bonjour! I am the real deal. I’m a bona fide French learning geek! I have been teaching French online since 2013. I have a large collection of books to learn French. if you see an image of the book on this page, it belongs to me and I use it for my online lessons.
what are the best books to learn french for beginners?
the top 5 books to learn french are: 1) practice makes complete french perfect all in one, 2) best french review and practice, 3) grammar in dialogues – niveau grand débutant, 4) vocabulary in dialogues a1-a2 and 5) French phonetics exercises. This article will discuss why I have selected these titles and will recommend them to my students. I also provide an honest opinion on the all-in-one French book for dummies, Amazon’s Number. 1 book to learn French. keep reading!
You are reading: How to learn french books
books to learn French recommended by a French teacher
I have been teaching French online since late 2013. Over the years beginning students have repeatedly asked me what books I recommend.
Even though I’ve bought and tried many textbooks, I always seem to recommend the same books. the books i suggest on this list are the actual books i use for my online classes. you can buy all these books on amazon.
French For Dummies All-In-One: Is it worth it?
Before we take a look at the books that are really my favorite for learning French, I want to address the book: French All-in-One For Dummies. With over 1,200 reviews on Amazon, this is the website’s No. 1 book for learning French. But, is it really worth buying?
All in all, I’d say yes if you’re looking for a reading partner for your other books. french for dummies all in one is six books in one.
Books one and two provide a great introduction to basic vocabulary (everything covered here at frenchlearner, by the way), combined with lots of practical dialogue. Although I strongly suggest that students master the reading rules, the book offers plenty of English phonetics for all words and dialogue.
This is a great advantage for people who are too lazy to buckle up and learn the rules of reading.
books three, four and five cover both grammar and verbs (by the way, this site offers a lot of free material on French grammar and verbs).
Here’s my take: While these chapters offer a good introduction, I think practice makes them perfect: The Complete French All-In-One (not to be confused with the Beginner’s Book!) offers a much better introduction to French . grammar and verbs.
Also, this beginner’s book doesn’t provide any exercises, while the other book (see below) offers countless exercises. the book for dummies offers some games in the back, but that’s no substitute for the real exercises.
the french book for dummies all in one includes a cd. I put it in and listened to it. in fact, it includes some audio for French and French-Canadian accented dialogue.
That said, there isn’t much on the cd and it really just offers a quick look at spoken French. there is much more material available for free on youtube.
best books to learn french for beginning students
I put these two books at the top of my list because I think they offer the best introduction to building a solid foundation in French verbs and grammar. these are the necessary elements to speak fluently.
1) practice makes perfect: complete French all in one
I consider Practice Makes Perfect: Complete French All-in-One by Annie Heminway to be the Bible for all beginner and intermediate French students.
The reason I like this book is that it presents French grammar in a very methodical and logical way. my private lessons follow the outline of the book.
I like this book because you can use it in the beginning stages of learning French and continue to use it when you are more advanced.
The book is called all in one because there are actually seven books. In addition to grammar, the book covers verb conjugations, vocabulary and conversation, and written French. it really is a kind of bible for the French learner!
the publisher, mcgraw hill, is a world leader in educational material and their books are solid. This book is also great for self-study as it provides many exercises in each chapter.
2) last review and practice of French
This second title, The Ultimate French Review and Practice by David Stillman and Ronni Gordon, is an excellent companion to the Complete French All-in-One. Ultimate French is also a publication of McGraw Hill.
While these two books cover the same areas (grammar, verb conjugations, etc.), the explanations of Final French are a bit more nuanced.
In addition, the book offers many exercises for each chapter that are great for self-study between lessons.
While the complete French all-in-one mentioned above does not offer audio support, the Ultimate French comes with an interactive CD-ROM with audio.
interestingly, he doesn’t. 1 book on amazon to learn french is easy french step by step by myrna bell rochester. this is also a mcgraw hill publication and is more of an entry level book than the ultimate french.
I’ve tried using easy French step by step with some students and I don’t like it. I did not feel that the design of the book was logical and lacked comprehensiveness.
