Everyone knows that to learn French, as well as any other language, it is very important to immerse yourself in the language environment. But the learner does not always have the opportunity to go to a country where French is spoken and talk to native speakers. So, today we are going to start talking about some French series because it is one of the ways to learn a foreign language.
French is the language of love and true romance. And, in the near future, a real boom awaits it! Not only is France the two-time world soccer champion, but the current French president, Emmanuel Macron, has seriously decided to return French as the main language of international communication!
If you want to read a complete guide on how to learn French from A to Z, read our blog article or the link.
Como Sava: What to Watch to Learn French
From “Emily in Paris” to “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, learn French from movies and TV series in this selection.
Navarro (1989-2007)
This detective series, co-produced by France and Switzerland, was popular in many countries. A total of 108 episodes were produced from 1989 to 2007, with each episode lasting 90 minutes. The plot centers on a Parisian police detective, Commissioner Navarro. Under his leadership, a police brigade works to investigate the most intricate crimes committed on the territory of Paris.
LUPIN (2021)
A Senegalese immigrant, Assane Diop, plans to steal the Marie Antoinette necklace at auction in the Louvre. Twenty-five years ago, his father was unjustly convicted for stealing this very jewel from a wealthy family, so Assan is driven by revenge. As a teenager, the guy read the adventures of the gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin, and now he will act in the best traditions of his book idol.
VERSAILLES (2015-2018)
This historical series is based on the history of the French King Louis XIV, who was also called the “Sun King”. The events began at the time of the Fronde when a civil war was raging in France. King Louis XIV found himself in a difficult situation when the nobility began to revolt against him. He moved the palace to Versailles and forced the courtiers to wallow in the abyss of secrets and scandals of the new castle. The melodrama enters the top of the French series thanks to the incredibly colorful costume reconstruction of that legendary era.
Premiers Baisers (1991-1995)
This French series was incredibly popular in the 1990s, especially among young people. The plot centers on a young girl, Justine Girard, and her friends. They fall in love, quarrel, find new friends, and make out for the first time, with school children often getting into funny situations. Over the years, there have been 318 episodes, and the series has had several spin-offs.
LES PETITS MEURTRES D’AGATHA CHRISTIE (2009)
Although this series is based on the works of Agatha Christie, there is no Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. All 37 episodes are about crimes involving Agatha Christie’s detectives, but the events take place in modern France. The investigation is handled by police commissioners, and everything happens quite comically, with a peculiar French humor. We’ll continue the list of series next week!
“Extr@” (2002 -2004)
This comedy series was part of a larger project to teach foreigners different languages in an entertaining format. Its characters are two French girls, Sasha and Anya, their neighbor Nico, and an American friend named Sam. The plot and dialogues are built in such a way that the viewer can learn the language and culture of France together with the foreigner Sam. In each episode of the project, the authors give the vocabulary and grammar in the episode enough for you to pass the DELF A1-A2 French exam after watching the whole season. And the funny adventures of the characters will not let you turn the learning process into a chore.
“Emily in Paris” (2020)
This Netflix project, about a spontaneous and charming American woman who moved to Paris, was literally talked about at every turn a few months ago. But even now, we haven’t forgotten about Emily. The series introduces not only the language but also French culture, dispelling some stereotypes and confirming others. The life products of dogs on the sidewalks, hypocritical and lazy but impeccably stylish locals, delicious food, and an atmosphere of endless romance – that’s what Paris is for the main character. There’s not much French here – Emily, though she learns it, communicates mostly in English, which makes the series suitable for newcomers. Well, if watching the working adventures and love affairs of the naive and lucky, but sometimes too angelic Emily bore you, you can always switch to the series creating the entourage of eternal vacation in Paris.
“Ellen and the Boys” (1992 – 1994)
If the basics in learning French have already been passed, the next step should be this uncomplicated sitcom about the life of French youth during the 1990s. “Hélène et Guys” was once incredibly popular in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, becoming a precursor to the onset of the “Friends” era. French students, led by a girl named Hélène, fall in love, become friends, and get into bad situations, but almost always come out of them victorious. The French here almost does not go beyond the domestic level – the characters talk primarily about relationships, studies, and family, avoiding overloaded grammatical constructions.
Why do you need self-tutors and tutors when you have the Internet and the desire to find a new movie or series? Video in the original language with subtitles is one of the easiest and most effective solutions to learning a language.
Enjoy watching!
Learning new words
You will undoubtedly come across many French words and expressions while watching these episodes. Some of these will most likely be unknown to you.
It is not enough to just translate these words once in order to memorize them.
We recommend that you incorporate all the new words and phrases to your own dictionary and study them thoroughly.
You could, for example, create a language card that looks like this:
Click on the picture to add this card to your personal dictionary
It is important to work on broadening your vocabulary on a regular basis. Don’t neglect it!
After all, the only way to learn a foreign language is to know its words.
What else can you do to successfully learn French?
Unfortunately, starting to watch series in French is not enough to really learn the language in order to use it in the future. You must understand that behind the fundamental knowledge of the language lies a system consisting of useful techniques and methods. In addition, you have to keep yourself motivated at all times and not fall into routine. Complicated, isn’t it? 🙂
Don’t worry, the Langavia team has something for you that will facilitate your studies. We have developed a complete guide on how to learn any foreign language (including French, of course) from beginning to fluency, which describes everything you need to know in order to build your study plan properly. All this is written in an easy and understandable form. And all that it is absolutely free.
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