gherf:

~ FRENCH MEDIA #1 ~

This is a list regarding ways I expose myself to French both spoken and written in music, film and news portals. Obviously this list is non-exhaustive and there are several aspects which I haven’t discovered yet and in the future I’ll most probably create better & improved versions as I discover different artists, films, etc. and possibly even include other segments such as literature!

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//MUSIC//

This is the longest section in my list because I’m quite exposed to French music and different French artists. This is the best way for me personally to learn vocabulary as well as get my ears somewhat used to spoken French especially since it is such a fast-spoken and elidable (omission of letters, ex. ce que je dis= c’qu’j’dis, etc.) language. All the artists can be found on Spotify yet possibly not their entire discography.

What I usually do is give a listen to a song the first time to see if I like it and then follow the lyrics on a lyric website. This is very crucial to both test your understanding of the language and also enrich your vocabulary. Google any words you don’t know and try to keep a list of the words you learn. Listening to music can also introduce you to colloquial or vulgar terms which is quite cool tbh but be attentive when to use them. Also try to listen to the songs as much as you can so you’ll eventually learn the lyrics which will be a huge boost to your understanding of spoken French and better your pronunciation, and will assure you remember new vocabulary. 

Artist Name: Description. Favourite songs.

• Stromae: Probably the most popular singer in French nowadays; mostly electronic; very good lyrics for general vocab, not too hard to follow or understand. Papaoutai, Tous Les Mêmes, Alors On Danse, Formidable, Carmen, Sommeil
• Indila: pop; very nice and catchy debut album; really good for vocab and quite easy to follow. Dernière Danse, Tourner Dans Le Vide, SOS, Ego
• Coeur de Pirate: Francophone singer from Canada; indie and pop; moderately-paced songs. Place de la République, Comme des Enfants
• Vitaa: earlier work is very soul but most recently transitioned to pop and electronic; some colloquial expressions, uses a lot of elision, might be quite difficult to understand just by listening. No Limit, La Même, Game Over, Emmène-Moi, Emmenez-Moi, Mégalo, Vivre, Ma Soeur
• Sexion D’Assaut: rap collective; not super fast but I find it rather hard to understand just by listening. Ma direction, Désolé

• Maître Gims: member of Sexion D’Assaut; rap; quite fast at times; quite good for vocabulary, frequent use of one-off english words. J’Me Tire, Zombie, Bella
• Orelsan: rap and electronic; really good for vocab on the whole and not so difficult to keep up with. La Terre Est Ronde, Le Chant Des Sirènes, Ils Sont Cools (<- this song contains A LOT of slang/colloquial words and phrases)
• Lio: 80′s pop singer; upbeat songs; very easy to keep up with, ideal for beginners and beginner vocabulary. Amoureux Solitaires, Le Banana Split
• Vive La Fête: synthpop music duo; very alternative hipster tumblr pale blog aesthetic; very easy to follow. Noir Désir, Nuit Blanche
• Shy’m: pop and electronic; typical commercial pop music-sound but in a different language tbh; quite easy to follow and keep up with. L’Effet de Serre, En Apesanteur, Et Alors!
• Kendji Girac: winner of The Voice France; dance-pop and kind of gypsy as well; easy to follow, good for vocab and some simple yet commonly used words you might not know. Andalouse, Color Gitano, Mon Univers, Viens Chez Nous
• H Magnum: I’ve only recently found out about him because he was featured in a song with Vitaa but his music seems really catchy though not too easy to follow just by audio. Aucun Mytho, Garde L’Équilibre
• Lartiste: same as H Magnum because he was featured on Vitaa’s new album, a bit tricky to follow by audio. Polygame
• Rose: I know like one song of hers because our French teacher showed us a song of hers during class which was really cute and she doesn’t seem hard to follow; quite good song for vocab. La Liste

• Édith Piaf: really slow traditional-pop 40′s 50′s music, easy to follow but some low quality audio files can be annoying to actually understand. La Vie En Rose (I actually prefer Grace Jones’ version of this so check that out too)

• France Gall: winner of ESC 1965; very 60′s French pop, catchy songs; alright to keep up with. Poupée de cire, poupée de son, Laisse Tomber Les Filles
• Zaz: I know one song but it’s super catchy and nice and also not hard to keep up with. Je Veux
• Eurovision Entries: Check out the Eurovision entries of:
  France (almost all in French) 
  Switzerland (some in French)
  Belgium (some in French)
  Luxembourg (most in French)

LYRICS:

• Wiktionary: Extremely good for searching individual word meanings, nice and clean interface with usage notes where applicable and most often verb conjugations as well. Also denotes little yet important details of words (ex. H aspiré, Colloquial/Vulgar words, etc.) If a word / expression is not present in the English version, it’s most probably in French Wiktionary, but the definitions might be difficult to understand sometimes.
• Word Reference: I prefer Wiktionary to this yet whenever I’m not satisfied with a meaning on Wiktionary, Word Reference saves the day tbh. Extremely good and reliable online dictionary + different languages as well.
• Genius: My favourite lyric website. Contains songs in many different languages and the words are 99% of the time spelt perfectly. Some songs might also contain annotations to hep you delve between the lines and discover the lyrical meaning. Check out Genius  specifically for French.
• Paroles Et Traduction: Lyrics to French songs + lyrics to English songs which are also translated to French!

