Hey mes chers abonnés 😎

You can access all 20 lessons from this series instantly if you want.

Access the French 101 🇫🇷 Series

Today’s lesson. My love story ended and I still can't open pickle jars. Heartbreak hotel? More like a heartbreak hostel. Relationship status: It's complicated with my Netflix account… I’ve mastered talking to houseplants.

Histoire d'amour terminée, toujours incapable d'ouvrir les bocaux de cornichons. Hôtel du chagrin d'amour ? Je suis dans l'auberge du chagrin, lits superposés. Statut relationnel : C'est compliqué avec mon compte Netflix. Maîtrisé l'art de parler aux plantes d'intérieur.

We might associate break ups with the young, but they’re devastating to us at whatever age we have to endure them.

Let’s learn some classic vocabulary you’ll need to navigate this tricky situation… or understand the argument you’re overhearing! 🙊

French 101 🇫🇷 : Une rupture pénible 💔

Dialogue du Jour

Léna : Paul, il faut qu'on parle...

Paul : Ah... d'accord. Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?

Léna : Écoute, ces derniers mois ont été vraiment difficiles pour nous deux. Je pense... Je pense que c'est mieux si on arrête tout ça. Ce n'est pas toi, c'est moi.

Paul : Quoi ? Non, Léna, s'il te plaît ! Je peux changer, je ferai tout et n’importe quoi ✪ pour toi !

Léna : Paul, je sais que tu es sincère, mais c'est pas une question de ce que tu fais ou ne fais pas. J'ai juste besoin de temps pour moi. 

Paul : Mais Léna... Sans toi, je suis dans la merde ✪. Ma vie n'a aucun sens sans toi !

Léna : Paul, je sais que c'est dur, mais parfois, c'est mieux comme ça. Tant mieux ✪ pour nous deux à long terme.

Paul : "Tant mieux" ?! Tu te moques de moi ? Après tout ce que nous avons partagé, c'est comme ça que tu me laisses ?

Léna : Je suis désolée, Paul. Vraiment.

Paul : Tu vas le regretter, Léna. Tu vas voir.

Léna : [en colère] C'est fini ! On casse! Ne laissez pas la porte frapper votre cul en sortant !  ✪

[sort en trombe ✪]

Paul : Oublie-moi !

♡ 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 👇

✪ Notes

tout et n’importe quoi ✨🧩 = anything and everything. The ultimate promise of flexibility – a bit like a Swiss Army knife of willingness! Think of it as a superhero saying, "I'll do whatever it takes!"

je suis dans la merde ✨ = être dans le pétrin, avoir des ennuis = i’m in deep trouble. Ah, the French way of saying "I'm up the creek without a paddle"! It's a bit crude, but oh-so-descriptive. It captures that sinking feeling when you're really in a mess."Après avoir raté mon examen, je suis vraiment dans la merde."

tant mieux ✨ =  so much the better. This phrase is like finding a silver lining in a cloud. "Il pleut dehors ? Tant mieux, j'avais besoin de rester à la maison pour étudier."

ne laissez pas la porte frapper votre cul en sortant ! ✨ = don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. The verbal equivalent of a mic drop. Oh how I hope each one of us as the chance to use this at some point in our lives, what a great line.

sortir en trombe = partir précipitamment, quitter rapidement = leave in a huff / goe out with a bang. Imagine a cartoon character storming out of a room so fast their feet are just a blur – that's "sort en trombe." It's the grand finale of exits! Example: "Il a entendu la nouvelle et est sorti en trombe de la pièce." (He heard the news and stormed out of the room)

*✨ = especially ‘Frenchie’ words/phrases you should try and use more
*🧩 = ‘canned’ expressions or phrases that are best learned as a whole, like puzzle-pieces.

Key Phrases 🗝️

Il faut qu'on parle - We need to talk.

Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? - What's happening?

Ce n'est pas toi, c'est moi - It's not you, it's me.

C'est fini ! On casse ! - It's over! We're breaking up!

Dialogue Audio 🎧

Slower Audio 🐢

Translation

L: Paul, we need to talk...

P: Ah... okay. What's happening?

L: Listen, these last few months have been really difficult for both of us. I think... I think it's better if we stop all this. It's not you, it's me.

P: What? No, Lena, please! I can change, I'll do anything and everything for you!

L: Paul, I know you're sincere, but it's not about what you do or don't do. I just need time for myself.

P: But Lena... Without you, I'm in deep trouble. My life has no meaning without you!

L: Paul, I know it's hard, but sometimes, it's better this way. So much the better for both of us in the long run.

P: "So much the better"?! Are you mocking me? After everything we've shared, this is how you leave me?

L: I'm sorry, Paul. Really.

P: You're going to regret this, Lena. You'll see.

L: [angrily] It's over! We're breaking up! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

[leaves in a huff]

P: Forget me!

Writing Prompt ✍️ Alors, As-tu déjà vécu une rupture difficile ? Comment as-tu géré tes émotions dans cette situation ?

All answers are welcome. One word.. or one sentence.
Write me your answer in the comments. I can’t wait to read them! 👇🏼

Leave a comment

Exercise 1 - Fill in the blank 💪

Quickly test your comprehension, accelerate your learning. 🚀

1. Quand tout va mal, je me dis souvent, "__."
   When everything goes wrong, I often tell myself, "I'm in deep trouble."

2. Si ça fonctionne pour toi, alors __.
   If it works for you, then all the better.

3. Il est prêt à dire __ pour impressionner ses amis.
   He's ready to say absolutely anything to impress his friends.

4. Après une longue dispute, elle a crié : "__!"
   After a long argument, she yelled, "It's over! We're breaking up!"

5. "Ne te soucie pas de __, concentre-toi sur ce qui compte vraiment," lui conseilla son mentor.
   "Don't worry about your ego, focus on what truly matters," his mentor advised.

If you’re struggling the ✪ Notes section is always a good place to look. 😉 The answers are all in the dialogue or notes section.

[NO PEEKING] Answer Key: 1. je suis dans la merde  2. tant mieux  3. tout et n’importe quoi  4. C'est fini ! On casse!  5. votre cul

Exercise 2 - Translate ⚡

If you can translate each of these sentences after the lesson then you’re making real progress. They can also me used as flashcards.

1. Après une dispute intense, elle est sortie en trombe de la pièce, laissant un silence pesant derrière elle.

2. "Oublie-moi si c'est plus facile pour toi," murmura-t-il, les yeux remplis de larmes.

3. Lors de leur dernière conversation, il a commencé par "Il faut qu'on parle", ce qui a immédiatement créé une atmosphère tendue.

4. Tout ça pour finir ici, pensa-t-il amèrement, en regardant les photos de leur bonheur passé.

5. Cette relation est devenue trop pénible, réalisant qu'il était temps de tourner la page.

1. After an intense argument, she stormed out of the room, leaving a heavy silence behind her.
2. "Forget me if it's easier for you," he whispered, tears filling his eyes.
3. At the start of their last conversation, he began with "We need to talk," which immediately created a tense atmosphere.
4. All this to end up here, he thought bitterly, looking at the photos of their past happiness.
5. This relationship has become too burdensome, and I realized it was time to turn the page.

✉️ Votre invitation en France cet été

𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 ♡ 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕦𝕓𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜👇

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!

Amélie x

Series Tests ✅
Prove Your French, One Series at a Time

✅ One test per ~10 episodes · 🎧 built from the series itself · 📈 see your progress

A French series test is a short, scored test built from one of Amélie’s story series — its own dialogues, its own vocabulary, its own voices. Finish a stretch of episodes, then prove you actually got it: listening, comprehension, the words that series taught you. A taste is free; the full scored test is for members.

⛓️‍💥 Progress is impossible to feel from the inside

You listen, you read, you nod along — and one day you realise you understood a whole dialogue without reaching for the translation. But that day is quiet. It sneaks up on you. From the inside, learning a language feels flat even when you’re climbing fast, and that flat feeling is exactly what makes people quit right before it clicks.

A series test is the mirror. You finish a run of episodes, you sit the test, and you see the climb — the words you now own, the accents you can now follow, the gap that’s closed since episode one. It’s the same idea as the monthly level test, aimed at one story instead of one month: proof, on demand, that the hours are adding up.

The lessons have been really helpful in improving my understanding and providing a good challenge to test my grammar — Lux

👀 Who it’s for

For anyone who’s worked through a series — the Paris Series 🗼, French 101 🇫🇷, Conversation Starters ☕️ — and wants to know it landed before moving on. If you like a bit of a challenge and a clear “yes, you’ve got this,” these are for you.

Not there yet?
If you haven’t started a series, start with the episodes first — the test only makes sense once you’ve heard the stories. Pick a series from the 🌱 Start Here

Not sure of your level?
Head to the 🌱 Start Here to find where to jump in.

📚 What a series test covers

Every series test is drawn straight from the series it belongs to — nothing generic, nothing you haven’t already met in the dialogues:

• 🎧 Listening from the series — real clips in Amélie’s voice, including the ⚡ à la parisienne fast speed, so you’re tested on French as it’s actually spoken.

• ✪ The series’ own vocabulary — the expressions and idioms those episodes taught you, back to check they stuck.

• 🧠 Comprehension — short questions on what was actually said and meant, not textbook trivia.

• 📈 A score band at the end — a clear read on where you landed, and a nudge toward what’s next.

🧭 How it works

1. Finish a block — roughly every ten episodes of a series comes with its own test.

2. Sit the test — listening, vocab and comprehension, all from that stretch of the story. Take it the moment you finish, or come back to it.

3. See your score, then keep going — pass, and you’re pointed at the next series to take on. Progress you can feel, and a clear next step.

✅ Live tests

The first tests are live now — both built from the Paris Series 🗼. More are being written as you read this and they’ll drop in here as they publish:

Want a broader check-up?

Every month there’s a fresh test built from that month’s new lessons — the one people screenshot.

🚀 Ready to prove it?

Finish a series, prove you learned it, and let the next one pull you forward. That’s the loop — and it’s how you finally understand real, spoken French, in months, not years.

The full scored tests, the whole library, the private podcast and every member-only series come with membership — normally $24/month (or $240/year), with a 7-day free trial to see if it’s for you. Rated 9.2/10 by 124 students.

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite…
Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new series tests join this page as they publish.

← Back to Start Here 🌱 · The Monthly Level Test 🧪 →

The Monthly French Level Test 🧪

🧪 A new test every month · 📈 Built from that month’s lessons · 💎 Members

The monthly French level test is a full listening-and-comprehension test, published the first Saturday of every month. Each one is built from that month’s actual dialogues — a story read aloud, a grammar-and-vocabulary round, and a real French article — then scored out of 18. It’s a members’ feature. Same month, everyone, one shared benchmark.

