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B2 Listening

Upper-Intermediate French Practice

Accent circonflexe ne disparaît pas

L'accent circonflexe va disparaître des manuels scolaires à la rentrée - que s'est-il passé, et qu'en pense le ministre de l'Éducation nationale Najat Vallaud Belkacem ?

Attentat du Quatorze Juillet

On Bastille Day 2016, a semi truck plowed through the crowd on the Promenade des Anglais, killing dozens of people. This short video summarizes the events.

Attentats terroristes à Paris

On 13 November 2015, Paris was struck by simultaneous terrorist attacks. Here is the video of President François Hollande's speech that night, with transcript and translation.

Listening Practice

Au Restaurant de la plage – Dictée

Practice your French listening comprehension with this B2-level dictée:

Au Restaurant de la plage

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to do this exercise. If you don't have one, sign up - it's free!

Au revoir, l’anglais ?

With the UK leaving the EU, the French have been quick to suggest that they should take their language with them.

Listening Practice

Bayonne et street art

Visit the southwestern French city of Bayonne during a street art festival. B2-level video with interactive subtitles and a grammar kwiz.

Beaujolais nouveau : Plus piquette !

The third Thursday in November is here once again with its (in)famous young wine. Is it really so bad as some say?

Listening Practice

Bouchons

Traffic jams are one of the worst and most inevitable parts of summer vacation in France. Learn more while practicing your French listening comprehension with this video.

Fun with French

Breton Accent

Put your French listening comprehension and sense of humor to the test with this faux news report poking fun at Brittany and the Breton accent.

Brexit – Quelles prochaines étapes ?

The UK has voted to leave the EU - what happens now?

Listening Practice

Bruxelles

La Belgique est dorénavant un acteur majeur de la scène internationale, mais c'est sa capitale francophone, Bruxelles, vers laquelle convergent tous les regards.

Holidays and Celebrations

C’est quoi le 14 juillet ?

Learn about Bastille Day while practicing your listening comprehension with this adorable animation.

Holidays and Celebrations

Çà, bergers, assemblons-nous

Video and lyrics for the traditional French Christmas carol Çà, bergers, assemblons-nous, with literal translation.

Holidays and Celebrations

Carnaval de Nice

Improve your French listening comprehension while learning about the history of Nice's immense Carnaval celebration.

Charlie Hebdo

Listen to a news report offering a brief overview of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack, including a transcript and English translation.

Francophone Countries

Choc culturel au Canada

Discover what surprised immigrants from various Francophone countries upon arriving in Canada in this video with interactive subtitles.

COP21 – texte final

French journalist Philippe Verdier summarizes the main points of the COP21 agreement in a short video.

Listening Practice

Dans le taxi

Practice your French listening skills with this dialogue between a taxi driver and his passenger.

Fun with French

Dictées

Dictées are a classic way to practice French, even for native speakers. For them, dictées are a test of grammar (particularly agreement) and spelling - sort of like super-charged spelling bees. For French students, dictées are an excellent form of combined listening and writing practice.

Listening Practice

Dictées at PwLF

Practice French listening comprehension, writing, and spelling at the same time with dictées from Progress with Lawless French.

Écriture inclusive, c’est quoi ?

What is écriture inclusive and why does it matter? Learn about "inclusive writing" in this animated video with interactive subtitles.

Listening Practice

Édith Piaf

Édith Piaf was a French cabaret singer and international star. In this short interview, she talks about why she sings so many love songs.

Holidays and Celebrations

Fête du Travail

Learn about International Labor Day on the first of May in this cute animated video.

Listening Practice

FluentU – French Videos

French learners are always looking for new sources of French listening practice, and FluentU is one of the best. This subscription site offers videos for all levels of French, enhanced with quizzes, spaced repetition, and other tools to help you practice what you know and learn at your own pace.

Listening Practice

Folies Bergère

Le légendaire théâtre des Folies Bergère de Paris est l'un des plus célèbres établissements proposant des spectacles dansés et de variété de la Ville Lumière. (French listening comprehension with English translation)

Listening Practice

Folies Bergère, suite

Il y a toutefois un bémol, son décor un peu criard est à l'opposé des théâtres chics situés près de l'Opéra Garnier ou de la classique Comédie Française....

Francophone Countries

Français dans le monde

Le nombre de Francophones atteint aujourd'hui 220 millions, ce qui fait du français la deuxième langue de l'Union européenne et la neuvième mondiale.

Listening Practice

France vue par Leonora Miano

Cameroonian author Leonora Miano discusses what it means to be French.

Holidays and Celebrations

Halloween à Biarritz

Short video about how kids at a school in Biarritz are celebrating Halloween.

Histoire d’animaux

Learn some fun idioms featuring animals while practicing your French listening comprehension in this cute bilingual ~~tail~~ tale.

Holidays and Celebrations

Histoire de la Chandeleur

In France, the second day of the second month is called La Chandeleur. Learn about the history of this holiday and how it relates to crêpes.

Histoires d’argent

Learn some French expressions related to money in this audio article with transcript and translation.

inOUI, c’est inouï

The French high-speed train TGV is being rebranded as inOUI, and not everyone is happy about it.

Listening Practice

Jean de La Fontaine : Portrait

Jean de La Fontaine is one of the most beloved French poets and is famous in particular for his fables. Learn more in this bilingual audio article.

Listening Practice

Jeanne d’Arc

Learn about Joan of Arc, one of the most famous French women in history, in this bilingual article.

