Emily Wieder French/Francophone Studies Ph.D. student
​Podcasts
France Culture, I have listened to interesting podcasts about Charles Baudelaire (there are tons of podcasts about him on France Culture), Louise Colet, and Victor Hugo. I also like the Compagnie des auteurs series.
RFI [Radio France Internationale]: news in French
Audio Cité: free audiobooks in French
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Littérature Audio: more audiobooks in French
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*** A word of caution: I have downloaded a book or two from each site and have not had any problems, but I still worry about adding malware to my computer when I save anything from the internet.
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AUDIO
Musicians/Chanteurs(-eueses)
[and some songs you can find on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, etc.]
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Coeur de Pirate: "T'es belle,” “Ava”
Indalia: “Dernière danse," "Comme un bateau"
Pomme: “Pauline”
Chloé Stafler: “Despacito”
Loïc Nottet: “Mr/Mme”
Stromae: “Papaouti,” "Cancer"
BB Brunes: “Dis-moi”
Barbara Pravi: “Voilà,” "Louis"
Edith Piaf: “La vie en rose,” “Je ne regrette rien”
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Spotify
A playlist from the program with which I studied in Strasbourg
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A 555-song playlist from Talk in French
Music videos/Clips officiels
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Children’s songs [chansons pour enfants] for basic vocab
Etienne (Educorock) is a French teacher who turns grammar into song; see this one for an introduction.
The musicians [chanteurs/euses] listed above
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News/actualités
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Literature/littérature
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Culture – Audio Books – LivresAudios
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YouTubers and Performances/Spectacles
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Damon and Jo: travelers and polyglots
Lindsay Williams: Lindsay does Languages
Sebastian Marx: an American comedian in France
Hugo Tout Seul: a comedian
Montreux Comedy (** may be vulgar **)
750g: a cooking channel
Parlez-vous FRENCH: pronunciation, grammar, idioms
AUDIO-
VISUAL
TED Talks
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I don’t know if there’s a more effective way to search for French-language talks other than by location (Paris, Nantes, Marseille).
Here are a few to start, then the suggestions will lead to more:
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​Rien ne nous arrive par hasard
​Devenir pleinement soi-même
​And a few others
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Films
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Streaming services, like Amazon and Netflix, have French-language films. You can search by country filmed or language of film.
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Kanopy: documentaries and movies free with many library cards (municipal and university)
​RFI web documentaries
​List of TV sources
Fluent U suggested French films
Here are some films I have watched
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​For news about “le paysage audiovisuel,” check Media America (in French).
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TEXTUAL
Not Poetry
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French cultural reviews (some archived reviews at the bottom)
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Youscribe: books translated into French and French-language books
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On Kindle, look for Arvensa Editions and Folio, which tend to be reasonably priced.
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Le Monde (center-left), l'Humanité (left lean), La Croix (Catholic lean), and additional newspapers provide contemporary vocab and keep you informed on matters that French people discuss.
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Check out books I've read here.
Poetry
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Poetica is good for searching poems by theme
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Poésie is better for searching poems by author or nationality
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Les Fleurs du Mal (Baudelaire) with several English translations for each poem
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Five poems that a French person would know, according to France Culture
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I recommend Apollinaire's "Les Fenêtres" and Joy Arjo's "Peut-être le monde commence ici" [I first heard this poem in French].
SOCIAL
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News sources
@BBCWorld for international news
@FrancofilUK, Francofil: for scholars of French/Francophone studies
@HFranceWebsite, H-France: for historians with French/Francophone interests
@FrHistNw, French History Network: similar to H-France
@baudelaireproj, The Baudelaire Project: research on song versions of Baudelaire’s poems
@ONU_fr, the UN in French
@RFI, the French radio station
@GoogleFR, Google in French
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Political parties and politicians
@gouvernementFR, French government
@Senat, Sénat
@AssembleeNat, Assemblée nationale
@Elysee, Élysée
@EmmanuelMacron, president of France
@Enmarchefr, En Marche: the party of the current president
@Anne_Hidalgo, mayor of Paris
@Amisdelaterre, Amis de la Terre FR : an environmental group
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Causes/organizations related to your interests
@SOS_Racisme is a popular anti-racism organization
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Even local accounts, if you're studying abroad, can help you find events and ways to connect with the community. When I studied in Strasbourg, I began to follow @BNUStrasbourg (the National and University Library of Strasbourg). Before [and after] going to France, I was following singers like Coeur de Pirate (@beatricepirate).
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Learn French with Talk in French
Oui in France
The Petite Bijou
Lindsay does Languages
750g
Me: Wiederev3
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** These suggestions are accounts that I follow. To maximize your French immersion, find accounts related to your interests and location.
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For learning French
@lawlessfrench, Lawless French
@frenchwords, French Words
@talkinfrench, Talk in French
@myfrenchytips, Learn French Everyday!
@Super_france, Discover France: pictures of France
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For updates on French life
@franceintheus, France Embassy [Facebook too]
@lemondefr, Le Monde
@artefr, ARTE: a Franco-German TV Station
People and places
@joycejonathan, singer
@chloestafler, singer
@beatricepirate, Cœur de Pirate: singer
@azzed, French blogger
@humans_ofparis, Humans of Paris [Facebook]
@humansofstrasbourg1, Humans of Strasbourg [Facebook]
@BNUStrasbourg [Facebook]
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Updates on French/European life
Le HuffPost: some sensational, some informative headlines
European Parliament
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Causes and organizations
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
Mouvement Ni Putes Ni Soumises
Collective Contre L’Islamophobie en France
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Local groups (mostly Strasbourg)
Bibliothèque nationale et universitiare – BNU [I also follow the municipal library of Aix-en-Provence because I interned there: Bibliothèque Méjanes]
Art Puissance Art
Musiques Éclatées
L’Industrie Magnifique
Strasbourg Culture
Strasbourg.eu
Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg
Strasbourg en Alsace
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