4 Simple Ways to Improve Your French Listening Skills

Improve your listening skills in French by focusing and taking notes

Sounds too easy, right? I agree, but very often my students tell me they listen to content passively, like music in the background. If you listen to French radio and think it'll sink in and you'll absorb it by some magic trick, I’m afraid it won't be effective.

The first step is to be truly focused, even if only for a short time. Imagine you have to explain the content to somebody else so you concentrate on the meaning. Normally, that's what you do in a classroom when a teacher asks you to listen to an audio and then asks general questions or a summary. We do this in a structured way in my program, En Immersion, which starts again in September 2026.

To help your concentration, I also suggest taking notes on what you’re hearing. This will help you focus and learn new expressions. Often, we understand vocabulary passively—recognising a word because it’s close to our native language—but that doesn't mean we can use it actively. If you write down a new expression on paper, you’re more likely to read it again, memorise it, and actually use it in conversation. Why write on paper? Studies show that handwriting activates parts of the brain that enhance retention. Try it for a week and tell me if it works!

Read and listen at the same time

Many students get frustrated with listening practice at first. It feels like French spelling doesn't match the pronunciation at all, right? Take the word 'eau', for example—pronounced /o/ despite being spelt with three vowels, none of which is the letter 'o'. Shocking, I know!

That's why, from day one, I recommend listening and reading at the same time. This allows you to observe patterns, silent letters, and how specific letter combinations are pronounced. If you're intermediate or advanced, try listening without the transcript first, then listen again while reading. If you missed a word, try to understand why. Was it a liaison? Did you think it was one word when it was actually two? Or were the letters "eaten" by the speaker? This is one of the best exercises to bridge the gap between listening and reading.

Using the repeating and shadowing techniques

Repeating isolated sentences without context can feel old-school, but being able to reproduce sounds is key to language learning. My suggestion: choose an audio you actually enjoy—both the topic and the speaker's voice. I’ve put together some curated content in this post. to help you get started.

After listening a few times to understand the content, choose a 1-to-5-minute segment. Repeat what is said, trying to mimic the speaker’s pronunciation, accent, tone, and rhythm.

For a more advanced challenge, try shadowing. This consists of repeating the speaker’s voice immediately after you hear it, without pausing the audio. It’s best to understand the meaning first so you can focus entirely on the sounds. Not sure which technique fits your level? Here is a great video from Julian Northbrook explaining the difference.

Practise watching movies and series without subtitles

Watching French series on Netflix is a great way to relax, but if you always keep the subtitles on, you won’t make much long-term progress. Your eyes are naturally drawn to the text, turning the audio into background noise.

I encourage you to spend at least five minutes of every episode without any subtitles at all. Train your ears, even if it’s just for a short burst. Remember: regular, short, and intense practice is what works!

Ready to stop 'background listening' for good? Pick one of these four strategies to try this week. Whether it’s handwriting notes or committing to 5 minutes of no-subtitles, let me know in the comments which one you’re tackling—and how it goes!