While the all-in-one and ultimate french complete books are more advanced, if used with a teacher they are probably a better buy than the step-by-step book.
That said, the step-by-step could be a good quick introduction to French for a pure beginner who doesn’t want to work with a teacher.
3) grammar in dialogues – niveau grand debutante
The third title on my list is: Grammaire en Dialogues – Niveau Grand Débutant by Odile Grand-Clément. I like this book because it does a great job matching pertinent, real-life dialogues to basic French grammar. Each dialogue is followed by brief explanations as well as exercises.
I feel this is not a good self-study book and is best used with a teacher. this is because the explanations are very short and are not in French.
although the book comes with a cd to listen to the dialogues, the speed of the speech tends to be quite fast.
I think a solid dialog book is very important for any online lesson. allows the student to practice speaking and repeating after the teacher.
Actually, this title is published by cle international, which is a leading publisher of books to help students prepare for delf & dalf exams These are the French government proficiency exams in French.
cle international has a very extensive line of dialogue books in French. the books cover areas including verb conjugations, grammar, and vocabulary.
Two other books I recommend along with the dialogue books mentioned above are: grammaire en dialogs a1-b2 and communication progressive du français a2-b1, both by claire miquel.
claire miquel is a noted writer for cle international and her dialogue books are excellent. she suggested the a1-b2 dialogue book for a beginning student who already knows some french.
Of all the books I’ve used over the years, I’ve used a2-b1 progressive communication with the most students and it’s a great book to use after initial debut or grammar books on a1-b2 dialogues .
4) vocabulary in dialogues a1-a2
The next book on the list is: Vocabulaire en Dialogues by Évelyn Siréjols. This is another dialogue book published by CLE International.
See Also: List of the Best Self-Help Divorce Books – Reppucci Roeder
I like the book because it presents chapter by chapter a very useful resource to learn the most essential and basic French vocabulary.
chapters are divided into categories such as food, clothes, sports, shopping, weather, etc. A French course for beginners would not be complete without reviewing these word lists.
again, I feel like this book is best used with a teacher because the explanations are in French. provides many exercises and comes with an audio cd.
5) French phonetics exercises
The last book on my list is called Exercises in French Phonics by Francis W. Nachtmann of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlaign.
This is an 80 page, $8 slim book that is truly a hidden gem! One of the most difficult aspects of learning French is mastering the rules of pronunciation and reading.
dr. Nachtmann meticulously breaks down all the French phonetic rules into concise chapters. each chapter covers a single spelling pattern, such as a jumbled nasal sound, and provides a long list of the corresponding words along with exercises.
The book places great emphasis on French phonetic symbols. While these may seem daunting at first, Dr. Nachmann’s book is so methodical that by the end you will be an expert in French pronunciation.
This book was first suggested to me by a student in 2020. Although I was skeptical at first, I have since used it with many students who struggled with French pronunciation.
All that said, French Phonetics Exercises is not a self-study book and is best used with the teacher. also, the book does not come with a cd.
best textbook to learn and teach French
If you look on Amazon, you’ll see that there are many textbooks for both learning and teaching French, such as Bon Voyage! and Bien Dit! Of all the books, I prefer the Discovering French series by Valette Valette.
written by jean-paul valette and rebecca m. valette and published by mcdougal littel, these were used by my high school french teacher and i still use them today.
There are three books in the series: Discover French Blue (Beginner), Discover French White (Intermediate), and Discover French Red (Advanced).
discovering the french bleu is very good for a pure beginner, especially for slower learners. the information is presented very gradually and the pace is not intense.
All lessons include fun reading and helpful exercises. the book has a good balance between grammar and verb lessons, as well as vocabulary lessons.
Intermediate and advanced books are not only great for building stronger vocabulary and verb skills, but they also make great reading.
offer both short magazine articles and short stories. What’s especially nice about the stories is that they do a great job of reviewing previously learned grammar lessons.