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//FILM//

To be completely honest I haven’t explored French cinema so much so far but I’m getting into it more and more. Ideally, films in French should be watched with subtitles even at more intermediate stages, just so everything is understood. However at the same time try to grab hold of some words here and there and test your understanding by listening to the dialogue and it will also help you get used to the usual fast-paced conversation which typically takes place in French. I recommend watching it without subs after you’ve given it at least one run-through and understood the basic conversations and the film plot, and then continue to test your hearing and observation just by hearing.

Film Name ((If Any) Translation) (Year)
Description.

First and foremost I’d recommend every film by the Québécois director Xavier Dolan because his work is honestly so lovely tbh.

• I Killed My Mother (J’ai tué ma mère) (2009)
  Probably one of my favourite films ever actually. Essentially the film deals with the complex bond between a (gay) son and his mother 
• Heartbeats (Les Amours imaginaires) (2010)
  The story of two friends who fall in love with the same man
• Laurence Anyways (2012)

  “The story of an impossible love between a woman named Fred (Frédérique) and a transgender woman named Laurence (then living as a man) who reveals her inner desire to become her true self” (Wikipedia)

• Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme) (2013)
  “Tom, a young advertising copywriter, travels to the country for the funeral of his boyfriend Guillaume. There, he is shocked to learn that no one knows who he is, nor his relationship to the deceased. Guillaume’s brother Francis soon sets the rules of a twisted game. In order to protect the family’s name and the deceased’s grieving mother, Agathe, Tom now has to play the peacekeeper in a household whose obscure past bodes even greater darkness for his “trip” to the farm.” (Wikipedia)
• Mommy (2014)
  “Diane Després is a widowed mother who is overwhelmed by the difficulty of raising her troubled, sometimes violent son Steve as a single parent. Després then begins to receive assistance and support from her mysterious new neighbour Kyla.” (Wikipedia)

Other films I know of:

• Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001)
  Also one of my favourite films ever TBH. “

  It tells the story of a shy waitress who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while struggling with her own isolation.” (Wikipedia)
  (It has a really lovely soundtrack too, check that out!)

• Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013)
  This won the Palme D’Or unanimously so it’s definitely good I presume even though I haven’t actually gotten myself round to seeing it yet?? “The film revolves around Adèle , a French teenager who discovers desire and freedom when a blue-haired aspiring painter enters her life. The film charts their relationship from Adele’s high school years to her early adult life and career as a school teacher.” (Wikipedia)
• Le Roi Danse (2000)
  Recommended by my French teacher during our Molière lesson of Le Malade Imaginaire to help us understand the context of the setting. It’s based on a biography of the composer Lully and it features his relationships with Louis XIV Of France, Molière and Robert Cambert.

• Molière (1978)
  Also recommended by my French teacher, except that this is biographical of Molière himself to my knowledge. 

Also check out the most popular French-language films on IMDB!

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//NEWS PORTALS// (+ more)

This is very good to get used to reading French without the long-term dedication / difficulty of actual French literature, and extremely beneficial to vocabulary. I recommend liking their Facebook pages as well rather than just visiting their websites to receive constant updates and a passive French-language presence online! Also try to read the comments left by people to test your understanding further (however be cautious of spelling errors or colloquialisms)

Outlet Name (Website) / (Facebook page): Description.

• Le Monde (Website) / (Facebook): very popular and very regularly updated
• Le Figaro (Website) / (Facebook): also very popular and regularly updated
• L’Internaute (Website) / (Facebook): not as popular as Le Monde or Le Figaro yet is still very good and well-updated
• Okapi (Website) / (Facebook): this is a magazine rather than an actual news portal. It has some magazine pages on its moderately updated Facebook page, but you can also get a subscription through its website
• TV5MONDE  (Website) / (Facebook): also not an actual news portal but rather a television network, but there are plenty of written articles on its website (under Informations) which you should check out!

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That comprises this list of a few ways to become more exposed to the French language! As I said, this is far from exhaustive, and I hope to create another list as I delve into the language further. Hope this is of use to people learning the language!