🙉🙈🙊 The one thing every learner secretly wants to know

Here’s the honest problem with learning a language: from the inside, you can’t feel yourself getting better. You do the lessons, the weeks blur together, and one quiet Tuesday the old thought creeps in — am I actually improving, or just… busy? That thought is where most people quietly quit. So I built the mirror. On the first Saturday of every month, you sit the same kind of test — listening, grammar, a real article — drawn entirely from the lessons you just did. You get a number. Next month you get another one. And somewhere around the third month you stop wondering whether you’re improving, because you can see it.
(It’s also, for what it’s worth, the thing people screenshot most.)

My comprehension has soared since I found French with Amélie. — Alison

👀 Who it’s for

This is for the member who wants proof, not vibes.

If you’ve been doing the dialogues and you want to know — really know — how much is sticking, the monthly test is the check-up. It’s calibrated for where you’re heading, not where you started: Newer to French? These tests are meant to stretch you. 🌱

If you like a bit of friendly pressure to keep the habit alive, one standing appointment a month with your own progress does the job better than any streak counter.

🥗 The recipe for a test

Eighteen questions, three sections, about fifteen minutes — all built from that month’s own lessons, so it only ever asks what you’ve actually been taught:

• 👂🏻 Section 1 · Listening — a short first-person story, read aloud in my voice, then five questions on what you caught. You listen first, like real life.

• 📋 Section 2 · Grammar & vocabulary — eight questions built around the month’s key phrases and the grammar underneath them. No trick questions, just the useful stuff at a real B1 stretch.

• 🗞️ Section 3 · Reading & advanced listening — a genuine French article, read at natural speed — plus the ⚡️ à la Parisienne clip: the same text at the deliberately, comically fast pace of a real Parisian in a hurry. (It’s meant to be almost impossible. That’s the fun.)

• 🎯 A score out of 18 and a class poll — mark your answers, find your band, and vote. You’ll see exactly where you land against everyone else who sat it.

🧭 How to take ‘em

1. Do the month’s lessons first. The test only asks what those dialogues taught — that’s the whole point of it.

2. Open the newest test — it lands the first Saturday of every month, right here and in the ✅ Level Tests section.

3. Listen before you read. Play each clip once through before you look at the questions. One pass, like a real conversation.

4. Answer all eighteen, then tally your score and write it down somewhere you’ll find it next month.

5. Vote in the poll — and come back for the rematch. Same time next month. Watching that number climb is the entire game.

⏪ Every past test

Check out the latest test here →
It lands the first Saturday of every month — and every past test lives in the test archive, so you can start with any month you like.

Finished a whole series, not just a month? There’s a test for that too — a short one on exactly what that series taught, so you can close it out and move on to the next with proof in hand.

🚀 The reason to be a member

You can’t find this anywhere else. The monthly test is bespoke and current — not a static quiz off a shelf, but a fresh one built from the exact lessons you just did, every single month. It’s the thing that closes the loop the rest of the internet leaves open: am I actually getting there? That’s the whole promise —
finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years — made measurable.

Here’s exactly what’s free and what’s not. Everyone gets the whole newsletter and Section 1 in full — so you can hear precisely what you’d be testing yourself on. The answers, the grammar and reading rounds, and every past test are for members — normally $240 a year ($24 a month), with your first week free to try the whole thing.

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite — et bon test !
Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — a new test joins this page the first Saturday of every month.

← Back to the 🌱 Start Here · Series Tests ✅ →

The best night of a life (backstage, no less), a pickup line that earned a legendary râteau, and what science actually says about why we dream at all. It could only be... Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3 — Test B. 🎤🌙💫

✅ A quick, simple (dare I say, fun?) window into how your French is doing.

All the colloquial phrases were included in these episodes, so it should keep you accountable and fit in a nice bit of review.

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. Mark your answers and use the scoring guide at the end to determine your level. 👍🏼

Newer to French? 6+ is a genuinely good score here — this test is calibrated for where you're heading, not where you started. 🌱

👂🏻 Compréhension orale

Ecoutez l'extrait suivant et répondez aux questions qui suivent.

Question 1: Quel était le plus beau jour de la narratrice ?

a) Le jour de sa remise de diplôme
b) Son mariage
c) Un voyage à l'étranger
d) Un concert, avec un accès en coulisses

Question 2: Comment se sentait-elle au début, en coulisses ?

a) Elle avait sommeil
b) Elle flippait, elle était très nerveuse
c) Elle s'ennuyait déjà
d) Elle était en colère

Question 3: Une fois sur place, comment s'est-elle sentie ?

a) Malade
b) Toujours aussi timide
c) Comme un poisson dans l'eau, très à l'aise
d) Pressée de rentrer

Question 4: Qu'est-il arrivé au garçon avec sa phrase de drague ?

a) Il s'est pris un râteau, il a été rejeté
b) Il a réussi à la séduire
c) Il est parti sans un mot
d) Il a chanté sur scène

Question 5: Comment la soirée s'est-elle terminée ?

a) Le concert a été annulé
b) Elle a perdu ses amis
c) Le chanteur leur a dédié une chanson
d) La police a fait évacuer la salle

📋 Grammaire et vocabulaire

Did Conversation Starters Phase 3 stick more than you think? Eight grammar traps from Conversation Starters Phase 3 Test B turn those colloquial phrases into a quick checkpoint. Start my 7-day trial →

📖 Compréhension de la lecture /👂🏻 Compréhension orale [avancée]

There's audio and text for this one. If you choose to use only the audio, give yourself x2 points per answer.

🎧 L'article — vitesse normale

⚡️ Défi : à la Parisienne — la même chose, au débit d'une vraie conversation parisienne. Franchement très difficile — c'est le but. Un défi un peu fou : tu suis ?

The headline has a few traps. The advanced reading questions reveal whether you caught the detail behind the story. Start my 7-day trial →

🎯 Answers

Ready to see what Conversation Starters Phase 3 kept hidden? Open the key and compare every answer while the scenes are still fresh. Start my 7-day trial →

✅ Scoring Guide

• 🦾 16-18 correct answers: Advanced level. You have a strong grasp of intermediate French and can handle more challenging material. You have made amazing progress.

• 💪 12-16 correct answers: Intermediate level. You have a great understanding of French, better than 95% of learners - more colloquial phrases and complex grammar structures might help you improve. But these will come naturally with patience. Whatever you're doing… keep doing it!

• ⭐️ 8-12 correct answers: Lower-intermediate level. You are in the top 10% of learners. These questions are *hard* and designed for to test all levels. A few more months of study would see you become a solid intermediate level.

• 🌱 4-8 correct answers: Beginner level. No one should be discouraged by this level. Intermediate is just on the horizon! Some of your mistakes may give you a hint of where you might need study.

How did everyone else do? Vote and see how your score stacks up against the class — members only. Start my 7-day trial →

📈 Note your score somewhere you'll find it — series tests like this drop after every ten episodes of a series. Want a rematch? All past tests live here.

💬 Quelle question était la plus difficile pour toi ? Post its number in the comments — the most-missed question gets its revenge in the next test.

🔮 What's next?

Scored 12+? That's all of Phase 3 behind you — chapeau ! You've finished the Conversation Starters. Ready for opinions with real stakes?

Not a member yet? Every lesson, test and the private podcast come with membership — Start my 7-day trial → and step straight into the debates of Hot Issues. 💜

*👂🏻 Listening Comprehension Text:

That first clip is worth a second pass. Read the transcript line by line and catch the turns that slipped past your ear. Start my 7-day trial →

Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3 — Lessons 14–25:

See you here soon for another lesson :)

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!
Amélie 💜

Please Remember! Take what's useful, leave the rest

These tests will help some students - help them stay motivated and help them see their progress.

But if it does the opposite… I encourage you to just move on! Take what's useful, leave the rest is great advice in life and language-learning. Please do not under any circumstances get discouraged and rundown because of the results of this test. That's an order!

*If you want to unsubscribe from just these ✅ Level Tests, I've made that possible here. Simply switch off this button:

← Back to the Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3     ·     ✅ Hot Issues 🔥 →

A girls' night worth pulling out all the stops for, the truth about why your horoscope always seems to "get" you, and a theory or two that's a little tirée par les cheveux. It could only be... Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3 — Test A. 💃✨🔮

✅ A quick, simple (dare I say, fun?) window into how your French is doing.

All the colloquial phrases were included in these episodes, so it should keep you accountable and fit in a nice bit of review.

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. Mark your answers and use the scoring guide at the end to determine your level. 👍🏼

Newer to French? 6+ is a genuinely good score here — this test is calibrated for where you're heading, not where you started. 🌱

👂🏻 Compréhension orale

Ecoutez l'extrait suivant et répondez aux questions qui suivent.

Question 1: De quoi la narratrice en avait-elle marre ?

a) De la routine métro-boulot-dodo et des journées chargées
b) De ses amies
c) De faire du sport
d) De la ville

Question 2: Qui lui propose une soirée en ville ?

a) Sa collègue de bureau
b) Sa voisine
c) Sa sœur
d) Sarah, sa pote d'enfance

Question 3: Que veut dire « sortir le grand jeu » ici ?

a) Faire des économies
b) Sortir un jeu de société
c) Rentrer très tôt
d) Se faire très belle : robe, talons, maquillage

Question 4: Comment a-t-elle vécu la soirée ?

a) Elle est partie tôt
b) Elle s'est disputée avec Sarah
c) Elle a adoré, elle a kiffé chaque minute
d) Elle s'est ennuyée

Question 5: Dans quel état a-t-elle repris le travail le lundi ?

a) Le sourire aux lèvres, de bonne humeur
b) En retard et stressée
c) Malade
d) Épuisée et de mauvaise humeur

📋 Grammaire et vocabulaire

Did Conversation Starters Phase 3 stick more than you think? Eight grammar traps from Conversation Starters Phase 3 Test A turn those colloquial phrases into a quick checkpoint. Start my 7-day trial →

📖 Compréhension de la lecture /👂🏻 Compréhension orale [avancée]

There's audio and text for this one. If you choose to use only the audio, give yourself x2 points per answer.

🎧 L'article — vitesse normale

⚡️ Défi : à la Parisienne — la même chose, au débit d'une vraie conversation parisienne. Franchement très difficile — c'est le but. Un défi un peu fou : tu suis ?