Textbooks to discover French have been a staple in my online lessons since 2013 and that won’t change any time soon.
more advanced French dialogue books
Over the years, I have amassed an impressive collection of French dialogue books published by cle international, the company that makes prep material for delf & amp; dalf exams.
progressive communication in french a2-b1
Of all the books for learning French in my collection, Communication Progressive Du Français A2-B1 by Claire Miquel is the one I’ve used most with students.
cpd a2-b1 is a dialogue book in which each lesson focuses on a specific grammatical area, such as reflexive verbs or object pronouns. the book covers many aspects of daily life, such as shopping, socializing, and much more.
each lesson contains one longer dialogue or two shorter dialogues. At the end of each lesson you will find a very short section covering the grammar, vocabulary and expressions used in the dialogues. the page following the dialogues contains drills and exercises.
Please note that this book is definitely not for a pure beginner and the student should have at least one year under their belt. Also, there is no English in the book, so it is better to use it with a teacher or a dictionary.
communication in dialogues a2-b1
communication in dialogues a2-b1 by evelyne sirejols is another of my favorite books of intermediate dialogues. while this dialogue book and the previous book are on the same level (a2-b1), this book is a bit more advanced.
each lesson contains a one page dialog. The good thing about the dialogues is that they do an excellent job of brushing up on intermediate level grammar. in fact, this would be a very good book to use after reading the entire French book.
Beneath each dialog you will find several true and false questions. the pages that follow contain lists of related phrases organized by formal and informal categories.
These sections of the book are extremely rich in useful everyday vocabulary. they are wonderfully written and very well thought out. in fact, I have never seen any other book that is so comprehensive in teaching lists of phrases.
The book comes with a CD so you can listen to the audio recordings of the dialogues.
best books to practice reading in French
many of my students constantly ask me for reading options. I think practicing reading aloud is a wonderful way to master the pronunciation and rhythm of the French language. I recommend the following two books for reading practice.
read & think in french (mcgraw-hill)
Read & Think French is by far my favorite resource for practicing reading French. The book is definitely aimed at mid-intermediate or higher students.
the book consists of more than 100 articles that help students better understand life in france and in the francophone world. articles were provided by the editors of think french magazine.
The book sections include culture, travel, traditions, celebrations, biographies, customs, art, history, geography and gastronomy.
The editor does a wonderful job providing translations to the vocabulary in the margin. furthermore, the translations are perfectly made to fit the context of the text.
all stories are available in audio format on the mcgraw-hill website, mhlanguagelab.com.
easy french reading (mcgraw-hill)
The Easy French Reader by R. De Roussy de Sales is a wonderful resource for upper-beginner students who are looking for a reading option.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section consists of dialogues between Marc and Julie, two fictional characters.
The second section offers articles on French historical figures (kings and queens). The final section offers examples of writing by France’s most important authors, including Emile Zola and Guy de Maupassant.
Like the previous book, mcgraw-hill offers audio recordings of the entire text of the book on its website, mhlanguagelab.com. students can listen to and review the stories before and after the lessons.
See Also: 32 Best Content Marketing Books for content marketer – Mageplaza
My main criticism of this book is that while some of the material is perfect for a beginner, much of the material is too difficult.
Also, the editor could have done a better job of providing translations of more vocabulary words in the margin.
best book to learn french verbs
I’m usually not a big fan of books focused solely on learning verbs. This is because they offer lists of hundreds (too many!) of verbs and this can make the student feel overwhelmed and want to give up.
barron’s 501 french verbs
That said, I do suggest owning Barron’s 501 French Verbs by Christopher Kendris, Ph. D, and Theordore Kendris, Ph. D. Off all the French verb books, Barron’s is by far the most comprehensive.
The book offers a “list of 55 essential verbs”. These are the 55 most used French verbs. the advantage here is that the student can concentrate on the most useful verbs and not waste time on useless and little-used verbs.
For each verb you can find the conjugations in all the main tenses in French. In addition, for each verb, the book provides several example sentences, related verbs (conjugated verb using the same patterns), as well as related words and expressions.
best books to learn French slang and expressions
Learning a language and only learning formal grammar and standard vocabulary can be extremely boring. In reality, language is full of cultural idioms and jargon words and expressions.
