Beginner

How this book works

You’re starting from nothing. By the end of this book you’ll handle everyday French. You’ll introduce yourself, order food, ask for directions, talk about your day, and tell someone what you did last weekend. That level is called A2. It’s the floor everything else is built on.

Here’s how we work.

You speak from day one. Every chapter gets you producing French in the first few minutes, before you feel ready. You’ll make mistakes. Good. A wrong sentence you tried beats a perfect one you were too nervous to say. We fix things later, one at a time.

You learn patterns, not lists of rules. No wall of exceptions to memorize. You get the shape of how French works, then you use it until it’s yours.

Three habits carry you between chapters. They’re short and they’re not optional. They’re where the learning actually sticks.

• Flashcards, ten minutes a day. We tell you exactly which cards. Always store a noun with its little word: un café, not café. The gender is part of the word.
• Listening, before reading. Train your ear on real French first, then check the transcript. You’re building an ear, not just an eye.
• One production task per chapter. A short recording or a few written sentences, done before you start the next chapter.

A word on Montréal French. You live in a place, or you’re aiming for one, where people talk fast, swallow sounds, and use words no Paris textbook will teach you. So this book does two jobs at once. It trains your ear to understand real Montréal French. It trains your mouth to produce clear, standard French that works anywhere, including on the TEF exam. When something is Montréal-for-your-ears-only, we flag it. You learn to recognize it. You don’t have to say it.

How to use this page. Tap any French phrase to hear it. Flip the flashcards. Hide the English when you want to test yourself. Type your answers into the exercises and check them on the spot. Your progress saves on its own. Work through it in order, top to bottom.

Let’s go.