Paris Audiobook Method A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers. (836 Reviews) [**More Details & Audio Samples**](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/) ## False French Beginner – French Level A2 You’ve studied French before (maybe in school), but you forgot most of it. Maybe you remember the logic of beginner’s French grammar but you need to refresh it all, set fast reflexes when speaking and gain confidence to use your French in conversations. ### French Beginners Should Focus On The Present Tense The Present Indicative tense is the tense you’ll use in most of your French interactions. So, studying the present tense is what will give you the best return for the time you invest. The tenses of the past are a real mess in French. It’s like opening a Russian doll: there are so many layers of things to understand and memorize before you can truly use them. Of course, [learning the French tenses of the past](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-upper-intermediate/) is important, and they would be part of an A2 level exam. However, if you are not learning French to pass exams, communicating simple orders, being polite, talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies – and doing it with a decent accent – should be more important than spending hours drilling over your French verb tenses… Which bring me to my next point. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2021/06/modern-test.jpg) Unique Audio-Based Modern French Level Test 20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. *Completely free, no signup required* [**Let’s Start…**](https://www.frenchtoday.com/modern-french-level-placement-test/) ### Beware Of The Intellectual In You Lots of students actually enjoy the learning challenge. I’ve seen many people spend hours on drilling [French verb tenses](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-verb-conjugation/secret-to-master-french-verb-conjugation/) they didn’t even understand! Or take real pleasure at doing “find and replace the direct object” kind of exercises. However, as a beginner, you need to stay focused on your priorities. Don’t get lost in the intellectual challenge. Drill on the present tense only, drill on “être” and “avoir”, adjective agreement, questions, pronunciation… It may not be extremely intellectually stimulating, but it’s what you need to master at this stage of your French studies. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2018/09/learning-french-beware-the-intellectual-e1568641689573-660x375.jpg) ### Simplify Your Sentences Yes, it will be nice to be able to say one day in a restaurant: “I would be delighted if you could kindly seat us by the window, so we may enjoy the spectacular view”. However, as a beginner, you should be happy if you could say: “une table à côté de la fenêtre. C’est possible ? C’est très beau là !” (A table by the window. Is it possible? It’s very pretty there!) smile and point to the view… The method you use should reflect this. Along with teaching your French, it should teach you how to simplify your sentence, and use “simple” French. My downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/) features a fun French story written with the beginner French student in mind. You’ll enjoy learning French in the context and then [test](https://www.frenchtoday.com/french-language-audio-quiz-test/) yourself with the Q\&A section. ### Watch out for the free resources There is a lot of free resources out there: they are fun, but a huge part of a successful learning process is time management. Setting up a structured approach, which clearly takes you from point A to point B is essential if you want to build up a solid foundation. Are you really learning French when you are jumping from one YouTube video to the next? Or are you just having fun? Don’t get me wrong. Fun is good. And you may even learn a thing or two. But it’s also very easy to lost track of your goal and end up losing your time. Now, let’s address a particular but common French problem for the beginner – or even intermediate (hopefully not advanced) students: the [French accent](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/improve-french-accent/) and understanding of Spoken French. ## Speaking/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate You really understand basic French grammar, know your verb conjugations etc… You even ace your French A1 and A2 written exams\! However you can’t understand the French when they speak, and they can’t understand you. How come? > ***“The spoken*** ***French taught in American classrooms is a fiction, based on ideas about how people should speak, not on how they do speak”*** > > *Waugh & Fonseca-Greber – University of Arizona* That’s why. You need to learn the “real” modern spoken French language: not slang, not “hood” French, but the way everybody speaks in a relaxed, casual environment. I call this “modern French”: French like you’ll hear it used daily in the streets of France. And it’s quite different from the enunciated traditional French pronunciation (like a TV news host would use) – and it’s also likely to be different from what you have learned in school. ### Learn The Rules Of French Pronunciation I am shocked to see the number of students who never learned the rules of French pronunciation. Why do you pronounce the verb in “ils écoutent” as zécoot” (with a strong liaison in Z) but the verb of “les enfants écoutent” as “écoot” (no liaison)? It’s because there is a strong liaison after the subject pronouns “on, nous, vous, ils, elles” but usually no liaison after a noun (such as “les enfants”. If you don’t know that, you can’t invent it. