Here are a list of apps and websites you can use to help you learn French. Visit one of the apps or websites and then complete the follow-up activity for credit.
Duolingo is a free app/website that teaches you French vocabulary and grammar. It’s fun and game-based, and assigns you points and rewards as you move up the levels. It works best if you sign up for an account so it can track your progress, but you will need a parent’s permission to do that. When you visit the site, select French as your language. Duolingo can be played on a computer or on a mobile device with their free app.
Follow-up: Send a screen shot of your progress after you have finished playing for at least 10 minutes OR tell me 4 new words/expressions you learned.
Duolingo Stories is a new feature of Duolingo that help your learn French through reading and listening to stories. You can earn points just like you can with the original Duolingo, and it’s all tracked on one account.
Follow-up: Send a screen shot of your progress after you have finished OR tell me 4 new words/expressions you learned.
Siri or Other Virtual Assistant
If you have access to a phone or other device that comes with Siri or another virtual assistant, talk to it in French! First, you will have to go into your settings and change your Siri language to French. Then start asking it questions until it understands you!
Follow-up: Send a screen shot of your conversation or tell me what you asked it and how it answered.
Street View is a great way to explore the French speaking world from the comfort of your own home. Just plop yourself in a francophone country and wander around. Look for signs in French! The screen shot I took above was in Loupian, France, where your pen pals live! Remember, in some countries, more than one language is spoken besides just French, so you may see signs in multiple languages. If you need a reminder of which countries speak French, click here.
Follow-up: Tell me 3 interesting things you noticed OR 3 French words you recognized on signs, etc.
Amazon’s French website is a great place to explore because there are many images to help you understand what you’re reading. Make sure not to order anything, though, because overseas shipping is expensive!
Follow up: Take a screen shot or copy and paste the titles of 5 items you want from the site.
If you’re just looking to learn or review some French concepts, The French Experiment has lots of helpful lessons and audio files of vocabulary words. They also have children’s stories you can read in French.
Follow up: Provide a link to a page you spent some time on and tell me at least 4 words or phrases you learned from the page.
Note: There are many other great apps and websites, some of them free and some of them paid, to help you learn French. These are the ones I recommend, but if you have found one you like better, feel free to use that. Complete a follow-up similar to the ones provided with my recommended sites, such as a screen shot or a list of new words learned.
