Whether you’re in France or on your way, learning the language is essential so here are ten tested and true methods that are guaranteed to help you improve (and won’t cost a cent.)

1. Listening to the radio and or podcasts.
RFI (Radio France Internationale) is one of many French radio stations that serve as great tools for learning. In addition to being free, they can be listened to almost anywhere. Such as on the bus or tram, which is coincidentally where I spend 50% of my life in France. They’re also a good way to wake up or wind down your brain in the morning or before bed. I am no neuro scientist, but I think that’s when your brain is extra squishy and therefore can absorb more information (*maybe.) They even have content curated specifically for people who are learning French, i.e. hosts that talk slow-ish. When I was preparing for my DELF B2 in the US, I used these testing resources by TV5MONDE (another tv-radio outlet in France) to ameliorate my listening comprehension. Plus, podcasts are guaranteed to make you feel extra cultured. 😉 So you’ll learn the language and have stuff to talk about, too!
2. Try a MOOC, or massive open online course.
Personally, I did this one via Coursera that helps students at the B1-B2 level to prep for their life in France (with lessons on setting up a bank, what university lectures are like, etc.) all in French. It was super informative and I loved the resources they used so much that I found myself taking screen shots of examples for future reading. The nice thing about Coursera is that the material is vetted so you won’t be wasting your time. Au contraire, upon completion you can add the certificate to your LinkedIn (la classe.) Another bonus? It’s accessible to people who are not yet in the country.

All in all, MOOC’s are credible free resources for people that don’t want to spend a fortune on private lessons. And you can do it from your bed.