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2016/12/Secrets-of-French-Pronunciation@300x-230x230.jpg) Secrets of French Pronunciation In-depth audiobook covering the foundations as well as the difficulties of today’s French pronunciation (76 Reviews) **[More Details & Audio Samples](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-lessons/secrets-of-french-pronunciation/)** ### Drill On The Most Difficult French Sounds It takes practice to master the French R. Or the difference between “u” and “ou”, “é” and “è”. The French learning method you use should explain how to form these sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips… French pronunciation will become much clearer when it’s [explained to you the right way](https://www.frenchtoday.com/audiobooks-to-learn-french//secrets-of-french-pronunciation). Of course, more than ever, audio is a must\! ### Learn Both Traditional And Modern Spoken French Now, there are the rules, and then there is the reality. On top of all the [French liaisons](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/liaison/), elisions etc which obey the pronunciation rules, the French also apply lots of “glidings” when they speak. For example, the “ne” part of the negation is often silent. Or “[il y a” is pronounced “ya”](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/how-to-use-the-pronoun-y-in-french/). If you want the French to understand you when you speak, you don’t necessarily need to apply these glidings. Actually, I would not encourage you to speak this way as a beginner. The French would kind of expect you to speak French the “traditional” way: a lot of glidings may sound a bit weird in the mouth of a beginner. Imagine your reaction if a beginner said: “I gonna” in English. Even if used in the right context, it may surprise you. However, if a foreigner wanted to understand English people when they speak, s/he would need to understand “I gonna” since it’s used frequently. There are even more “street” glidings in French than there is in English. We do them without thinking about it, no matter our age, or our level of education: it’s very natural to apply some glidings when you speak French casually nowadays. Each chapter of the story of my [beginner level French audiobooks](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/) are recorded in 3 different ways: 1. A slow version: very enunciated French which you can easily repeat to help you conquer traditional French pronunciation 2. A normal version with French glidings and elisions (you’ll learn about these in the method) 3. A modern street version as natives would actually speak so that you are ready to understand them Voilà. Apply all these tips and you’ll be on your way to becoming a French intermediate speaker in no time. If you fee you are already a solid A2 French level, then you may want to look at my advise for [intermediate speakers of French](https://www.frenchtoday.com/how-to-learn-french-audio/french-intermediate-level). Remember, as a French beginner, you should: 1. set realistic goals for yourself, 2. find a structured audio method which doesn’t assume you are a grammar genius and explains everything clearly, 3. get plenty of audio practice: repeat, repeat, repeat, 4. and keep your priorities straight. Good luck with your French studies\! ![Author: Camille Chevalier](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2025/08/camille-chevalier-immersion-en-france-150x150.jpeg) #### Camille Chevalier Born and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 25+ years in the US and France. Based on my students' goals and needs, I've created unique downloadable [French audiobooks](https://www.frenchtoday.com/audiobooks-to-learn-french) focussing on French like it's spoken today, for all levels. Come to Paimpol and enjoy an exclusive [French immersion homestay with me in Brittany](https://www.frenchtoday.com/french-immersion/teacher-homestay-paimpol-brittany/). More Articles from [Camille Chevalier](https://www.frenchtoday.com/author/camille-chevalier-karfis/) ## You Might Also Enjoy... 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Total French beginner and A1 or A2 French levels: What should your top priorities be? What's the best way to learn French for beginners? Follow my precise tips. ## French Beginners Must Be Patient As a French beginner, your goals should be: - to be confident enough so that you are not afraid to exchange a few words with a French person, - get a grip of French pronunciation so you can understand the French when they speak to you, and be understood by them, - handle basic conversations in specific situations, - Notice quick results and feel good about yourself. My first tip is to always keep in mind these goals. You cannot be [fluent in French](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/how-to-learn-french-efficiently-top-12-tips/) right away. You’ll have to be patient, and work your way step by step to reach fluency. Right now, every interaction you have involving