The headline has a few traps. The advanced reading questions reveal whether you caught the detail behind the story. Start my 7-day trial →

🎯 Answers

Ready to see what Conversation Starters Phase 3 kept hidden? Open the key and compare every answer while the scenes are still fresh. Start my 7-day trial →

✅ Scoring Guide

• 🦾 16-18 correct answers: Advanced level. You have a strong grasp of intermediate French and can handle more challenging material. You have made amazing progress.

• 💪 12-16 correct answers: Intermediate level. You have a great understanding of French, better than 95% of learners - more colloquial phrases and complex grammar structures might help you improve. But these will come naturally with patience. Whatever you're doing… keep doing it!

• ⭐️ 8-12 correct answers: Lower-intermediate level. You are in the top 10% of learners. These questions are *hard* and designed for to test all levels. A few more months of study would see you become a solid intermediate level.

• 🌱 4-8 correct answers: Beginner level. No one should be discouraged by this level. Intermediate is just on the horizon! Some of your mistakes may give you a hint of where you might need study.

How did everyone else do? Vote and see how your score stacks up against the class — members only. Start my 7-day trial →

📈 Note your score somewhere you'll find it — series tests like this drop after every ten episodes of a series. Want a rematch? All past tests live here.

💬 Quelle question était la plus difficile pour toi ? Post its number in the comments — the most-missed question gets its revenge in the next test.

🔮 What's next?

Scored 12+? You're breezing through Phase 3 — and the conversations don't stop here. Two more episodes are queued up to keep your streak alive.

Not a member yet? The tests are a members' perk, but the door's open — Start my 7-day trial → and keep the momentum going. 💜

*👂🏻 Listening Comprehension Text:

That first clip is worth a second pass. Read the transcript line by line and catch the turns that slipped past your ear. Start my 7-day trial →

Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3 — Lessons 1–13:

See you here soon for another lesson :)

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!
Amélie 💜

Please Remember! Take what's useful, leave the rest

These tests will help some students - help them stay motivated and help them see their progress.

But if it does the opposite… I encourage you to just move on! Take what's useful, leave the rest is great advice in life and language-learning. Please do not under any circumstances get discouraged and rundown because of the results of this test. That's an order!

*If you want to unsubscribe from just these ✅ Level Tests, I've made that possible here. Simply switch off this button:

← Back to the Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3     ·     ✅ Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3 — Test B →

An old university crush, a plate of pasta worth taking your time over, and the truth about whether the French really are all fleeing the city for the countryside (spoiler: pas vraiment). It could only be... Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2B — Test B. 🍝🏡❤️

✅ A quick, simple (dare I say, fun?) window into how your French is doing.

All the colloquial phrases were included in these episodes, so it should keep you accountable and fit in a nice bit of review.

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. Mark your answers and use the scoring guide at the end to determine your level. 👍🏼

Newer to French? 6+ is a genuinely good score here — this test is calibrated for where you're heading, not where you started. 🌱

👂🏻 Compréhension orale

Ecoutez l'extrait suivant et répondez aux questions qui suivent.

Question 1: Depuis combien de temps n'avait-elle pas vu Théo ?

a) Depuis la veille
b) Depuis une semaine
c) Ils se voyaient tous les jours
d) Depuis très longtemps, ça faisait un bail

Question 2: Quel secret gardait-elle depuis la fac ?

a) Elle lui devait de l'argent
b) Elle avait menti sur son âge
c) Elle ne l'aimait pas du tout
d) Elle avait craqué sur lui sans jamais le dire

Question 3: Pourquoi a-t-elle failli annuler la soirée ?

a) Elle était crevée et débordée de travail
b) Le restaurant était fermé
c) Elle s'était disputée avec lui
d) Il pleuvait trop

Question 4: Qu'ont-ils fait au restaurant ?

a) Ils ont regardé un match
b) Ils ont pris leur temps pour déguster les pâtes et discuter
c) Ils se sont disputés
d) Ils ont mangé en vitesse

Question 5: Comment se sentait-elle en rentrant ?

a) Encore plus fatiguée
b) En colère contre Théo
c) Déçue de la soirée
d) Bien plus légère qu'à l'aller

📋 Grammaire et vocabulaire

Did Conversation Starters Phase 2B stick more than you think? Eight grammar traps from Conversation Starters Phase 2B Test B turn those colloquial phrases into a quick checkpoint. Start my 7-day trial →

📖 Compréhension de la lecture /👂🏻 Compréhension orale [avancée]

There's audio and text for this one. If you choose to use only the audio, give yourself x2 points per answer.

🎧 L'article — vitesse normale

⚡️ Défi : à la Parisienne — la même chose, au débit d'une vraie conversation parisienne. Franchement très difficile — c'est le but. Un défi un peu fou : tu suis ?

The headline has a few traps. The advanced reading questions reveal whether you caught the detail behind the story. Start my 7-day trial →

🎯 Answers

Ready to see what Conversation Starters Phase 2B kept hidden? Open the key and compare every answer while the scenes are still fresh. Start my 7-day trial →

✅ Scoring Guide

• 🦾 16-18 correct answers: Advanced level. You have a strong grasp of intermediate French and can handle more challenging material. You have made amazing progress.

• 💪 12-16 correct answers: Intermediate level. You have a great understanding of French, better than 95% of learners - more colloquial phrases and complex grammar structures might help you improve. But these will come naturally with patience. Whatever you're doing… keep doing it!

• ⭐️ 8-12 correct answers: Lower-intermediate level. You are in the top 10% of learners. These questions are *hard* and designed for to test all levels. A few more months of study would see you become a solid intermediate level.

• 🌱 4-8 correct answers: Beginner level. No one should be discouraged by this level. Intermediate is just on the horizon! Some of your mistakes may give you a hint of where you might need study.

How did everyone else do? Vote and see how your score stacks up against the class — members only. Start my 7-day trial →

📈 Note your score somewhere you'll find it — series tests like this drop after every ten episodes of a series. Want a rematch? All past tests live here.

💬 Quelle question était la plus difficile pour toi ? Post its number in the comments — the most-missed question gets its revenge in the next test.

🔮 What's next?

Scored 12+? That's the whole second half of Phase 2B behind you — chapeau ! You're ready for the next stretch of conversations.

Not a member yet? Every lesson, test and the private podcast come with membership — Start my 7-day trial → and carry the momentum straight into Phase 3. 💜

*👂🏻 Listening Comprehension Text:

That first clip is worth a second pass. Read the transcript line by line and catch the turns that slipped past your ear. Start my 7-day trial →

Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2B — Lessons 12–22:

See you here soon for another lesson :)

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!
Amélie 💜

Please Remember! Take what's useful, leave the rest

Th

ese tests will help some students - help them stay motivated and help them see their progress.

But if it does the opposite… I encourage you to just move on! Take what's useful, leave the rest is great advice in life and language-learning. Please do not under any circumstances get discouraged and rundown because of the results of this test. That's an order!

*If you want to unsubscribe from just these ✅ Level Tests, I've made that possible here. Simply switch off this button:

← Back to the Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2B     ·     ✅ Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3 →

A case of the blues cured by a film you almost skipped, a butter croissant that owes its shape to a 1683 siege, and a coup de foudre or two along the way. It could only be... Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2B — Test A. 🎬🥐❤️‍🔥

✅ A quick, simple (dare I say, fun?) window into how your French is doing.

All the colloquial phrases were included in these episodes, so it should keep you accountable and fit in a nice bit of review.

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. Mark your answers and use the scoring guide at the end to determine your level. 👍🏼

Newer to French? 6+ is a genuinely good score here — this test is calibrated for where you're heading, not where you started. 🌱

👂🏻 Compréhension orale

Ecoutez l'extrait suivant et répondez aux questions qui suivent.

Question 1: Comment se sentait la narratrice depuis une semaine ?

a) Elle était très en colère
b) Elle était surexcitée
c) Elle n'avait pas le moral, elle avait le cafard
d) Elle était malade

Question 2: Que lui propose sa colocataire ?

a) De faire du sport
b) D'aller au cinéma le soir même
c) De partir en week-end
d) D'aller au restaurant

Question 3: Pourquoi finit-elle par accepter de sortir ?

a) Le film la passionnait
b) Elle voulait impressionner quelqu'un
c) Sa sœur insistait
d) Elle se dit « pourquoi pas », l'important est de sortir

Question 4: Comment était le film, en réalité ?

a) Une bonne surprise qui l'a fait rire aux larmes
b) Interrompu avant la fin
c) Trop triste pour elle
d) Ennuyeux du début à la fin

Question 5: Que fait-elle le lendemain ?

a) Elle rappelle enfin sa sœur
b) Elle déménage
c) Elle retourne au cinéma
d) Elle reste au lit toute la journée

📋 Grammaire et vocabulaire

Did Conversation Starters Phase 2B stick more than you think? Eight grammar traps from Conversation Starters Phase 2B Test A turn those colloquial phrases into a quick checkpoint. Start my 7-day trial →

📖 Compréhension de la lecture /👂🏻 Compréhension orale [avancée]

There's audio and text for this one. If you choose to use only the audio, give yourself x2 points per answer.

🎧 L'article — vitesse normale

⚡️ Défi : à la Parisienne — la même chose, au débit d'une vraie conversation parisienne. Franchement très difficile — c'est le but. Un défi un peu fou : tu suis ?

The headline has a few traps. The advanced reading questions reveal whether you caught the detail behind the story. Start my 7-day trial →

🎯 Answers

Ready to see what Conversation Starters Phase 2B kept hidden? Open the key and compare every answer while the scenes are still fresh. Start my 7-day trial →

✅ Scoring Guide

• 🦾 16-18 correct answers: Advanced level. You have a strong grasp of intermediate French and can handle more challenging material. You have made amazing progress.

• 💪 12-16 correct answers: Intermediate level. You have a great understanding of French, better than 95% of learners - more colloquial phrases and complex grammar structures might help you improve. But these will come naturally with patience. Whatever you're doing… keep doing it!

• ⭐️ 8-12 correct answers: Lower-intermediate level. You are in the top 10% of learners. These questions are *hard* and designed for to test all levels. A few more months of study would see you become a solid intermediate level.

• 🌱 4-8 correct answers: Beginner level. No one should be discouraged by this level. Intermediate is just on the horizon! Some of your mistakes may give you a hint of where you might need study.

How did everyone else do? Vote and see how your score stacks up against the class — members only. Start my 7-day trial →

📈 Note your score somewhere you'll find it — series tests like this drop after every ten episodes of a series. Want a rematch? All past tests live here.

💬 Quelle question était la plus difficile pour toi ? Post its number in the comments — the most-missed question gets its revenge in the next test.

