Level 1

Beginner French

Build your foundations and start speaking

Develop the essential language needed to introduce yourself, discuss your everyday life and manage familiar situations.

Level: A0–A1 equivalent
Format: 3 terms × 12 lessons
Lesson length: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total guided learning: 45 hours

Main language focus

Present tense, questions, negation, articles, agreement, everyday verbs, simple completed events and near-future plans.

You do not need any previous knowledge of French. This friendly, practical course will help you start communicating from your very first lesson.

French is introduced through real-life topics, guided conversations, listening activities, games and role-play. You will also discover practical French tips, helpful similarities between French and English, pronunciation patterns and a few false friends to watch out for. You will learn useful expressions in context, practise them with other students and return to them regularly so that they become familiar and natural.

By the end of the three terms, you will be able to introduce yourself, talk about your family and everyday life, order food and drinks, shop, ask for directions, describe a recent experience and discuss simple future plans.

French Beyond the Textbook

Our classes are shaped around the people in the room. At every level, students are encouraged to bring their own stories, experiences, interests and questions into the conversation.

We also explore France and the wider French-speaking world through culture, everyday life and carefully selected local, national and international news. Topics and materials are always adapted to the ability and interests of each group, so even newer learners can engage with real French ideas without feeling overwhelmed.

Along the way, students discover colloquial expressions, idioms, pronunciation tips, French–English connections, false friends and the language French speakers actually use. As they progress, the stories and discussions become richer, the materials more authentic and the language increasingly nuanced.

How You Will Learn

This is a conversation-first course. In every lesson, you will hear useful French, practise it in supported activities and use it in a meaningful conversation. Pronunciation, vocabulary and sentence-building are developed naturally through the topic. Along the way, your teacher will share French tips, connections with English, memory shortcuts and common traps to avoid. Earlier language is regularly recycled, so you do not learn something once and immediately leave it behind.

Activities may include partner conversations, information-gap tasks, role-plays, listening challenges, picture prompts, pronunciation games, mini-surveys and short personal projects.

Your Progress by the End of Beginner

You should be able to:

introduce yourself and ask someone simple questions
speak about family, home, routine, work, studies and interests
express likes, dislikes, needs and preferences
cope with familiar situations in cafés, shops, restaurants and around town
describe a simple recent experience
talk about a simple upcoming plan
understand patient, clearly spoken French on familiar subjects
write a short message, invitation or personal description
continue naturally to Elementary French, where you will expand your everyday conversations, build stronger past and future language and communicate with greater independence

Language structures covered

Beginner — Build reliable foundations

Present tense and high-frequency irregular verbs.
Questions, negation, articles, agreement and essential prepositions.
Everyday reflexive verbs, comparisons and basic object reference.
Introduction to completed past events and near-future plans.
Practical spoken interaction, pronunciation and conversational confidence.

Topics we may cover

Beginner 1

Bonjour and first connections — Greet and introduce oneself while noticing links with English
Personal details — Exchange basic information
Countries and work — State origin, nationality, job or studies
Family — Present and identify people
Likes and interests — Express and ask about preferences
Café — Order and pay politely
Time and arrangements — Give a date/time and arrange a meeting
Daily life — Describe a typical day
Home — Describe a home and locate objects
Town — Identify places and say where one is going
Conversation café — Sustain several short exchanges
Term project — Integrate personal and practical language