the French language is a success\! ## How to Learn French as a Beginner (A1 A2 Levels) I will start with the most important French learning tip I can give: [Modern spoken French](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/spoken-french-language/) and traditional written French are VERY different: if you only learn French from a written source, it’s unlikely you will understand the French when they speak to you, and it’s unlikely they’ll understand you\! Now, let’s see how someone who is just starting to learn French should proceed. ## What is a Beginner Student? “French Beginner”: this simple expression is used to describe people with quite different needs. So… what kind of beginner French student are you? The following paragraphs will give precise tips for different kind of French beginners. However, you may want to read them all since they will all help you to learn French efficiently. ## True French Beginner – French Level A1 You are a blank canvas. And that’s great! At least, you don’t have any bad habits and you cannot wait to start your French language journey\! You need help on every possible front: [French pronunciation](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/audio-guide/) and vocabulary, but also very accessible explanations to clarify the differences between the French and English languages. A lot of schools follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): it is an international standard for describing language ability. It’s commonly used to describe learners’ language skills, and the program you need to cover to pass exams. You will find more about it on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages). French Today’s approach is unique. The À Moi Paris method progresses differently than the traditional methods, in particular in regard to tenses and moods. So this is not a perfect match with the CEFR. Read my article to see which French Today’s [audiobook level](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-learn-french/level-french-french-audiobook-choose) approximately corresponds to which CEFR level. Here are my tips to best learn French as a self-learning beginner student of French, learning French for his/her own benefit, not just to pass written tests. ### Total French Beginners Should Always Start With Politeness Even for the most basic interactions in French, you will need to master the precise vocabulary and modern pronunciation of [French politeness](https://www.frenchtoday.com/audiobooks-to-learn-french//french-greetings-politeness) expressions. The French are known to be sticklers on etiquette and you do not want to start off on the wrong foot. Of course, you need audio to learn how to pronounce the French politeness expressions correctly. French politeness is a great way to start learning French pronunciation, and when explained properly, should also cover fundamental [French grammar](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/guide/ "French grammar") such as “tu” versus “vous, some verb conjugations and introduce the notion of adjective agreement. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2018/09/learning-french-politeness-e1568641615784-660x354.jpg) ### To Prepare For A Trip To France, Learn Sentences In Context If you are just learning French to prepare for a trip to France, you may not need to get involved in deep French studying. On top of politeness, learn useful French sentences and their correct pronunciation, focus on the “je” form of the verb and asking information questions: 1. Ça coûte combien ? How much is-it? 2. Je voudrais un café américain s’il vous plaît I’d like an \[American-style\] long coffee. 3. Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas très bien français – I’m sorry, I don’t speak French much. 4. Je comprends un peu si on parle lentement I understand a bit when people speak slowly. A French list of sentences will give you the pleasure of saying a couple of things in French and will show the French people your good will. I suggest you take a look at my [1100+ phrases and essential dialogs](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-lessons/modern-french-audio-phrasebook/) all recorded at 2 different speeds and levels of enunciation by a Parisian native. However, don’t expect to be able to handle a real conversation without a minimum of sentence structure. It may be possible in other languages, but not French. So, take it for what it is: a fun challenge, a positive attitude, and a way to communicate the bare essentials should no one speak English at all. ### Learn Vocabulary YOU Are Likely To Use One of the first sentences I learned in English class was “the cat climbed onto the roof”. Try placing that in an English conversation… So, to improve your French as a beginner, you should focus on learning things you would actually use. The French method you use should understand that need and use re-usable examples to illustrate the points of grammar… Nothing too fancy, nor poem quotes, but daily things, truly useful examples you could actually re-use in a French interaction. So say you have a dog: it’s likely you’ll talk about him… Pets are a common conversation topic. Say your dog has a beloved red ball. Then you may be interested in saying “my dog likes to play with his red ball”: “mon chien aime jouer avec sa balle rouge”… Try making