Gina,

As I heard you only have vague notions of french, I searched for the easiest way for you to tackle this language and to make you actually LIKE it!

The problem is, to me, the best of all site isn't with podcasts... argh I know this wasn't the goal but I hope you'll find it useful anyway. It is called Language Guide and does not only help with learning french but also many other languages. It is divided into three main parts: Vocabulary, Grammar and Readings. The site is extremely easy to surf in, appealing and interactive. I think it is a tool you can use with a child as well for there are images and a good focus on playing. Every exercise has a feedback and the lessons are explained in english which, I believe, is a good thing for beginners. You can hear the word by clicking on them either when learning vocabulary or doing exercises so that you can practice the pronunciation. Then, you can listen to and read famous stories in the readings section which enables beginners to learn the language and a bit of the french culture at the same time.

Nevertheless, I also found this podcast series very interesting, though maybe a bit difficult to get at first. It is called French Pod Class (funny title ;-)) and was created by a french guy who settled in the US. He mixes french and english to assure a better understanding, conveys an atmosphere of fun by putting a lot of humor and music in his podcasts, so I think he is quite aware of what you need when deciding to learn french on your own. He is also really available, asks for feedbacks and invites the learners not to hesitate asking him for questions as well as making him suggestions. Furthermore, he really articulates which facilitates the comprehension a lot and every text is explained in details and then repeated. So, this site is motivating for it gives the impression to be encouraged and led but it also leaves you a certain autonomy as you can manage your lessons as you like and choose the one you want to work on. You can also relax after a difficult lesson by playing games or watching videos. I think there is a real intent here to try and use different strategies and tasks to help in the learning process.


A last one would be that of Alexa Polidoro called Learn French With Alexa because it is simple to use. However, it lacks of various means to get foreign learners to actually stay motivated and interested.


Now, if you just want to have fun and learn a lot about the french paintings, here's a site you should go to: Peinture FLE (just for the record, the FLE stands for 'Français Langue Etrangère = French as a foreign language' and that's the program we refer to whenever someone learns french as a second language)

Very amusing even for french speakers!!!