🔮 What's next?

Scored 12+? You're breezing through — and the conversations don't stop here. Two more Phase 2B episodes are queued up to keep your streak alive.

Not a member yet? The tests are a members' perk, but the door's open
Start my 7-day trial → and keep the momentum going. 💜

*👂🏻 Listening Comprehension Text:

That first clip is worth a second pass. Read the transcript line by line and catch the turns that slipped past your ear. Start my 7-day trial →

Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2B — Lessons 1–11:

See you here soon for another lesson :)

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!
Amélie 💜

Please Remember! Take what's useful, leave the rest

These tests will help some students - help them stay motivated and help them see their progress.

But if it does the opposite… I encourage you to just move on! Take what's useful, leave the rest is great advice in life and language-learning. Please do not under any circumstances get discouraged and rundown because of the results of this test. That's an order!

*If you want to unsubscribe from just these ✅ Level Tests, I've made that possible here. Simply switch off this button:

← Back to the Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2B     ·     ✅ Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2B — Test B →

Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 3 — Real B2 French Conversations

🌳 Level: B2 · 🎧 25 episodes · ▶️ 4 free to try

Advanced French conversation practice for learners who’ve outgrown the textbook: Conversation Starters Phase 3 is 25 B2 dialogues that trade small talk for the real thing — your oldest memory, whether anyone can truly be trusted, what you’d make illegal if you could. Every episode comes with full-speed audio, a transcript and colloquial notes; four are free to sample.

🎧 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 33 seconds, in my voice, before you dive in.

« Bienvenue dans la phase trois — le niveau B2, le sommet des Conversation Starters ! Ici, on ne parle plus de la pluie et du beau temps. On parle de tes rêves, de tes convictions, de tes souvenirs les plus anciens... les vraies conversations, celles qu’on a à table à deux heures du matin. C’est là que ton français devient TON français — avec tes opinions, ton humour, ta personnalité. Alors viens, assieds-toi, et dis-moi tout ! »

⛰️ Welcome to the summit

Phase 3 is where we’re done with small talk. These are the two-in-the-morning conversations: your oldest memory, whether people can really be trusted, what you’d make illegal if you had the power for an afternoon (I have opinions about scooters on pavements — I’ll keep most of them to myself).

Here’s what makes this level different: it’s where your French stops being the French and becomes YOUR French. Your opinions, your humour, your way of hesitating and doubling back — all of it, finally happening in another language. Watching a student cross that line is the best part of my job.

I’ve been listening to podcasts, reading books and taking one-on-one lessons for several years, and I enjoy the addition of Amélie’s casual dialogues between young people. I’m in my 70’s and not likely to use argot or even extremely familiar language when I’m in France, but it’s good to know... and fun to use with my husband, who also speaks French.

— Pam

👀 Who it’s for

Confident intermediates ready to be stretched. The audio is fully natural — speed, fillers, interruptions, the lot — because at this level the flattering slow version would just be lying to you.

Not there yet? Start one rung down with Vivre en France 🥖 and come back when small talk feels easy.

Not sure where you land? Find your level in a few minutes on the 🌱 Start Here page.

📚 What you’ll learn — advanced French conversation practice, one real expression at a time

You’ll leave this phase armed with the colloquial, opinion-shaping French that native speakers actually reach for in a debate at the dinner table:

• je pencherais plutôt pour — I would lean towards (hedging an opinion).

• tu marques un point — you have a point (conceding gracefully).

• tiré par les cheveux — far-fetched.

• ça ne tient pas la route — it doesn’t hold up, it doesn’t make sense.

• faut pas se leurrer — let’s not kid ourselves.

• plus facile à dire qu’à faire — easier said than done.

• les carottes sont cuites — it’s all over (literally: the carrots are cooked).

• se prendre un râteau — to be turned down, rejected (literally: to take a rake to the face).

🧭 How to take this course

1. Any order you like — pick the question you can’t resist answering.

2. Write your answer with the writing prompt, every time. B2 is built in your own sentences, not mine.

3. Argue with the dialogue. Disagree with someone in it? Say why, out loud, in French. That’s the exercise.

🎬 The episode guide

Twenty-five conversations, the whole B2 spread of advanced French conversation practice — beliefs, memories, hypotheticals and a fair bit of nonsense. The first, and three more along the way, are free to try.

25 episodes · 🌳 B2 · 💸 4 free to try

🌱 Start free

Four full conversations are open — dialogue, writing prompt and a taste of the audio, no membership needed:

Get a new free dialogue in your inbox every week — subscribe free.

✅ Lesson Series Tests

Prove it now — two B2 tests are live: ✅ Phase 3 — Test A (episodes 1–13) and ✅ Phase 3 — Test B (episodes 14–25).

Next in the journey: Hot Issues 🔥 — where the opinions get stakes and the debates get real.

🚀 Ready to start?

Finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years. Phase 3 is where the everyday, opinionated, at-speed French clicks into place — and it’s just one corner of everything a membership opens up.

Here’s exactly what’s free and what comes with membership:

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite dans la première conversation !

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new episodes join this guide as they publish.

← Vivre en France 🥖 · 🌱 Start Here · Next: Hot Issues 🔥 →

Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2 — Intermediate French Conversation Practice

🌿 Level: Intermediate (B1) · 🎧 40 episodes

Intermediate French conversation practice, one real question at a time: Phase 2 is 40 B1 dialogues about your worst holiday, your dream job, the last time you got in trouble at work. Longer, more personal exchanges at natural speed, each with a full transcript and colloquial notes. Many episodes are open free — start reading today.

🎧 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 30 seconds, in my voice.

« Bienvenue dans la phase deux des Conversation Starters ! Ici, on passe aux choses sérieuses — enfin, sérieuses... on parle de tes vacances ratées, de ta glace préférée et de la dernière fois que tu as eu des ennuis au boulot ! Les conversations sont plus longues, l’audio est plus rapide — comme dans la vraie vie. C’est exactement le niveau où on arrête de traduire dans sa tête et où on commence à penser en français. Prêt ? Prête ? Allez, viens, on papote ! »

☕️ The level where French becomes a habit

Phase 2 is my favourite moment to watch in a student: it’s where French stops being a subject and starts being a habit. The questions get more personal — your dream job, the last time you got in trouble at work (we’ve all been there) — and the dialogues stretch out and speed up to how people genuinely talk. Somewhere around the middle of this phase, something quietly magical happens: you catch yourself understanding a whole exchange without translating it in your head first. That moment is the entire point of this series.

I like trying to understand real conversation, and that in itself is interesting. I can see you put a lot of time in to make this interesting, and I enjoy it. Thank you.

— Sharon

👀 Who this series is for

You’ve done the basics — Phase 1, French 101, or their equivalent elsewhere — and you can hold a simple exchange. Now you want range: opinions, stories, past tenses that come out on their own.

Who should skip it: brand new to French, or still building your first sentences? Start one level down with French 101 🇫🇷, then come back here.

Not sure this is your level? Find where you fit in a couple of minutes at the 🌱 Start Here page.

📚 What you’ll learn

Every dialogue leaves you with real, spoken French you can drop into your next conversation — the kind that rarely makes it into textbooks. A taste of what’s inside:

• métro, boulot, dodo — the Parisian way of describing the daily grind: commute, work, sleep.

• bien dans sa peau — feeling content, good about oneself (literally “well in one’s own skin”).

• j’ai le cafard — to feel down, to have the blues.

• laisse tomber — forget it / never mind.

• je m’en fiche — the colloquial way to say “I don’t care.”

• pas mal — “not too bad”, used anywhere and everywhere in conversation.

• Bref… — in short / anyway — the very French way to cut a long story short.

🧭 How to take this course

1. Roughly in order — the turns get longer and quicker as you go.

2. Tell your own version. After each dialogue, answer the question with YOUR story, out loud or in the writing prompt. Borrowed sentences become yours that way.

3. Lean on the slow audio less and less. By the end of this phase, try natural speed first.

🎬 The episode guide

Forty dialogues of intermediate French conversation practice, roughly in the order they build. The free episodes are open without a subscription; the rest open with a trial.

40 episodes · 🌿 Intermediate (B1) · best taken roughly in order

🌱 Start free

You don’t need a subscription to begin — here are a few episodes to try free, transcript and colloquial notes included:

Like them? A free subscription brings a new dialogue to your inbox every week — no card, no catch.

✅ Lesson Series Tests

Finished the series? Prove it!

Two are live now — the Phase 2B block: ✅ Phase 2B — Test A (episodes 1–11) and ✅ Phase 2B — Test B (episodes 12–22). More Phase 2 tests are on the way.

🚀 Ready to start?

Finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years. Phase 2 is where it stops being study and starts being second nature.

Here’s exactly what’s free and what members get:

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite dans la première leçon !

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new episodes join this guide as they publish.

← Back to the 🌱 Start Here · Next: Paris Series 🗼 →

Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 1 — French Conversation Practice for Beginners

🌱 Very early beginner · 💬 45 dialogues · 📜 44 free to read

French conversation practice for beginners starts right here — with the 45 short dialogues that were the very first French with Amélie lessons. Each one turns an everyday question (“do you have pets?”, “coffee or juice?”) into real, spoken French. These early episodes are unmaintained now, but I keep them free to read — 44 of the 45, open to anyone.

🎧 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 30 seconds, in my voice. (No audio on the episodes themselves — this is just me saying bonjour.)

« Bienvenue dans les Conversation Starters, phase un — là où tout commence ! Chaque leçon part d’une petite question toute simple : t’as des animaux ? C’est quoi ta boisson préférée ? Des questions de tous les jours... mais posées en vrai français, celui qu’on parle vraiment. Et le plus beau ? Presque toute cette phase est gratuite. Alors installe-toi, prends un café, et réponds-moi — oui oui, à voix haute, personne ne t’écoute ! On commence ? »

☕️ Where French with Amélie began

This is the shelf where it all started. Before the polished lessons, before the podcast, there was just me and a small question every few days: what are you scared of? what’s the last thing you do before bed? — the questions French people actually ask each other, answered in the French we actually speak.

You can almost watch the format invent itself as you scroll. The earliest ones are literally titled “Dialogue 17/02 : …” — me finding my feet. A couple of questions I even loved enough to record twice, a year apart (Quel est ton jour de fête préféré ? shows up young, then again once the format had grown up) — so you get to see the before and after in the same series.

These lessons are unmaintained: no audio on most of them, a few rough edges I’ve left exactly as they were. I keep them free because this is the newsletter’s photo album, and photo albums should be open.

[French with Amélie] makes me feel like I can do this.

