French Language and Culture Blog Want to speak French naturally?

by MARISSA MACY

The 13 Best French Textbooks for Any

Level
What’s the best way to become a maverick of the French language?

Immersion is definitely the name of the game, and there are a ton of ways
to do it: french audiobooks, e-books, french music, movies and apps
galore!

But the unfortunate fact remains: there are basics to learn.

You need to have an understanding of French grammar and enough

vocabulary to get you started. For some, supplementing immersion-based
learning with an old-fashioned textbook is the perfect cocktail needed for
French language learning.

If you’ve ever taken a French class in school, then your vision of French
textbooks may consist of cheesy photographs, unnatural dialogues,
unorganized chapters and vocabulary that seemed to have no relevance
to your life. There are a lot of French textbooks out there, but not all of
them are very helpful.

If your grammar needs a push in the right direction, or you just need a
reference for when you get lost during immersion-based learning, look no
further. Here are some great textbooks for every level that will hold your
hand through la rue (the road) ahead.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable

PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

The 13 Best French Textbooks for Any Level

Beginner

As a beginner, it’s important to find a useful textbook, as a bad one could

possibly turn you off from picking up a French book ever again. They may
not be the most effective way to learn a language, but they are a great
supplement when you’re starting out. They can also be a lasting reference
for when your brain starts to get foggy from all those grammar rules!

1. Easy French Step-by-step by Myrna Bell Rochester

This book is the number one best-seller in the French Language

Instruction portion of Amazon.com. It’s popular for a good reason. The
way this book is organized takes you through different modules in a
way that actually makes sense. It introduces
more than 300 verbs, presented in order of
importance. Verbs are vital when you’re starting
out. This textbook will give you a foundation for
grammar, vocabulary, all while building off itself
chapter by chapter. It’s comes complete with a
ton of exercises and their solutions, but hey, no
cheating!

You can also find this book on VitalSource, a

platform that allows you to rent or buy e-books
you can learn with on the Bookshelf app, along with a variety of other
French textbooks, dictionaries, readers and targeted learning material.

2. Entre Amis by Michael D. Oates

If you like your books to be a little more flashy,

then this may be a better choice than Easy
French Step-by-Step, as it has more graphics.
This text is best if you have a vague knowledge
of French already, but it’s still great for beginners
because it covers, well, beginner’s French. Many
of the modules focus more on oral interactions,
teaching through a performance-oriented
approach. So if you’re outgoing, find a language-
learning buddy to practice with. Unlike similar
textbooks, its focus is on phrases and vocabulary
that (gasp!) you may actually use in the real world.

3. Contacts: Langue et culture françaises by Jean-Paul

Valette & Rebecca Valette

This textbook boasts great visuals, important

cultural references, help with pronunciation and a
useful French-English dictionary in the back, so
you don’t have to go craning your neck from
textbook to dictionary and back again. If you are
looking for listening exercises (very important if
you ever hope to understand the French), then
make sure you get the supplemental audio to go
along with it.

Intermediate

Intermediate French can make you or break you, so pick a good

companion to help get you through the brush. You may be speaking well
by this point, but your reading comprehension and understanding of
grammar remains a little shaky. Regardless, it’s time to buff up your French
with a few helpful resources.

4. En bonne forme by Simone Renaud & Dominique van

Hooff

Idioms and slang aplenty! Didn’t think you’d find

that in a textbook, did you? This book is serious
business. If grammar is what you need help with,
and you’re ready to sprinkle more advanced
vocabulary into your French, then here’s your
solution. En bonne forme is a great reference for
all things French grammar, and it goes through
the tenses and rules with great examples,
explanations and attention to detail.

5. Mise en scène: cinéma et lecture by

Cheryl Krueger & Elizabeth Dolly Weber & Brigitte G. Martin

If you’re studying French, then there’s a chance that

you may also enjoy French cinema. Maybe I’m just
making broad generalizations, but French can open
doors to wonderful time periods and styles of
filmmaking. And while watching French movies is
certainly a viable way to learn French, sometimes
having a more organized approach is best. This
textbook does exactly that; it uses French-language
films and corresponding texts to help expand your
knowledge of culture and vocabulary, with activities
that tie it all together. Cinephiles and Francophiles alike, this may be as
fun as textbooks get.

