Learn French with YouTube

French is hard to hear. Many letters are silent and words flow into each other. That is why text helps so much. When you see the written line while you hear it, the sound starts to make sense.

What to watch by level

• Beginner: Slow videos for learners, short stories, and street interviews with subtitles such as Easy French.
• Intermediate: Vlogs, cooking, travel, French YouTubers who talk about daily life.
• Advanced: News, talks, interviews, humor, documentaries.

Why two lines work well for French

The original line shows spelling. The translation shows meaning. Together you can match what you hear to what is written. For example you hear one sound, and you see that it is three words: "je t'ai". That link is the main thing a French learner needs.

What to notice

• Liaison and elision. Words join: "les amis" sounds like "lez-ami". The text shows the pieces.
• Silent endings. Many verb endings sound the same. Read the written form and see the difference.
• Spoken versus written. In speech, "ne" is often dropped: "je sais pas". Subtitles may show the formal form or the spoken form. Notice which.
• Gender. Save nouns with their article: le livre, la maison.

A 15 minute routine

1. Watch a short video with both lines on.
2. Loop one sentence you cannot hear well. Listen five times while you read it.
3. Try dictation on that sentence. In Dual Subtitles, accents and punctuation do not count against you.
4. Save the words you got wrong.

Subtitle tips for French

Automatic French captions can confuse words that sound the same. When a line makes no sense, look for a word that sounds like the one you expected.

Method: How to learn languages with YouTube. Setup: dual subtitles on YouTube.

Get Dual Subtitles and try one French video today.