— French with Amélie reader

👀 Who it’s for

This is beginner French conversation practice at its gentlest — for anyone with a little French who wants to stop reciting and start answering. If you can read a simple sentence, you can start here, and almost all of it is free, so you can settle in before deciding anything.

Already comfortable with everyday questions? Don’t linger on the archive — skip up the ladder to French 101 🇫🇷 (the survival-scenario course) or straight into Conversation Starters ☕️ Phase 2 for a real step up.

Not sure where you land? Find your level on the 🌱 Start Here page — it takes a couple of minutes.

📚 What you’ll learn

Even in these first lessons, I was smuggling in the little words that make you sound French. A handful you’ll pick up here:

• je vois — “I see”, as in I understand. Very common. Use it!

• des fois — sometimes, occasionally — the casual cousin of parfois.

• quoi de neuf ? — what’s up? Laid back and familiar — real-life freshness for your stuffy textbook French.

• d’accord — okay — the universal nod of approval, and a universal filler.

• c’est vrai ! — it’s true! Use it to agree with someone enthusiastically.

• je viens de… — I just… — your trump card for talking about recent actions (“je viens d’arriver”).

• pas mal — “not too bad” — a French person’s default state; there is nothing they can’t use it to answer.

🧭 How to read the early days

1. Read them in order if you can. It’s a chronicle — the difficulty creeps up so gently you won’t notice, because you’re watching me learn to teach in real time.

2. Answer each question yourself, out loud, first. Before you read my dialogue, say your own answer. That ten seconds of effort is where the learning actually lives.

3. Don’t treat it like a course to “finish.” It’s an archive to wander. When the questions start feeling easy, that’s your cue to move up to French 101 🇫🇷.

🎬 The episode guide

Forty-five dialogues, oldest first — the actual order they were written, so the series reads as a chronicle. 44 are free to read; one (the very last) is a members’ episode.

45 dialogues · 🌱 Very early beginner · 💸 44 free to read

🌱 Start free

Here’s the lovely part: there’s almost nothing to unlock. 44 of these 45 dialogues are free to read — transcripts and notes included — so just start anywhere that catches your eye. If you’re not sure, begin at the top and let the chronicle carry you. A few doors in:

Reading along isn’t a commitment — subscribing free just means the next dialogue lands in your inbox.

🚀 Ready to move up?

This shelf is the beginning — and it’s free to keep. But when you’re ready for the real climb, the full maintained program is waiting: two full dialogues a week, slow and fast audio, my annotated notes, exercises, the private podcast 💜 and monthly level tests.

Finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years. Here’s exactly what’s free, and what membership adds:

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite dans les premières leçons !

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — this is an archive; the early dialogues stay exactly as they were.

← Back to the 🌱 Start Here · Next: French 101 🇫🇷 →

The Hot Issues Series 🔥 — B2 French Debates on Current Events

🌳 Level: B2 · 🎧 25 episodes · ▶️ 1 free to try

Hot Issues is the B2 finale of French with Amélie — 25 debate-style French dialogues on the current events France actually argues about: climate, AI, immigration, screens, the future of work. Each episode is a real, fast-paced conversation, with transcripts and colloquial notes. One episode is free to try; the rest come with membership.

🎧 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 30 seconds, in my voice, on why this series bites a little.

« Bienvenue dans Hot Issues — la série qui pique un peu ! Le climat, l’intelligence artificielle, l’immigration, les réseaux sociaux... Les Français adorent débattre — c’est notre sport national, juste après râler ! — et si tu veux suivre un dîner en France, il te faut ce français-là. Chaque épisode, c’est un vrai débat, avec des opinions qui se bousculent. Écoute, forge-toi un avis... et viens le défendre dans les commentaires. Allez, on débat ! »

🔥 France’s real national sport is arguing

A warning before you come in: this series has opinions. Climate, AI, immigration, social media, the future of work — every episode is a proper debate between people who don’t quite agree, because that’s what French sounds like once the pleasantries are over.

You need to know something about us: debating is the French national sport, narrowly behind complaining — we train year-round for both. Survive a French dinner party and you haven’t just eaten well; you’ve refereed three arguments and joined two. This series is your training camp for exactly that French: fast, idiomatic, full of « oui, mais… » and « justement ! ». I built it for the moment you stop reading French and start disagreeing in it.

Reading small little stories in colloquial French is wonderfully helpful and something too often overlooked in courses. Most of us want to learn so that we can one day converse with native speakers, and for this we need to understand their everyday speech. Merci beaucoup!

— Eulalee

👀 Who it’s for

This is for B2 learners who want the French of the news, the café terrace and the family dinner — where people talk over each other, change their minds mid-sentence, and enjoy every second of it. If you can already follow a normal-speed conversation and you’re itching to have an opinion in French, you’re home.

Not ready for real-speed debate yet? No shame at all — drop back down to Conversation Starters Phase 3 ☕️ or Vivre en France 🥖, and come back when the fast lane feels fun rather than frightening.

Not sure this is your level? Find your level on the 🌱 Start Here page first — it’ll point you to the right series in a couple of minutes.

📚 What you’ll learn

Debate has its own toolkit — the phrases you reach for to concede a point, push back, soften a blow or land the winning line. Here are a few you’ll walk away using, straight from the episodes’ notes:

• ne te méprends pas — don’t get me wrong (for softening before you disagree).

• tiré par les cheveux — far-fetched (dismiss a weak argument in one phrase).

• tout n’est pas rose — it’s not all rosy (the classic “yes, but…” nuance move).

• suivre ta logique — to follow your logic (concede a step before you counter it).

• tenir la route — to hold up, to make sense (as in « son explication ne tient pas la route »).

• rester les bras croisés — to stand idly by (for the “we can’t just do nothing” argument).

• prendre du recul — to step back, take stock (when you need to cool a debate down).

🧭 How to take this course

1. Pick the topics that provoke you — annoyance is a fantastic teacher.

2. Listen for the debate moves: how speakers concede, counter and interrupt. Steal those phrases — they’re the real curriculum.

3. Then come argue. Leave your opinion in the comments, in French. I read them all — and yes, I sometimes argue back.

🎬 The episode guide

Twenty-five debates on the current events in French that France can’t stop talking about — in the order I’d take them. Each links to its own episode with audio, transcript and notes.

25 episodes · 🌳 B2 · 💸 1 free to try

🌱 Start free

One full episode is open to try — audio, transcript and notes included. It’s one of my favourites in the whole series: the debate about whether AI is a real threat or all hot air.

Subscribe free and a new dialogue lands in your inbox every week — no card, no catch.

✅ Lesson Series Tests

Finished the series? Prove it!

Series tests for Hot Issues are on the way — short, focused checks built from these exact debates, so “I think I’m keeping up” becomes “I know I am.” I’ll add them here the moment they’re live. And since you’ve reached the very top of the library, the ✅ monthly level tests are what keep you sharp from here — plus every new episode lands in your podcast feed the morning it publishes.

🚀 Ready to start?

This is the French you actually want: the fast, opinionated, real-life French people speak once they stop being polite. Members get all 220 lessons, the private podcast feed, exercises with answer keys, and monthly level tests — Hot Issues included, from episode one.

Here’s exactly what’s free and what’s premium, side by side:

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite — et n’oublie pas de venir défendre ton avis dans les commentaires.

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new episodes join this guide as they publish.

← Back to the 🌱 Start Here · Explore the whole library 🌱 →

The Vivre en France 🥖 Series — French Dialogues About Daily Life in France

🌿 Level: Intermediate (B1) · 🎧 36 episodes · ▶️ 2 free to try

Vivre en France 🥖 is a series of everyday French dialogues about daily life in France — 36 intermediate (B1) episodes, from the supermarket checkout to the broken heating in January. Each one comes with audio, a full French transcript and my colloquial notes. Two episodes are completely free to try; the rest are for members.

🎧 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 30 seconds, in my voice…

« Bienvenue dans Vivre en France ! Visiter la France, c’est bien. Mais y vivre — faire les courses, prendre le train, appeler le plombier quand le chauffage tombe en panne en janvier... — ça, c’est une autre histoire ! Trente-sept scènes de la vraie vie quotidienne, avec le vocabulaire que personne ne pense à t’apprendre. C’est ma série la plus utile, je te le garantis. Un jour tu me remercieras — probablement un jour de panne de chauffage. Allez, on y va ! »

🥖 Living in France — or dreaming of it

Visiting France is one thing. Living it is a completely different sport. Nobody warns you that the real tests of your French aren’t at the Louvre — they’re at the supermarket checkout, on the phone with the train company, and above all the day the heating dies in January and you have to explain that to a plumber who talks like a TGV.

This is my most useful series, and I’ll defend that claim over dinner. Thirty-six scenes of genuinely ordinary life — the laundry, the market, the never-ending paperwork — full of the vocabulary no textbook bothers to teach you, because it’s too busy telling you the monument is beautiful. One day you’ll thank me. Probably on a heating-breakdown day.

Reading small little stories in colloquial French is wonderfully helpful and something too often overlooked in courses. Most of us want to learn so that we can one day converse with native speakers, and for this we need to understand their everyday speech. Merci beaucoup!

— Eulalee

👀 Who it’s for

This is for intermediate learners who don’t just want to visit France — they want to live in it. Whether you’ve moved to France, you’re planning to, or you simply want the French that real life runs on, these are your scenes. If the Paris Series was the holiday, this is the life after it.

Just here for the trip? Start with the Paris Series 🗼 and come back when daily life starts happening to you in French.

Not sure this is your level? Find it in a couple of minutes over on the 🌱 Start Here page, then come straight back.

📚 What you’ll learn

By the end you’ll have the everyday French that textbooks skip — the words French people actually reach for when the day goes sideways. A taste of what’s inside:

• on se les pèle — “it’s freezing” (literally we’re peeling ourselves — pure winter-apartment French).

• se débrouiller — “to manage, to make do, to sort yourself out” — the single most useful verb for surviving life in France.

• ça me fout en rogne — “it makes me furious” — for the day your phone bill has hidden fees.

• patauger dans la semoule — “to spin your wheels, to get nowhere fast” (literally to paddle around in the semolina — my all-time favourite).

• c’est du gâteau — “it’s a piece of cake” — because some of this really is.

• un sac à roulettes — “a wheeled shopping trolley” — the very French answer to lugging the groceries home.

• du coup — “so, as a result” — the little filler word spoken French genuinely runs on.