6. Moments Litteraires: An Anthology for Intermediate

French by Bette Hirsch & Chantal Thompson

Bookworms, I know you’re out there, wondering if

you can just read your way to fluency. Well, no, not
technically, but you sure can learn about the
intricacies of grammar (oh hey simple past tense)
and build your vocabulary. This is an anthology of
French masterpieces, dating back from the Middle
Ages to present day. It also includes pre- and post-
reading activities to help you get the most out of
each reading.

Advanced
7. Le Bon Usage by M. Grevisse

This is the pinnacle of French textbooks. This

reference guide to the nooks and crannies of
French usage and style is a whopping 1600-1800
pages (depending on what edition you get). It was
first published in 1936 and has been revised
systematically since. There is even a new online
edition. It may seem daunting, but if you’re serious
about your French, ranging from struggling
beginner to fluent professional, this book will have
the answers presented in an organized manner to
any little question about usage you may have.

8. Advanced French by Monique L’Huillier

If you’re looking for something a little more general,

than this book may be more your speed. With
similar topics to Le Bon Usage, it’s a little bit easier
to digest because it’s made for English speakers. It
has an insane amount of French examples from a
huge array of texts, and will give you a detailed
answer to all your grammar questions. It’s also a
more normal size for a textbook (706 pages),
including a very helpful index of phrases,
vocabulary and topics to help make finding what
you need to know a little easier.

9. Short Stories in French: New Penguin Parallel Text

Similar to Moments Litteraire in its teaching methods, this is a great book

for more casual French reading (assuming you can read in French, that is).
 It has great short stories, all in both French and
English (to help you out with comprehension). If
you’re looking for more books like this and aren’t
ready to throw the English crutches to the curb
just yet, then there are plenty of parallel texts out
there. Here’s a good list of other titles.

Other Useful Texts

10. Mastering French Vocabulary: A
Thematic Approach by Wolfgang
Fischer & Anne-Marie Plouhinec

If you were a student for many years and didn’t get

a lot of immersion-based experience, but somehow
emerged at the end with a whole lot of grammar
knowledge (teachers like to review those tenses!),
then you’re probably looking for some vocabulary
help. This book contains over 5,000 words and
phrases (Learn all of them! All of them!), all
organized by theme to make it digestible.

11. 501 French Verbs

This book is invaluable. If you suddenly forget the

past participle of pouvoir, you whip this book out, find the verb and there it
is—its past participle and how to form it in all the major tenses. And, you
guessed it, this is done with 501 different verbs. A
good thing to have on your shelf, no matter what
level your French is at.

12. Exercises in French Phonics by

Francis W. Nachtmann

You knew this was coming. Phonics! So you’ve got

your vocab under control, your grammar in check,
but you sound pretty weird when you speak. If you
need to kick your pronunciation into gear, this book
is a great resource. You can sit around making funny noises to yourself
with it! Such fun! It’s also a nice and compact book so you can take it with
you on all your French-speaking adventures.

13. Larousse French-English Dictionary

Every French learner needs a good dictionary. Keep it on your desk or in

your book bag. While there are plenty of french
translation apps out there, there’s nothing like the
good-old-fashioned way of translating! They’ve got
a variety of editions as well, so you can get a
dictionary that suits your specific needs. They have
editions for middle schoolers, college students, a
concise version, pocket version and a big old
hardcover one if you like having big red books on
your shelf.

No need to develop an extensive collection of

textbooks just to learn the language, but hopefully
you’ll find something that suits your needs and helps fill in any learning
gaps. Remember that burying your nose in a French textbook for months
at a time won’t make you fluent, so make sure you get out there and
exercise those phonics in the real world!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable

PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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And One More Thing…

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If you want to experience all the best in French-learning material, then
you’ve got to try FluentU.
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FluentU lets you learn French from real-world content like music videos,
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Since this video content is stuff that native French speakers actually

watch on the regular, you’ll get the opportunity to learn real French—the
way it’s spoken in modern life.

Think of it like a huge interactive textbook that encompasses a whole

world of authentic French speech.

One quick look will give you an idea of the diverse content found on
FluentU:

Love the thought of learning French with native materials but afraid you
won’t understand what’s being said? FluentU brings authentic French
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Tap on any word to see a definition, in-context usage examples, audio

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Don’t stop there, though. Use FluentU’s learn mode to actively practice all
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As you continue advancing in your French studies, FluentU keeps track of

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Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better

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If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best
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