up simple sentences you could actually use in real life. ![Dog with Ball and French Text](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2018/09/beginners-dog-660x340.jpg) ### Organising Your French Studies As a Beginner Student One of the challenges a beginner student will face is prioritizing. What should you study after you studied politeness? Adjectives? Pronouns? Verb conjugations? More [French vocabulary](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-vocabulary/)? In order to remember things, the way you organize your newly acquired French data is as important as the data itself. My 23+ French teaching experience shows that to learn French efficiently, students need to learn with a structured audio method which addresses four needs: 1. introduce truly useful vocabulary such as greetings and politeness, asking questions, ordering [food](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-vocabulary/food-audio/), talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies… 2. implement both traditional and modern French pronunciations, 3. set the foundations of French grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step way: like building blocks, 4. give you plenty of examples so you can also learn French in context. To study French the right way from the very start, I suggest you check-out my French downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/). It’s written with the true French beginner in mind. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2019/08/A-Moi-Paris-Method-Full-Method@300x-230x230.jpg) À Moi Paris Audiobook Method A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers. (836 Reviews) [**More Details & Audio Samples**](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/) ## False French Beginner – French Level A2 You’ve studied French before (maybe in school), but you forgot most of it. Maybe you remember the logic of beginner’s French grammar but you need to refresh it all, set fast reflexes when speaking and gain confidence to use your French in conversations. ### French Beginners Should Focus On The Present Tense The Present Indicative tense is the tense you’ll use in most of your French interactions. So, studying the present tense is what will give you the best return for the time you invest. The tenses of the past are a real mess in French. It’s like opening a Russian doll: there are so many layers of things to understand and memorize before you can truly use them. Of course, [learning the French tenses of the past](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-upper-intermediate/) is important, and they would be part of an A2 level exam. However, if you are not learning French to pass exams, communicating simple orders, being polite, talking about yourself, your family, your hobbies – and doing it with a decent accent – should be more important than spending hours drilling over your French verb tenses… Which bring me to my next point. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2021/06/modern-test.jpg) Unique Audio-Based Modern French Level Test 20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. *Completely free, no signup required* [**Let’s Start…**](https://www.frenchtoday.com/modern-french-level-placement-test/) ### Beware Of The Intellectual In You Lots of students actually enjoy the learning challenge. I’ve seen many people spend hours on drilling [French verb tenses](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-verb-conjugation/secret-to-master-french-verb-conjugation/) they didn’t even understand! Or take real pleasure at doing “find and replace the direct object” kind of exercises. However, as a beginner, you need to stay focused on your priorities. Don’t get lost in the intellectual challenge. Drill on the present tense only, drill on “être” and “avoir”, adjective agreement, questions, pronunciation… It may not be extremely intellectually stimulating, but it’s what you need to master at this stage of your French studies. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2018/09/learning-french-beware-the-intellectual-e1568641689573-660x375.jpg) ### Simplify Your Sentences Yes, it will be nice to be able to say one day in a restaurant: “I would be delighted if you could kindly seat us by the window, so we may enjoy the spectacular view”. However, as a beginner, you should be happy if you could say: “une table à côté de la fenêtre. C’est possible ? C’est très beau là !” (A table by the window. Is it possible? It’s very pretty there!) smile and point to the view… The method you use should reflect this. Along with teaching your French, it should teach you how to simplify your sentence, and use “simple” French. My downloadable audiobook [À Moi Paris Method – Beginner](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/) features a fun French story written with the beginner French student in mind. You’ll enjoy learning French in the context and then [test](https://www.frenchtoday.com/french-language-audio-quiz-test/) yourself with the Q\&A section. ### Watch out for the free resources There is a lot of free resources out there: they are fun, but a huge part of a successful learning process is time management. Setting up a structured approach, which clearly takes you from point A to point B is essential if you want to build up a solid foundation. Are you really