🧭 How to take this course

1. Every scene stands alone — go in order, or grab whatever life is currently throwing at you.

2. Steal the scripts. These dialogues are templates: swap the details and they become your phone call to the plumber.

3. Listen in the podcast feed while you run errands. Doing the shopping while hearing the shopping episode is comically effective. Try it.

🎬 The episode guide

Here’s the full run of everyday French dialogues about daily life in France, in the order I published them — press play on whichever scene matches your week.

36 episodes · 🌿 Intermediate (B1) · 💸 2 free to try

🌱 Start free

Two full episodes are open to try — audio, transcript and notes included:

Subscribe free and a new dialogue lands in your inbox every week — no card, no catch.

✅ Lesson Series Tests

Series tests are on their way for Vivre en France — every ten episodes, a short check on exactly what you’ve just studied, so “I think I’m improving” becomes “I know I’m improving.” I’ll drop them into this slot the moment they’re ready.

🚀 Ready to start?

Here’s the promise: finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years. Vivre en France gives you the 20% of French you need to understand 80% of daily life here, the way people actually speak it.

And here’s exactly what’s free. Two full episodes above, plus a new dialogue every week if you subscribe. Members get all 220 lessons, the slow and fast audio, the annotated notes, the exercises with answer keys, the private podcast feed and the monthly level tests.

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite dans la première scène !

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new episodes join this guide as they publish.

← 🌱 Back to Start Here · Next series: Conversation Starters Phase 3 ☕️ →

French 101 🇫🇷 — Basic French Dialogues for Everyday Situations

🇫🇷 Level: 🌱 Beginner (A2+) · 🎧 21 episodes · ▶️ 4 free to try

French 101 is a series of 21 basic French dialogues for beginners, one per everyday situation: ordering at a restaurant, the pharmacy, the doctor, a job interview, a first date. Each episode gives you the conversation at real speed, the transcript, and my notes on the phrases French people actually use. Four episodes are free.

👄 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 30 seconds, in my voice, on why I built this one.

« Bienvenue dans French 101 — ta trousse de survie en France ! Commander au restaurant, expliquer tes symptômes à la pharmacie, survivre à un entretien d’embauche... Chaque leçon, c’est une situation réelle, avec les phrases exactes qu’il te faut. Parce que le jour où tu es malade à Paris, crois-moi, ce n’est pas le moment de chercher tes mots ! Choisis la situation qui te parle, ou suis l’ordre — c’est toi le chef. Allez, c’est parti ! »

🧰 Your survival kit, one situation at a time

Think of this series as your survival kit. Each lesson is one real situation — ordering at a restaurant, explaining your symptoms at the pharmacy, getting through a job interview — with the exact phrases you’ll need, at the speed you’ll actually hear them.

Why does this matter so much? Because the day you’re ill in Paris is not the day to be hunting for vocabulary. I’ve watched students freeze at the pharmacy counter with the word for “tablet” sitting somewhere just out of reach. I built every one of these episodes from situations my students actually walked into — sometimes gracefully, sometimes... well, that’s why the lessons exist.

Textbook French tells you what to say. This series tells you what you’ll hear back.

“As a beginner, it is helpful to me to read the dialogues out loud and then compare my pronunciation to the audio. I also get very encouraged when I understand more week-by-week. It’s a great way to gauge my progress!”

👀 Who it’s for

French 101 is for beginners (A2+) who want French with an immediate job to do. If Conversation Starters Phase 1 taught you to chat, French 101 teaches you to cope — and there is no better feeling than the first time a real transaction in French just... works.

⚠️ Skip this one if you’re still building your very first sentences. Start with Conversation Starters Phase 1 ☕️ instead — it’s the gentler door in, and French 101 will still be here when you come back.

Not sure where you land? Find your level on the Start Here page — it takes a minute and it saves you months of studying at the wrong altitude.

📚 What you’ll learn

These basic French dialogues are built around the expressions French people reach for without thinking — the ones no textbook bothers to teach you. A taste of what’s waiting in the ✪ Notes:

• ça marche — that works / sure, deal. The little yes that ends half the plans made in France.

• il pleut des cordes — it’s raining cats and dogs (literally: it’s raining ropes).

• faire un courant d’air — to make a through-draft. Not a phrase, a national institution: shutters, windows and timing, the way the French keep a flat cool all summer.

• ce que ça donne — what comes of it / how it goes. Literally “what that gives” — and I love it for that.

• en liquide — in cash. Say en liquide rather than en espèces and the till stops hearing a tourist.

• ce n’est pas la porte à côté — it’s not exactly next door; it’s a long way.

• plein à craquer — packed, full to bursting. My favourite one to teach, and you’ll need it for every Friday-night café in France.

• enfin, bref — long story short / anyway. Two concluding words stacked into one very French shrug.

Nothing on that list is decoration. Every one of them earns its place in a real conversation this month.

🧭 How to take this course

1. Dip in by situation. Flying to France in a fortnight? Do the restaurant, the pharmacy and the travel episodes first. Or go straight through in order — every scenario stands on its own, so both routes work.

2. Learn the phrases as phrases, not word by word. “Qu’est-ce que vous me conseillez ?” is one tool. Grab the whole thing, don’t take it apart.

3. Both audio speeds, every time. 🐢 Slow to understand it, native speed to survive it. The gap between the two is exactly the distance you’re closing.

4. Read the dialogue out loud before you look at anything else. Your mouth learns faster than your eyes, and it’s the only way to catch what you can’t yet hear.

5. Come back to the ✪ Notes a week later. The expressions that felt like decoration on day one are the ones you’ll suddenly hear everywhere on day eight.

🎬 The episode guide

Here are all 21 basic French dialogues in order — every one a situation you’ll walk into sooner or later.

21 episodes · 🌱 Beginner (A2+) · 💸 4 are free to try

🌱 Start free

Four full episodes are open to try, transcript and notes included:

A new dialogue lands in your inbox every week, free. Subscribe and start with whichever of the four above is closest to the situation you’re dreading.

✅ Lesson Series Tests

Finished the series? Prove it!

The French 101 tests are on my desk right now — fifteen minutes on exactly what you’ve just studied, nothing else. They’ll appear here the moment they’re ready.

Scenarios feeling comfortable? Move up to Conversation Starters Phase 2 ☕️ — longer, faster, more personal.

🚀 Ready to start?

Finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years. French 101 gives you the 20% of French you need to understand 80% of what’s actually said to you, in the situations where it counts. It’s how French people really speak, not how a textbook says they should.

Here’s exactly what’s free and what isn’t. Four French 101 episodes are open to everyone, and a new dialogue reaches every free subscriber each week. Members get two full lessons a week, both audio speeds, the ✪ Notes, the exercises, the private podcast feed 💜, the monthly level test — and the whole 220-lesson library, French 101 included. It’s $24/month, or normally $240 for the year.

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite dans la première leçon !

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new episodes join this guide as they publish.

← Back to 🌱 Start Here · Next series: 💬 Conversation Starters Phase 2 →

The Visiting Paris Series 🗼 — Intermediate French Dialogues in Paris

🇫🇷 Level: Intermediate (B1) · 🎧 19 episodes · ▶️ 2 free to try

The Visiting Paris Series is 19 intermediate French dialogues set in Paris — one continuous story that follows a trip from the airport to the Louvre, the marché and the Tour Montparnasse. Level B1, with transcripts, translations and colloquial notes on every episode. Two episodes — the boulangerie and Tour Montparnasse — are free to try.

👄 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 45 seconds, in my voice. The fastest way to meet your teacher before you begin. 💜

« Bienvenue dans la série Paris — ma série préférée. Et oui, j’ai le droit d’avoir une préférée ! Dix-neuf épisodes, une seule histoire : tu arrives à l’aéroport, tu te trompes de métro — ça arrive même aux Parisiens, je te jure — tu montes en haut de la tour Eiffel, tu goûtes ta première vraie baguette... Paris, c’est le rêve de presque tous mes étudiants. Mais entre le rêve et la réalité, il y a une petite chose : comprendre ce que les gens te disent ! Alors on va vivre tout ça ensemble, épisode par épisode, en vrai français. Commence par le premier, et laisse-toi porter. Bon voyage, mes amis ! »

🗼 The closest thing to a French mini-story

Can I tell you a secret? This is my favourite series to teach. It’s the closest thing in the library to a novel: one continuous story, told in 19 French dialogues. You land at Charles de Gaulle, fumble through the metro, check into the hotel — and over the next weeks you order dinner, get gloriously lost, queue at the Louvre, dodge a pickpocket (sorry, it had to be done), and end up at the top of the Tour Montparnasse, looking out over a city you’ve just lived entirely in French.

Here’s why I built it. Almost every student I’ve ever taught has the same dream — the trip. And I’ve watched too many of them study French for years, land full of hope... and freeze at the first ticket machine. Not because their French was bad — because textbook French and airport-at-7am French are two different languages. 🇫🇷

This series closes that gap: every line is something a real person would actually say to you, at the speed they’d actually say it.

“I have a trip planned to Paris to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. French with Amélie has helped me get more comfortable with speaking than the apps that I use.”

— David

👀 Who it’s for

You’ve finished the beginner material (Phase 1 or French 101) and you want French you can use on the ground.

Every episode is a situation a real visitor hits: transport, hotels, restaurants, tickets, directions, minor disasters — and yes, the minor disasters are the best episodes. That’s where the most useful French lives. 💜

New to B1 and finding this tough? Build up with Conversation Starters Phase 2 first, then come back to Paris. Not sure where you sit? Find your level on the Start Here page (https://www.frenchwithamelie.com/p/start-here-2) — it only takes a couple of minutes.

📚 What you’ll learn

By the end you'll have the little phrases that make you sound like you actually live here — the ones textbooks quietly skip:

• Order at the boulangerie like a regular — call it c'est du gâteau (a piece of cake) and field Et avec ceci ? (anything else?) without freezing.

• React like a native when a story lands — c'est pas vrai ! (no way!) and je n'en reviens pas (I can't believe it).

• Stay street-smart around the city — clock when something's louche (sketchy) and warn a friend with fais gaffe ! (watch out!).

• Shrug off the little snags of travel — c'est un peu galère (it's a bit of a hassle) — and reassure someone with t'inquiète (don't worry).

• Gush about the view properly — c'est à couper le souffle (breathtaking) and, yes, ça vaut le coup (it's worth it).

• Slip in the filler words that fool locals — franchement (honestly) and the untranslatable hein (right?).

🧭 How to take this course

1. Go in order. It’s one story — it builds episode by episode. (Yes, in order! I see you, the ones about to skip to the Louvre. The metro comes first, like in real life. And yet Amelie’s classroom is a place of great freedom.. so you can always do whatever takes your fancy!)

