Here are 10 of the best books for learning French to get you started ASAP!
Books can be a great resource for learning a language. They provide a lot of information on grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Additionally, language learning books can provide an interesting cultural insight into the country where the language is spoken.
10 Books for Learning French
If you are looking for the best books for learning French then you are in luck!
1. Easy French Step-by-Step
Price On Amazon: $14.40
Reviews: Number One Bestseller in French Language Instruction 4.5/5 (2,200+)
Many reviews mentioned: “highly recommended”, “easy to understand”, and “well organized.”
Why You Need It: This is the number one French book on Amazon for a reason. This book will help you with French verb tenses, verb conjugations, vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and more topics. This book also allows you to learn writing skills with a lot of fill-in-the-blank options.
It will also tell you why things are the way they are which I find super helpful when learning a new language. Overall, this is a great workbook and will really help you.
2. Short Novels in French for Beginners
Price On Amazon: $13.49
Reviews: 4.7/5 (1,100+)
Many reviews mentioned: “stories are interesting”, “new words”, and “highly recommended.”
Why You Need It: Stories are one of my favorite ways to learn a language. This book allows beginners to learn new vocabulary words and learn sentence structure through stories.
This book also has 1,000 of the most used words in the French Language to make sure that you are learning efficiently. With 8 different and interesting stories, this book is guaranteed to help you learn French.
This book also has an audiobook option so that you can follow along as you read and make sure that you are pronouncing things correctly.
3. French All-in-One For Dummies (French Edition)
Price On Amazon: $16.20
Reviews: 4.6/5 (1,100+)
Many reviews mentioned: “highly recommended”, “easy to read”, and “useful.”
Why You Need It: We all know the “For Dummy” books are not taken very seriously, however, this book really does work. With over 700 pages, this book allows you to really immerse yourself in the language.
This book talks about the pronunciation of the French alphabet, numbers, dates, times, common greetings, small talk, conversation, tips for identifying gender, tenses, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, inking words, asking and answering questions, idioms, slang, French-English and English-French dictionaries, and lots of games and lots of exercises.
It also comes with an audio CD to make sure that you are learning the correct pronunciation of words.
With 6 books in one, you cannot go wrong with this book.
4. Skill Builders French I Workbook—Grades K-5 French Vocabulary
Price On Amazon: $4.99
Reviews: Number One Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult French Language Study 4.5/5 (1,600+)
Many reviews mentioned: “good book”, “pictures”, and “pronunciation.”
Why You Need It: This is the perfect book for children looking to learn French or for parents who want their kids to have a fun easy way to learn.
I also think that this book would be great for all the visual learners out there. There are lots of pictures in this book that help your brain link the vocabulary to what it is.
This book has 24 chapters and 80 pages to make sure that your child is getting the practice that they need.
5. Grammar Rules for Beginners: Best French Textbook + Workbook
Price On Amazon: $14.90
Reviews: 4.4/5 (200+)
Many reviews mentioned: “book is great”, “really liked the book”, and “great workbook.”
Why You Need It: This book is the ultimate grammar tool to boost your understanding of French grammar. For me, grammar is one of the hardest parts of learning a language. This book helps break it down so that it is easy to understand.
There is also a workbook and audio included with this book so that you are able to use the grammar that you are learning.
This book has everything from intermediate-level grammar to advanced French grammar. If you are looking for a complete French grammar book then this will be your favorite book.
The workbook has over 300 grammar exercises to use after each lesson in the book to make sure that you are comprehending the grammar that you are learning.
The audio will help you with pronunciation and hearing the words in a native French speaker’s voice.
6. Merriam-Webster’s French-English/English-French Dictionary
Price On Amazon: $6.99
Reviews: 4.7/5 (200+)
Many reviews mentioned: “easy to use”, “great value”, and “very portable.”
Why You Need It: Now, I know what you are thinking, a dictionary to learn a language? But hear me out. This literally has every single vocabulary word in the entire French language!
When I learned my first language, I was able to learn so many vocabulary words just by carrying around a dictionary, and whenever there was a word that I didn’t know I would look it up, write it down, and then memorize it.
This dictionary is a smaller size so that it can easily fit in a purse or backpack.
It also offers examples of the vocabulary words in sentences so that you can make sure that you are learning the correct word.
7. 501 French Verbs
Price On Amazon: $14.99
Reviews: 4.8/5 (600+)
Many reviews mentioned: “great recourse”, “book is great”, and “comprehensive.”
Why You Need It: Verbs are one of the essential building blocks of language. They are something that you need to learn and understand in order to be understood and understood.
This book contains 501 of the most used French verbs in all tenses in alphabetical order.
This book also comes with an audio guide so that you can mimic the pronunciation of a native french speaker.
When I am learning a language I always learn first grammar, then verbs, then vocabulary. This makes it so I am able to use the verbs that I learn in sentences and then add in vocabulary later.
8. Easy French Phrase Book
Price On Amazon: $6.95
Reviews: 4.5/5 (600+)
Many reviews mentioned: “great pronunciation guide”, “recommend to anyone”, and “helpful.”
Why You Need It: A phrasebook is a helpful tool to help you learn a language because you are able to see a sentence that is already put together for you and you can just repeat it exactly. This book is perfect for when you are in France and need to communicate quickly.
It makes it so that even if you don’t know the grammar and vocabulary yet you can still form correct sentences. This book is perfect for self-study and even can help you prepare for exams.
The pronunciation at the beginning of the book is also very helpful so that you can read the sentences correctly and say them as a French native would.
9. French: Short Stories for Beginners + Audio Download
Price On Amazon: $14.90
Reviews: 4.6/5 (700+)
Many reviews mentioned: “highly recommend”, “best way to learn”, and “easy to follow.”
Why You Need It: This book contains 15 stories for beginners that are interesting and captivating. It will help to increase your reading skills and listening skills.
The stories are also narrated at a normal speed (fast for beginners) and also at a slow, understandable speed which is great for beginners (A2-B1).
Understanding French stories is all part of learning the language. If you think about it language is just storytelling so it is essential that you are able to understand stories.
10. French English Bilingual Visual Dictionary
Price On Amazon: $13.59
Reviews: 4.7/5 (700+)
Many reviews mentioned: “highly recommend”, “much easier”, and “useful.”
Why You Need It: Like I was saying earlier in the workbook for kids, visual learners need pictures to connect the vocabulary words to the objects. This is as good as it gets when it comes to visual learning.
It has over 6,000 illustrated terms with many different subjects. This book also comes with an app that reads the words out loud so you can learn perfect pronunciation.
They have the French translation and the English translation which makes this a great book for beginners to intermediate French learners. If fluency is your goal then you will love the French phonics section of this book as well.
Conclusion
Learning a new language can be daunting, but it’s also an incredibly rewarding experience. If you’re looking for the best way to learn French, we recommend using one (or all) of these French learning books.
Not only will you have all of your grammar and vocabulary lessons in one place, but you can take the book with you wherever you go.
And if you get stuck on a word or phrase, there are plenty of online resources to help you out. So what are you waiting for? Start learning French today with my favorite books!
Related Posts
- Best French Flashcards on Amazon
- How to Watch Cartoons in French
- Duolingo Flashcards for French Learners
- The Best Books to Learn Italian on Amazon
- Why Duolingo is Actually Good
- French Textbooks for Language Learners
Dayna Brockbank is a travel and language-learning blogger who has lived around the world but has now settled in Nice, France. She speaks 3 languages at varying levels of fluency: Spanish, Italian, and French, and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Spanish Education. She and her husband focus on making travel part of life by living cheaply and traveling on a budget.