Learning Insights
Bonjour! Welcome to the News in Slow French Podcast for Beginners! Let’s start by going over some pointers on how to make the most of this program.
Train your Ear
Use this podcast to get comfortable with French pronunciation, sentence structure and intonation. Over time you will learn to hear the “music of the language” and become more confident in deciphering the meaning of sentences.
Grow your Vocabulary
Translating every word can be overwhelming and counterproductive. Our material is designed for you to understand the whole story, even if not every word. We use repetition, meaningful context, and other techniques to emulate natural language acquisition (think kids), so that you build bridges in your mind to new words and concepts naturally.
Challenge Yourself
Now we’ll review some of the educational tools available with each episode. You can use them to test your progress and push yourself further. We've designed them to boost your comprehension while not interfering with your listening experience.
Speed
You can quickly adjust the audio speed by clicking on “Speed”. If you encounter a particularly challenging section, try listening to it multiple times starting with the slowest setting.
Contextual Translation
The words and phrases highlighted in red are what we refer to as "contextual translations”. Hover over them as needed to see an English translation. Ignore them if you don't need them. Their purpose is to help you listen and read in French without interrupting the natural flow of each sentence.
Learn Anywhere with our app
With our mobile app, you can create customized playlists which can be stored for offline listening. Get creative and curate content that you care about, when you want it.
G.U.T.S.
If at any point you feel like you need to brush up on the basics, be sure to also check out GUTS: Get Up to Speed. This innovative grammar course flows like a conversation and teaches concepts progressively, episode by episode