2. One episode per sitting: read the dialogue first without the translation — be brave, guess — then the translation and my ✪ notes, then both audio speeds, then the exercises.

3. Re-listen in the podcast feed. Members have every episode in their podcast app — replay the whole story before a real trip and feel how much of Paris you already understand.

🎬 The episode guide

Nineteen intermediate French dialogues, one continuous Paris story — follow it in order and you'll pick up the thread (and the slang) as you go.

19 episodes · Intermediate (B1) · best taken in order · 💸 2 free to try

🌱 Start free

Two full episodes are open to try, audio, transcript and notes included:

Like the way it feels? Subscribe free and I'll send you one new lesson every week.

✅ Lesson Series Tests

Finished the series? Prove it!

Every ten episodes, there’s a test waiting — fifteen minutes on exactly what you’ve just studied, nothing else. Don’t skip them: they’re where “I think I’m improving” becomes “I know I’m improving.”

Pass both, and you’re officially the friend who orders for the whole table.
Then you’re ready for Vivre en France 🥖 — because visiting France is one thing, but living it is where the fun really starts.

🚀 Ready to start?

The Paris story is 19 of the 220 lessons waiting for you — and two new ones land every week. Finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years.

Here’s exactly what’s free, and what opens up when you join:

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite dans le premier épisode !

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new episodes join this guide as they publish.

← Back to Start Here · Next series: Vivre en France 🥖 →

The Special ✨ Series — Seasonal French Dialogues for Christmas, New Year & the Whole Calendar

🌿 Level: Intermediate-friendly · 🎧 6 seasonal episodes · ▶️ 3 free to try

These are seasonal French dialogues — Christmas markets, tree-trimming, New Year resolutions, the Tour de France and the Olympics — the ones you pull out when the calendar matches. Six intermediate-friendly one-offs, each with audio, transcript and notes; three are free to try. Not a course to finish in order — a little shelf you open on the right day.

🎧 A word from Amélie

Press ▶️ — 28 seconds, in my voice, on why these little seasonal lessons land so well.

« Bienvenue dans les leçons Spéciales — le français des jours de fête ! Les marchés de Noël, les résolutions du Nouvel An qu’on ne tient jamais, la Saint-Valentin, le Tour de France... Quand la France fait la fête, elle a son propre vocabulaire, ses petites traditions, ses phrases rituelles. Ces leçons-là, tu les sors au bon moment de l’année — et là, effet garanti ! Alors, c’est quand la prochaine fête ? »

✨ Some days, France becomes a different country

Some days, France really does become a different country. The Christmas markets open and suddenly everything smells of vin chaud; the Tour rolls out and the whole nation turns into a cycling expert overnight; January arrives with resolutions we’ve abandoned by the 9th — a proud national tradition.

Each of those days has its own vocabulary, its own little rituals, its own phrases that everyone says — and saying the right one at the right moment is the fastest shortcut to a delighted French face I know. That’s what this shelf is. I made these to be kept in your pocket and opened seasonally, like a little present timed to the calendar.

I love your current French — it’s fun and easy to pick up and learn colloquially. Merci

— Andre

👀 Who it’s for

These are for learners who’ve got a little French under their belt and want to sound right on the days that matter — arriving at a Christmas market, toasting the new year, watching the Tour with French friends. If you can follow a simple conversation and want the real, festive, everyday phrases textbooks skip, you’ll feel at home here.

If you’re a total beginner still finding your feet, don’t start here — begin with the free beginner phase in Conversation Starters Phase 1 ☕️ and come back for the seasonal fun once you’re steady.

Not sure if the level’s right for you? Find your level from the Start Here page 🌱 and pick your first series from there.

📚 What you’ll learn

Every episode leaves you with a handful of phrases you can actually drop at the right seasonal moment. A taste of what’s inside:

• une bûche de Noël — a Yule log cake, the traditional French Christmas dessert (Christmas puddings be damned).

• j’ai hâte de — I can’t wait to. How to express excitement about future plans.

• ça vaut le coup — it’s worth it. Perfect for motivating someone (or yourself) to make the effort.

• une occasion en or — a golden opportunity. The gold-medal turn of phrase.

• le maillot jaune — the yellow jersey, worn by the Tour’s current leader.

• tout ça pour dire — all this to say. The very French “long story short.”

🧭 How to use this shelf

There’s no order and no prerequisites here — this isn’t a course to work through top to bottom. Just pull out the episode that matches the season you’re in:

1. Wait for the moment — the Christmas market, the new year, the Tour, the Games.

2. Open that episode and listen the way you’d listen to a friend telling a story.

3. Steal two or three of the seasonal phrases from the notes and use them out loud on the day.

They stand completely alone, so you can dip in and out for years. Little presents — open them on the right day.

🎬 The episode guide

The full shelf of seasonal French dialogues, in the order they first landed — from a summer on the Tour to Christmas morning and a fresh set of New Year resolutions.

6 seasonal episodes · 🌿 Intermediate-friendly · 💸 3 free to try

🌱 Start free

Three full episodes are open to try — audio, transcript and notes included. Pick whichever season is closest:

Subscribe free and a new dialogue lands in your inbox every week — no card, no catch.

✅ Lesson Series Tests

Finished the ones in season? Prove it!

This little shelf doesn’t have its own test yet — it’s a handful of one-offs rather than a full course. If it ever grows into a proper season of its own, I’ll add a seasonal test right here so you can check what stuck. For now, the ✅ Monthly Level Tests are the place to measure how far your French has come.

🚀 Ready to start?

Here’s the promise: finally understand real, spoken French — in months, not years. Not textbook French, but the way people actually talk when the markets open and the champagne’s poured.

Here’s exactly what’s free and what’s premium — so you know precisely what you’re getting before you decide.

Start my 7-day trial →

À très vite — et joyeuse saison, quelle qu’elle soit !

Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x

Last updated: July 2026 — new specials join this guide as they publish.

← Back to Start Here 🌱 · Ready for a full course? Conversation Starters Phase 1 ☕️ →

Coucou ☕️🇫🇷🥐 I'm Amélie Laurent and this is a 💎 subscriber-only edition 💎 of my newsletter. Go beyond beginner with me – colloquial french awaits!

Le français avec moi, c'est la joie et la bonne humeur! 😊

Spent my morning debating economics with my local boulanger. He thinks croissant prices are a metaphor for society's inequality. I think I need more coffee. Time for some deep French discussions about wealth, poverty, and whether anyone really needs a 15€ pain au chocolat.

J'ai passé ma matinée à débattre d'économie avec mon boulanger. Il pense que le prix des croissants est une métaphore de l'inégalité sociale. Je pense que j'ai besoin de plus de café. Il est temps d'avoir des discussions profondes en français sur la richesse, la pauvreté, et si quelqu'un a vraiment besoin d'un pain au chocolat à 15€.

Read more

A bouquet that died in the sun (c'est la lose), a coup de foudre story at the dinner table, one round too many — tchin tchin ! — and the 2000-year-old history of la bise. You've finished the survival kit, so it could only be... French 101 🇫🇷 Test B. 💍🥂😘

✅ A quick, simple (dare I say, fun?) window into how your French is doing.

All the colloquial phrases were included in these episodes, so it should keep you accountable and fit in a nice bit of review.

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. Mark your answers and use the scoring guide at the end to determine your level. 👍🏼

Newer to French? 6+ is a genuinely good score here — this test is calibrated for where you're heading, not where you started. 🌱

👂🏻 Compréhension orale

Ecoutez l'extrait suivant et répondez aux questions qui suivent.

Question 1: Qu'est-il arrivé à son bouquet ?

a) Elle l'a oublié dans le train
b) Il est tombé dans la piscine
c) Il a fané en plein soleil
d) Le chien l'a mangé

Question 2: Comment le problème du bouquet est-il résolu ?

a) La grand-mère propose d'aller cueillir de la lavande
b) Elle s'en passe
c) Elle en achète un au village
d) La mariée lui prête le sien

Question 3: Comment les mariés se sont-ils rencontrés ?

a) Dans un café
b) À un concert, sous la pluie
c) À la plage
d) Au travail

Question 4: Que fait le père de Chloé au dîner ?

a) Il fait un long discours
b) Il danse sur la table
c) Il offre sa tournée
d) Il part tôt

Question 5: Comment se termine le week-end ?

a) Par une dispute
b) Par un départ à l'aube
c) Par une baignade dans la rivière
d) Par un orage

📋 Grammaire et vocabulaire

Did French 101 stick more than you think? Eight grammar traps from French 101 Test B turn those colloquial phrases into a quick checkpoint. Start my 7-day trial →

📖 Compréhension de la lecture /👂🏻 Compréhension orale [avancée]

There's audio and text for this one. If you choose to use only the audio, give yourself x2 points per answer.

🎧 L'article — vitesse normale

⚡️ Défi : à la Parisienne — la même chose, au débit d'une vraie conversation parisienne. Franchement très difficile — c'est le but. Un défi un peu fou : tu suis ?

The headline has a few traps. The advanced reading questions reveal whether you caught the detail behind the story. Start my 7-day trial →

🎯 Answers

Ready to see what French 101 kept hidden? Open the key and compare every answer while the scenes are still fresh. Start my 7-day trial →

✅ Scoring Guide

• 🦾 16-18 correct answers: Advanced level. You have a strong grasp of intermediate French and can handle more challenging material. You have made amazing progress.

• 💪 12-16 correct answers: Intermediate level. You have a great understanding of French, better than 95% of learners - more colloquial phrases and complex grammar structures might help you improve. But these will come naturally with patience. Whatever you're doing… keep doing it!

• ⭐️ 8-12 correct answers: Lower-intermediate level. You are in the top 10% of learners. These questions are *hard* and designed for to test all levels. A few more months of study would see you become a solid intermediate level.

• 🌱 4-8 correct answers: Beginner level. No one should be discouraged by this level. Intermediate is just on the horizon! Some of your mistakes may give you a hint of where you might need study.

How did everyone else do? Vote and see how your score stacks up against the class — members only. Start my 7-day trial →

📈 Note your score somewhere you'll find it — series tests like this drop after every ten episodes of a series. Want a rematch? All past tests live here.

💬 Quelle question était la plus difficile pour toi ? Post its number in the comments — the most-missed question gets its revenge in the next test.

🔮 What's next?

Scored 12+ on both tests? Félicitations : you can officially cope in French. Your next series is Conversation Starters Phase 2 ☕️ — longer, faster, more personal.

