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 ?

Listening Practice

Arc de Triomphe

Qui n'a jamais vu, ne serait-ce qu'une seule fois, dans des atlas géographiques ou des manuels d'histoire, l'imposante majesté de l'Arc de Triomphe de Paris, sur lequel débouche la magnifique avenue des Champs-Élysées, et dont l'allure caractéristique représente si bien la France ?

Current Events

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.

Current 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!

Current Events

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.

Food and Drink

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?

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.

Current Events

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

Çà, bergers, assemblons-nous

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

Food and Drink

Cafetière à piston

Cette cafetière fort populaire aussi appelée French press, qui conserve intact tout l'arôme du café, a subi au fil des ans plusieurs modifications quant à sa conception.

Listening Practice

Cafetière à piston – comment l’utiliser ?

Il vous faut un café de bonne qualité, une bouilloire ou une casserole d'eau bouillante, une cuillère à long manche et une cafetière à piston, évidemment.

Holidays and Celebrations

Carnaval de Nice

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

Current Events

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.

Current Events

COP21 – texte final

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

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 Progress with Lawless French

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

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....

Linguistics

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.

Expressions

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.

Listening Practice

Ilini French Videos

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

Current Events

inOUI, c’est inouï

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

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.

Food and Drink

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.)

Food and Drink

Le beaujolais nouveau

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

Listening Practice

LingQ

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

Listening Practice

Louvre

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

Holidays and Celebrations

Maison hantée en Alsace

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

Food and Drink

Modernisation d’un vignoble

Vidéo sur la modernisation d'un vignoble aux normes éco-environnementales en Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur avec traduction anglaise.

Current Events

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.

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

Rôle de première dame de France

Lorsque le Président de la République François Hollande a décidé de laisser tomber sa conjointe de fait Valérie Trierweiler—et incidemment la Première dame de France—pour la jeune actrice Julie Gayet, tout le milieu politique français a été ébranlé.

Listening Practice

Rôle de première dame de France, suite

Dans plusieurs études récentes conduites dans l'Hexagone, plus de la moitié des répondants ont affirmé ne pas souhaiter de rôle officiel pour les conjoints présidentiels.

Holidays and Celebrations

Saint Patrick

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

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.

Food and Drink

Service au restaurant

Funny animation about how big restaurants have too much service.

Listening Practice

Soldes

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

Food and Drink

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.

Linguistics

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

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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