Listening Practice

Jules Verne

Mini biography of Jules Verne, the father of adventure and futuristic literature.

L’automne au marché de Landerneau

Visit the Landerneau market via video to see beautiful fall foods and practice your French listening comprehension at the same time.

Listening Practice

La main dans le sac / Red-handed

Practice listening and reading while learning some new French expressions in this fun bilingual text.

Listening Practice

La tour Eiffel

Watch a three-minute video about the Eiffel Tower to work on your French listening comprehension. (Transcript and side-by-side translation are also included.)

Listening Practice

Lawless French Immersion

Love watching French videos but have trouble understanding them? Lawless French Immersion is perfect for independent students who need a bit of help when listening to French.

Le beaujolais nouveau

The third Thursday in November is Beaujolais Nouveau Day, but why?

Le drapeau et la Marseillaise en classe

Patriotism has come to French classrooms: from maternelle to lycée, all classrooms are now required to display a French flag and La Marseillaise lyrics.

Listening Practice

Le grand nettoyage de printemps

Clean up your French - and your house - while listening to this audio article about spring cleaning.

Listening Practice

Le Paris d’Amélie – Dictée

Practice your French listening comprehension with this B2-level dictée:

Le Paris d'Amélie

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to do this exercise. If you don't have one, sign up - it's free!

Listening Practice

Le XVIIIe siècle : le siècle des Lumières

The Age of Enlightenment is a key part of France's history, starting with the death of Louis XIV and ending in the French Revolution. Learn more in this bilingual audio article.

Listening Practice

Les Nymphéas de Claude Monet

Visit le Musée de l'Orangerie to see how Monet's beautiful Water Lilies are displayed to best advantage in specially constructed rooms.

Listening Practice

LingQ

Learn and practice French vocabulary and listening at any level with LingQ, an online learning system and language community.

Listening Practice

Listening Tips

Understanding spoken French is harder for some students than others. But unlike speaking, listening can be done on your own - whenever and wherever you like. Even so, the best way to practice isn't always obvious - here are some tips.

Listening Practice

Louvre

Work on your French as you watch this short introductory video to the Louvre.

Macarons

Learn about the history of macarons, the most popular French dessert in the world.

Listening Practice

Mai 68

Entre janvier et mai 1968, diverses perturbations initiées par le milieu étudiant ont conduit à ce qui allait devenir le mouvement de protestation le plus considérable que la France ait connu.

Holidays and Celebrations

Maison hantée en Alsace

Visit a haunted house in Alsace that's scary enough for the whole region!

Listening Practice

Mon année à l’étranger

Spend a vicarious year in Paris while practicing your French listening comprehension.

News in Slow French

News in Slow French is a weekly podcast aimed at intermediate-level French students. Native speakers report current events at a reduced but not unnatural pace, making it easier for you to understand without being overloaded by rapid-fire French.

Œnotourisme en France

Wine tourism is a growing business in France - and this company makes it unique by doing tours on horseback. Video with interactive subtitles.

Listening Practice

Panthéon

Visit the Panthéon in Paris in this video with interactive subtitles.

Listening Practice

Planifier sa retraite en France

Avec son climat tempéré, sa remarquable gastronomie, son vin incomparable et son style de vie décontracté, la France demeure un point de chute rêvé pour les expatriés à la retraite.

Listening Practice

Présidentielle 2022 : Douze candidats

The 2022 French presidential election has a dozen candidates - learn more in this Lawless French Immersion video with interactive subtitles.

Holidays and Celebrations

Saint Patrick

Who was Saint Patrick and why is he celebrated in Ireland, the US, and France?

Listening Practice

Santé, de Stromae

Dance along to Stromae's latest hit while practicing your French listening comprehension. This Lawless French Immersion video includes interactive subtitles.

Listening Practice

Scribe – Dictées

Dictées, or dictation exercises, are excellent for working on your French listening comprehension as well as spelling, vocabulary, and grammar all at the same time. Scribe is a very sophisticated program that provides real-time feedback as you listen and type.

Service au restaurant

Funny animation about how big restaurants have too much service.

Listening Practice

Simone, la voix de la SNCF

Ever wondered about the face behind the voice you hear at every train station and on every train in France? Find out about the woman who records those announcements every two weeks in this video with transcript and translation.

Listening Practice

Soldes

Listen and learn about the history and characteristics of France's twice-annual sales.

Terroir

Listen and learn about the notion of "terroir" as it relates to food and drink produced in France.

Holidays and Celebrations

Traditions de Noël réunionnaises

Learn about Christmas in Réunion in this French listening comprehension exercise.

Un mot sur le français

Fun video in and about French: author and cartoonist Riad Sattouf talks about his favorite expression, least favorite word, and some possibilities for a new word yet to be created. Considering it's only 2½ minutes long, the grammar in this video is extremely rich and varied.

Listening Practice

Une bonne explication – Dictée

Practice your French listening comprehension with this B2-level dictée about a woman wondering why she hasn't heard from her date again:

Une bonne explication

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to do this exercise. If you don't have one, sign up - it's free!

Listening Practice

Village des neiges

Listen and learn about a Québécois hotel and conference center made entirely of ice.

Listening Practice

Yabla French Videos

Eager for a new way to work on your French listening comprehension? Take a look at Yabla French, a subscription site with a massive collection of original videos featuring native speakers to help you learn and practice French at any level.

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