French for Beginners 1: Arriving and Getting Around

Start French with real recorded conversations: greetings, taxis, hotels, phone calls, stations, the metro and cafés, with native audio on every line and practice after every lesson.

• Free
• Absolute beginner
• 3 weeks · ~2 hrs/week
• 7 lessons
• ~5 hours
• Certificate on passing the project

Free account required to open the lessons. No card, no fees.

About this course

Part 1 of a three-part French course built on the complete Metropolitan French FAST recordings made by the US Foreign Service Institute, now in the public domain. In seven lessons you meet people and introduce yourself, ask the way, take a taxi, check into a hotel, make a phone call and complain about your room, catch a train, meet someone at the airport, use the metro, and meet a friend at a café. Every lesson plays real conversations in the same consistent voices, line by line or all the way through, then drills each word and phrase in those voices so you can listen and repeat. An interactive practice set follows every lesson: hear a line and choose what it meant, type what you hear, build sentences from word tiles, and match French to English, with anything you get wrong coming back until you get it right. The recordings were made for American diplomats arriving in Paris; each lesson also shows how the same moment works for a Nigerian in Abidjan, Dakar, Lomé or Cotonou. Short videos from Wikitongues let you hear French from France and West Africa. You finish by recording your own three-scene conversation portfolio. Parts 2 and 3, in preparation, cover food shopping, restaurants, health, work and emergencies.

Your first morning in a French-speaking city. You arrive at your new apartment building and a man you have never met greets you by name. Later, you need a taxi, and the person to ask is that same man. This lesson gives you both moments on real recordings: M. Bertrand, the building's caretaker, welcoming a new arrival, and then pointing her towards the taxi stand. By the end you will be able to greet someone politely, confirm who you are and where you work, ask how someone is and answer the same question, ask where something is, understand a simple direction such as on the right or next to the café, and thank someone properly. Every line is recorded in the same voices, first as a conversation, then phrase by phrase.

What you'll learn

• Greeting people formally and informally
• Introducing yourself and saying where you work
• Asking someone to repeat or slow down
• Asking for and understanding directions
• Taking taxis, trains and the metro
• Checking in and sorting out problems at a hotel
• Making and answering telephone calls
• Meeting someone at a station or airport
• Meeting a friend and ordering at a café
• Listening to natural spoken French
• Tu or vous: choosing the right level of politeness

Course syllabus — 7 lessons

1. Arriving: meeting M. Bertrand and finding a taxi37 min
2. Your New Driver, and Finding the Way42 min
3. Taxi to the Hotel, and Checking In40 min
4. Making a Phone Call and Complaining About Your Room45 min
5. At the Station and the Airport36 min
6. No Taxi at Rush Hour, and a First Ride on the Metro41 min
7. Meeting a Friend at the Café, and the Dry Cleaner's59 min

Frequently asked questions

Is French for Beginners 1: Arriving and Getting Around free?

Yes. French for Beginners 1: Arriving and Getting Around is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does French for Beginners 1: Arriving and Getting Around take to complete?

3 weeks · ~2 hrs/week. There are 7 lessons, about 5 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start French for Beginners 1: Arriving and Getting Around?

Absolute beginner. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.

What will I learn in French for Beginners 1: Arriving and Getting Around?

You will build practical skills in Greeting people formally and informally, Introducing yourself and saying where you work, Asking someone to repeat or slow down, Asking for and understanding directions, Taking taxis, trains and the metro, Checking in and sorting out problems at a hotel, Making and answering telephone calls, Meeting someone at a station or airport, Meeting a friend and ordering at a café, Listening to natural spoken French, Tu or vous: choosing the right level of politeness. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for French for Beginners 1: Arriving and Getting Around?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your French conversation portfolio: Part 1 and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

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