Essential Apps For Learning French

Building and optimizing a set of apps for learning French was at the core of my French experiment. I spent a fair amount of time deliberately selecting each of them, and, quite expectedly, they played a major role in helping me maintain my interest in French throughout my challenge.

In this post, I will share the apps I ended up having on my phone, one by one.

French learning apps for building vocabulary:

Memrise. Long-time readers know that I'm a huge proponent of Memrise when it comes to dealing with anything vocabulary-related in any language, including French. However, there is a whole bunch of alternatives to this app, and the (non-exhaustive) list includes Duolingo, Busuu, MosaLingua, RosettaStone, Mind Snacks, and Brainscape.

"What the hell is the difference?" you might ask, and I'd just shrug my shoulders. All these French language learning apps are based on some kind of spaced repetition system integrated into a set of vocabulary flashcards. There may be minor differences in individual SRSs that I'm not aware of, but it doesn't matter. Whatever app you choose, all it will do is load you up with vocabulary.

I prefer Memrise simply because I got used to it. I've been using this app for more than 4 years now, and I have a Russian-based Pro account that costs me around $10/year. Why would I change it, right? Plus, Memrise recently introduced a lot of terrific features like native speaker videos, pronunciation modes, and inductive grammar lessons that make learning more fun and effective. (Here's the link to my Memrise review if you want to learn about all the new stuff in this app).

Apps for learning to speak French:

Vocabulary builders are cute and self-comforting. No joke. Nothing can be more reassuring than spending almost an hour playing with Memrise and "working on my French" on the TTC.

But let's admit it, Memrise alone (or any other toy you choose from the Play Store or App Store) will not magically turn you into a fluent speaker of French. Since very few people can actually suck it up, put down their phones with all those fancy apps for learning French, and go out there for a meeting of the Polyglot club, here are some cheat codes:

Pimsleur. I learned about it from a TED talk by Stephen Duneier, and now Pimsleur is my personal savior in any language learning situation. Because... here's the thing. The mere thought of speaking in a foreign language paralyzes me. In the worst-case scenarios, I end up staring into the eyes of a native speaker like a deer in headlights. That's why I consider it essential to have my tongue trained to say certain things (at least "Bonjour!") automatically. Pimsleur does precisely that: it forces you to speak French on a daily basis and drills essential phrases into your brain until they become automatic. Pimsleur courses are pricey, but they give you the confidence you need to start speaking.

For bolder people not suffering from the "deer in headlights" syndrome, there are Tandem and HelloTalk. There, you have a chance to connect with natives and chat with them either via texting or via a video call. For bolder people who don't mind investing in professionally guided learning, there is also iTalki. The purpose of this app is the same, but you get a language teacher rather than stumbling across a random native speaker. All three are not just apps for learning French per se but rather apps for learning languages in general (however, there are a lot of francophones in each community). Currently, HelloTalk has the most users (over 5+ million downloads on the Play Store, seriously), so it makes more sense to go with this one.

Dictionaries and other apps for learning French:

I strongly believe that a good monolingual learner's dictionary is a must-have.

Now, of course, there are a bunch of French dictionaries with big names like Larousse, Le Robert, and Collins, but they cost money, so I don't use them. Instead, I found this little gem called Dictionnaire Francais by Livio that covers all my needs for free. This dictionary provides a detailed list of definitions with examples, pronunciation, some synonyms/antonyms, and even a primitive translation into several major European languages. It also gives a full list of verb conjugations, and it's offline.

I also use a bilingual French-English dictionary by Dictamp. The reasoning behind this choice was similar: this app has a good deal of clear definitions with examples, pronunciation, and synonyms. It also has a "training" function that I never end up using, but theoretically, this dictionary can create flashcards to review and memorize words you looked up.

Finally, there’s Context.Reverso which is another must-have for whatever language I learn. This app is indispensable for those who plan to write in French at least from time to time because it drastically decreases the number of awkward phrases you may produce. It also helps solve all those awful dilemmas like "demander de" or "demander à."

French language learning apps for grammar enthusiasts

Here, I really have to make a point: you don't need to spend your time practicing French verb conjugation with Le Conjugueur if you're learning French just to find your way around in Paris. I covered motivation matters in this article, so if you're not quite sure what you should be focusing on, you probably want to read it first before jumping in.

However, if you’re a French Major or if you’re preparing for something like DELF, then you’re most welcome to use any of these French learning apps:

Dr. French – Well, that's The French Grammar for you. Compiled in French with exercises. I personally found this app extremely helpful at every stage of my learning from A1 to C2. You can use Dr. French to get quick peeks into French grammar at the very beginning (to understand how to negate verbs, for example). Or you can mindfully drill specific aspects of French grammar, such as La concordance des temps or Le Subjonctif. How and to what extent you use Dr. French will depend on your proficiency level. Even now, I keep it for a quick grammar reference or for a random memory-refresh with "grammar puzzles."

Français Authéntique – There is literally zero chance that you have never heard of FA during your French learning journey. So if for some reason you decided to ignore it, go get it now because it's literally one of the best apps for learning French ever created. Francais Authentique is a repository of videos, podcasts, and articles en Français about the French language, the French culture, and France itself. And Johan, the creator of FA, is the most comprehensible native speaker you can find on the web. So if you have trouble understanding spoken French, try his videos on Français Authentique.

Build your combo of French learning apps

I just listed around 10 apps for learning French (and briefly mentioned eight more). Now, do you have to install them all?

Not necessarily. In my opinion, having a dozen apps on your phone just for learning French is insane. It's also nearly impossible to use so many on a daily basis. And even if you get them all, you will forget about half of them within a week.

Instead, I recommend limiting the number of apps you use but making the most of them. Simply choose one from each category defined here. You don't need both Memrise and Duolingo because their function is essentially the same. So just pick one. Instead of jumping between iTalki and HelloTalk, choose the app that satisfies your "speaking practice" needs the most and ignore the rest. Finally, if you know in advance that you're not going to do any grammar drills in French, there's no point in installing Dr. French.

Only when you define your priorities can apps for learning French turn from distracting toys into power tools that boost your learning. So start with that.