I learned French through self-study, and it can be hard to know where to start with all the countless resources out there. Here’s a bit about what resources I used when learning French and what I would recommend to do.
General Methodology
Based on the fluent forever book that I read about language learning, it is recommended to start with pronunciation, then use spaced repetition (anki!) to learn vocab with minimal translation (images for flashcards) and maximal context.
Pronunciation
If you care a lot about having a great accent, here’s a pronunciation trainer that has flashcards that trains your ears to hear minimal pairs, for instance the difference between u and ou, or /y/ and /u/ in IPA. If you don’t want to go as in depth into this, this series summarizes what you need to know (may have to search for the other videos in series).
Vocabulary
For vocab, anki is great because the method of spaced repetition that it employs has been shown by science to be the most effective for long term memory. Can use precreated decks for flash cards from anki web. Something like this deck is great because it teaches you everything in the context of sentence, which is better for being able to remember/produce the word in context and it gives an intuitive understanding of grammar.
Grammar
If you want to really drill into grammar, I used Kwiziq and enjoyed it a fair bit (though I’m also a grammar nerd) despite it being somewhat slow to progress through
General
Inner French is great for youtube videos for specific tips to sound more native, but also he has a podcast. In all of his content, he does a great job at speaking very clearly and using language that is beginner friendly. Often he says a more advanced phrase and then rephrases it is understandable terms so that you can acquire vocab while hearing everything in French. I’d highly recommend!
Something like this workbook or this short story book can also be great for learning. The short story book is great because it is written with a focus on the most commonly used words while also having the stories geared towards an adult audience as opposed to children’s books.
Summary
Now that I’ve given you enough to take several years to work through, I’ll limit it back down to what I think is most helpful:
1. Pronunciation trainer (videos at least; full anki deck if you think you’d like it)
2. Short story book (great to learn vocab in context, and if on kindle, can look up words super easily)
3. Inner French (helpful to hear the french being used to train your ear and you may find you understand a lot more than expected)
4. Speaking practice with tutor, friends, or just to yourself 🙂
Hope that helps and let me know if you have questions about anything!
Kevin's Cyclopedia 