learning French when you are jumping from one YouTube video to the next? Or are you just having fun? Don’t get me wrong. Fun is good. And you may even learn a thing or two. But it’s also very easy to lost track of your goal and end up losing your time. Now, let’s address a particular but common French problem for the beginner – or even intermediate (hopefully not advanced) students: the [French accent](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/improve-french-accent/) and understanding of Spoken French. ## Speaking/Understanding Challenged Beginner & Intermediate You really understand basic French grammar, know your verb conjugations etc… You even ace your French A1 and A2 written exams\! However you can’t understand the French when they speak, and they can’t understand you. How come? > ***“The spoken*** ***French taught in American classrooms is a fiction, based on ideas about how people should speak, not on how they do speak”*** > > *Waugh & Fonseca-Greber – University of Arizona* That’s why. You need to learn the “real” modern spoken French language: not slang, not “hood” French, but the way everybody speaks in a relaxed, casual environment. I call this “modern French”: French like you’ll hear it used daily in the streets of France. And it’s quite different from the enunciated traditional French pronunciation (like a TV news host would use) – and it’s also likely to be different from what you have learned in school. ### Learn The Rules Of French Pronunciation I am shocked to see the number of students who never learned the rules of French pronunciation. Why do you pronounce the verb in “ils écoutent” as zécoot” (with a strong liaison in Z) but the verb of “les enfants écoutent” as “écoot” (no liaison)? It’s because there is a strong liaison after the subject pronouns “on, nous, vous, ils, elles” but usually no liaison after a noun (such as “les enfants”. If you don’t know that, you can’t invent it. ![](https://www.frenchtoday.com/assets/2016/12/Secrets-of-French-Pronunciation@300x-230x230.jpg) Secrets of French Pronunciation In-depth audiobook covering the foundations as well as the difficulties of today’s French pronunciation (76 Reviews) **[More Details & Audio Samples](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-lessons/secrets-of-french-pronunciation/)** ### Drill On The Most Difficult French Sounds It takes practice to master the French R. Or the difference between “u” and “ou”, “é” and “è”. The French learning method you use should explain how to form these sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips… French pronunciation will become much clearer when it’s [explained to you the right way](https://www.frenchtoday.com/audiobooks-to-learn-french//secrets-of-french-pronunciation). Of course, more than ever, audio is a must\! ### Learn Both Traditional And Modern Spoken French Now, there are the rules, and then there is the reality. On top of all the [French liaisons](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-pronunciation/liaison/), elisions etc which obey the pronunciation rules, the French also apply lots of “glidings” when they speak. For example, the “ne” part of the negation is often silent. Or “[il y a” is pronounced “ya”](https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/how-to-use-the-pronoun-y-in-french/). If you want the French to understand you when you speak, you don’t necessarily need to apply these glidings. Actually, I would not encourage you to speak this way as a beginner. The French would kind of expect you to speak French the “traditional” way: a lot of glidings may sound a bit weird in the mouth of a beginner. Imagine your reaction if a beginner said: “I gonna” in English. Even if used in the right context, it may surprise you. However, if a foreigner wanted to understand English people when they speak, s/he would need to understand “I gonna” since it’s used frequently. There are even more “street” glidings in French than there is in English. We do them without thinking about it, no matter our age, or our level of education: it’s very natural to apply some glidings when you speak French casually nowadays. Each chapter of the story of my [beginner level French audiobooks](https://www.frenchtoday.com/learn-french/french-audio-books/a-moi-paris-method-beginner/) are recorded in 3 different ways: 1. A slow version: very enunciated French which you can easily repeat to help you conquer traditional French pronunciation 2. A normal version with French glidings and elisions (you’ll learn about these in the method) 3. A modern street version as natives would actually speak so that you are ready to understand them Voilà. Apply all these tips and you’ll be on your way to becoming a French intermediate speaker in no time. If you fee you are already a solid A2 French level, then you may want to look at my advise for [intermediate speakers of French](https://www.frenchtoday.com/how-to-learn-french-audio/french-intermediate-level). Remember, as a French beginner, you should: 1. set realistic goals for yourself, 2. find a structured audio method which doesn’t assume you are a grammar genius and explains everything clearly, 3. get plenty of audio practice: repeat, repeat, repeat, 4. and keep your priorities straight. Good luck with your French studies\!

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