Not a member yet? The paid program unlocks all 220+ lessons, the private podcast feed in your podcast app, and every test like this one. Start my 7-day trial →

*👂🏻 Listening Comprehension Text:

That first clip is worth a second pass. Read the transcript line by line and catch the turns that slipped past your ear. Start my 7-day trial →

French 101 🇫🇷 — Lessons 11–19:

See you here soon for another lesson :)

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!
Amélie 💜

Please Remember! Take what's useful, leave the rest

These tests will help some students - help them stay motivated and help them see their progress.

But if it does the opposite… I encourage you to just move on! Take what's useful, leave the rest is great advice in life and language-learning. Please do not under any circumstances get discouraged and rundown because of the results of this test. That's an order!

*If you want to unsubscribe from just these ✅ Level Tests, I've made that possible here. Simply switch off this button:

← Back to the French 101 🇫🇷 ✅ Conversation Starters Phase 2 ☕️ →

A temps de chien, a coat that cost a fortune (oh purée !), a pharmacy queue that turned into a friendship — and six ways to survive a canicule without the clim. It could only be... French 101 🇫🇷 Test A. 🧥💊☀️

✅ A quick, simple (dare I say, fun?) window into how your French is doing.

All the colloquial phrases were included in these episodes, so it should keep you accountable and fit in a nice bit of review.

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. Mark your answers and use the scoring guide at the end to determine your level. 👍🏼

Newer to French? 6+ is a genuinely good score here — this test is calibrated for where you're heading, not where you started. 🌱

👂🏻 Compréhension orale

Ecoutez l'extrait suivant et répondez aux questions qui suivent.

Question 1: Quel temps faisait-il ce matin-là ?

a) Il pleuvait des cordes
b) Il faisait très lourd
c) Il y avait un orage
d) Il faisait un froid de canard

Question 2: Pourquoi dit-elle « Oh purée ! » dans les boutiques ?

a) La boutique était fermée
b) Elle avait oublié sa carte
c) Les manteaux étaient hors de prix
d) Il n'y avait plus sa taille

Question 3: Qu'est-ce qui l'énerve à la pharmacie ?

a) La pharmacie allait fermer
b) Le prix des médicaments
c) La longue file d'attente
d) Le pharmacien était désagréable

Question 4: Comment la dame la reconnaît-elle ?

a) Elles se sont vues à la boutique
b) Elles s'étaient déjà croisées à la boulangerie
c) Elles sont voisines
d) Elles travaillent ensemble

Question 5: Que lui dit la dame en partant ?

a) Bonne journée !
b) Bon rétablissement !
c) Bon courage !
d) À bientôt !

📋 Grammaire et vocabulaire

Did French 101 stick more than you think? Eight grammar traps from French 101 Test A turn those colloquial phrases into a quick checkpoint. Start my 7-day trial →

📖 Compréhension de la lecture /👂🏻 Compréhension orale [avancée]

There's audio and text for this one. If you choose to use only the audio, give yourself x2 points per answer.

🎧 L'article — vitesse normale

⚡️ Défi : à la Parisienne — la même chose, au débit d'une vraie conversation parisienne. Franchement très difficile — c'est le but. Un défi un peu fou : tu suis ?

The headline has a few traps. The advanced reading questions reveal whether you caught the detail behind the story. Start my 7-day trial →

🎯 Answers

Ready to see what French 101 kept hidden? Open the key and compare every answer while the scenes are still fresh. Start my 7-day trial →

✅ Scoring Guide

• 🦾 16-18 correct answers: Advanced level. You have a strong grasp of intermediate French and can handle more challenging material. You have made amazing progress.

• 💪 12-16 correct answers: Intermediate level. You have a great understanding of French, better than 95% of learners - more colloquial phrases and complex grammar structures might help you improve. But these will come naturally with patience. Whatever you're doing… keep doing it!

• ⭐️ 8-12 correct answers: Lower-intermediate level. You are in the top 10% of learners. These questions are *hard* and designed for to test all levels. A few more months of study would see you become a solid intermediate level.

• 🌱 4-8 correct answers: Beginner level. No one should be discouraged by this level. Intermediate is just on the horizon! Some of your mistakes may give you a hint of where you might need study.

How did everyone else do? Vote and see how your score stacks up against the class — members only. Start my 7-day trial →

📈 Note your score somewhere you'll find it — series tests like this drop after every ten episodes of a series. Want a rematch? All past tests live here.

💬 Quelle question était la plus difficile pour toi ? Post its number in the comments — the most-missed question gets its revenge in the next test.

🔮 What's next?

Scored 12+? The survival kit is working. The situations continue in episodes 11–21 — la drague, a job interview, a wedding, a painful breakup — with ✅ Test B waiting at the end.

Under 12? Replay a few episodes in your podcast feed first; the phrases stick better on a second listen. 💜

*👂🏻 Listening Comprehension Text:

That first clip is worth a second pass. Read the transcript line by line and catch the turns that slipped past your ear. Start my 7-day trial →

French 101 🇫🇷 — Lessons 1–10:

See you here soon for another lesson :)

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!
Amélie 💜

Please Remember! Take what's useful, leave the rest

These tests will help some students - help them stay motivated and help them see their progress.

But if it does the opposite… I encourage you to just move on! Take what's useful, leave the rest is great advice in life and language-learning. Please do not under any circumstances get discouraged and rundown because of the results of this test. That's an order!

*If you want to unsubscribe from just these ✅ Level Tests, I've made that possible here. Simply switch off this button:

← Back to the French 101 🇫🇷 . ✅ French 101 🇫🇷 Test B →

Salut tout le monde! Le français n'a jamais été aussi amusant hein? 😁

Caught bouquet, sprained wrist. -- Mistook mother-in-law for bride, awkward dance ensued. -- Your French? Smoother than the wedding cake frosting. -- Lost my speech, found my courage in champagne. -- Let's make your conjugations as unbreakable as wedding vows!

Read more

A flea-market victory, a scooter that gave up mid-hill (Paris voted them out anyway — 89% said allez, ouste), a close call at the Sacré-Cœur, and one last sunset from the Tour Montparnasse — t'inquiète, you're ready. It could only be... Paris Series Test B 🛴🥷🌇

✅ A quick, simple (dare I say, fun?) window into how your French is doing.

All the colloquial phrases were included in these Paris episodes, so it should keep you accountable and fit in a nice bit of review.

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. Mark your answers and use the scoring guide at the end to determine your level. 👍🏼

Newer to French? 6+ is a genuinely good score here — this test is calibrated for where you're heading, not where you started. 🌱

👂🏻 Compréhension orale

Ecoutez l'extrait suivant et répondez aux questions qui suivent.

Question 1: Qu'est-ce qu'elle a acheté à la brocante ?

a) Des cartes postales
b) Une lampe Art déco
c) Un miroir ancien
d) Un vase en cristal

Question 2: Quel problème a-t-elle eu avec la trottinette ?

a) Impossible de la déverrouiller
b) Un pneu crevé
c) On la lui a volée
d) Plus de batterie en pleine côte

Question 3: Que s'est-il passé devant le Sacré-Cœur ?

a) Elle a retrouvé une amie
b) Elle a perdu son téléphone
c) Un artiste a fait son portrait
d) Elle a senti une main sur son sac

Question 4: Où termine-t-elle sa journée ?

a) Dans un café de Montmartre
b) Sur les quais de la Seine
c) Au Jardin des Tuileries
d) Au sommet de la Tour Montparnasse

Question 5: Qu'a-t-elle enfin appris à faire ?

a) Négocier les prix
b) Conduire une trottinette
c) Profiter du moment
d) Éviter les foules

📋 Grammaire et vocabulaire

Did Paris stick more than you think? Eight grammar traps from Paris Series Test B turn those street-level phrases into a quick checkpoint. Start my 7-day trial →

📖 Compréhension de la lecture /👂🏻 Compréhension orale [avancée]

There's audio and text for this one. If you choose to use only the audio, give yourself x2 points per answer.

🎧 L'article — vitesse normale

⚡️ Défi : à la Parisienne — la même chose, au débit d'une vraie conversation parisienne. Franchement très difficile — c'est le but. Un défi un peu fou : tu suis ?

The Louvre headline has a few traps. The advanced Paris questions reveal whether you caught the detail behind the headline. Start my 7-day trial →

🎯 Answers

Ready to see what Paris kept hidden? Open the key and compare every answer while the scenes are still fresh. Start my 7-day trial →

✅ Scoring Guide

• 🦾 16-18 correct answers: Advanced level. You have a strong grasp of intermediate French and can handle more challenging material. You have made amazing progress.

• 💪 12-16 correct answers: Intermediate level. You have a great understanding of French, better than 95% of learners - more colloquial phrases and complex grammar structures might help you improve. But these will come naturally with patience. Whatever you're doing… keep doing it!

• ⭐️ 8-12 correct answers: Lower-intermediate level. You are in the top 10% of learners. These questions are *hard* and designed for to test all levels. A few more months of study would see you become a solid intermediate level.

• 🌱 4-8 correct answers: Beginner level. No one should be discouraged by this level. Intermediate is just on the horizon! Some of your mistakes may give you a hint of where you might need study.

How did everyone else do? Vote and see how your score stacks up against the class — members only. Start my 7-day trial →

📈 Note your score somewhere you'll find it — series tests like this drop after every ten episodes of a series. Want a rematch? All past tests live here.

💬 Quelle question était la plus difficile pour toi ? Post its number in the comments — the most-missed question gets its revenge in the next test.

🔮 What's next?

Scored 12+ on both tests? Félicitations : you're officially the friend who orders for the whole table. Your next series is Vivre en France 🥖 — because visiting France is one thing, and living it is where the fun really starts.

Not a member yet? The paid program unlocks all 220+ lessons, the private podcast feed in your podcast app, and every test like this one. Start my 7-day trial →

*👂🏻 Listening Comprehension Text:

That first Paris clip is worth a second pass. Read the transcript line by line and catch the turns that slipped past your ear. Start my 7-day trial →

Paris Series 🗼 — Lessons 11–19:

See you here soon for another lesson :)

À plus tard, mes chers élèves!
Amélie 💜

Please Remember! Take what's useful, leave the rest

These tests will help some students - help them stay motivated and help them see their progress.

But if it does the opposite… I encourage you to just move on! Take what's useful, leave the rest is great advice in life and language-learning. Please do not under any circumstances get discouraged and rundown because of the results of this test. That's an order!

*If you want to unsubscribe from just these ✅ Level Tests, I've made that possible here. Simply switch off this button:

← Back to the Paris Series 🗼 ✅ Vivre en France 🥖 →