I have kept the following two books in my arsenal of French learning materials for many years.
collins easy to learn french idioms
The Collins Easy Learning French Idioms is by far the most comprehensive book for French expressions and idioms on the market today.
The book teaches hundreds of idiomatic expressions covered in categories including love and romance, money, health, madness and much more.
each page consists of a language with a literal translation and a real meaning translation. the expressions are followed by example sentences in French with English translation.
If you want to impress the French with your knowledge of idioms used in everyday life, this is definitely the book for you.
dictionary of french slang and colloquial expressions
The Dictionary of French Slang and Colloquial Expressions is an excellent resource for learning French slang. In addition to terms and expressions that are slightly informal, this book provides slang words that border on being outright vulgar and impolite.
The book is in alphabetical order with the words listed in French. Next to each French word you will find the English translation, as well as one or two French example sentences with an English translation.
I strongly believe that this book is best used for entertainment and personal learning and is not very useful for a class or classroom setting. plus, their content is definitely geared towards an adult audience.
best french phrasebooks for travel
If you are planning a trip to France and just want to learn some useful phrases for the trip, it would be a good idea to get a French phrasebook. I have the following two books in my collection and would recommend both.
phrasebook by berlitz & french dictionary
Believe it or not, I actually like Berlitz Phrase Book & Dictionary French better than the Lonely Planet phrase book (see below). This is simply because the Berlitz book offers much more extensive vocabulary lists.
personally, i would suggest the berlitz book for someone who already knows some french. the sheer number of words in the book might be a bit overwhelming for a pure beginner.
The book is divided into all the usual sections you’d expect to find in a phrase book: airport arrival, hotel check-in, restaurant, food, shopping, sightseeing, etc.
Within the section for eating out, for example, you can find very extensive vocabulary lists for every word you might need in a restaurant.
For example, in addition to phrases for ordering a meal, the book lists specific types of meats, vegetables, etc.
The back of the book has a helpful reference section (covering numbers), as well as an English to French dictionary.
lonely planet & dictionary
As suggested, if you don’t have any French under your belt, the Lonely Planet French Phrasebook & Dictionary would probably be a very good option.
the key difference between the berlitz phrasebook is that it doesn’t offer the extensive vocabulary lists and at the same time it offers all the essentials.
the lonely planet phrasebook is divided into all the usual sections you’d expect to find in a phrasebook: finding a hotel room and checking in, restaurant phrases for ordering a meal, socializing phrases, etc.
One feature of the lonely planet phrasebook that I find extremely useful is the menu decoder. In a nutshell, it’s a glossary of French food terms from French to English.
This is probably the most comprehensive and informative list of French food terms I have come across.
one last note: the general layout and font of the lonely planet phrasebook is easier to use than the berlitz book. In case you need to pull out the book to quickly look up something, the Lonely Planet Phrasebook might be your best bet.
best books to learn french vocabulary
One of the secrets of language mastery is the constant accumulation of new vocabulary words. In the early stages of learning it’s a good idea to have a book handy to learn the main word categories (family members, colors, numbers, telling time, weather, clothes, sports, etc.).
practice the perfect French vocabulary
for my private lessons, i’m a big fan of mcgraw-hill publishing. For vocabulary, I suggest her book, Practice for Perfect French Vocabulary by Eliane Kurbegov.
Please note that the French all-in-one book (mentioned at the top of this post) has a vocabulary chapter that covers almost all of the material included in this specific vocabulary book.
Sections in this book include categories of common nouns (people, animals, and nature, shopping, entertainment, etc.), common adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.
For each section you will find a vocabulary list as well as useful related verbs and phrases. Vocabulary lists are also followed by exercises that include translations, missing word searches, and matching columns.
the mcgraw-hill online resource page has a free-to-use flashcard page that corresponds to the chapters in this book.
the vocabulary builder workbook
Another French vocabulary book worth mentioning is: The Vocabulary Builder’s Workbook: Simple lessons and activities to teach yourself over 1,400 things you should know by Chris Lele.
Although I have not used this book for my private online lessons, I am including it on this page as it has over 4,000 reviews on amazon.
Lele’s book offers more than 200 French vocabulary lessons. the lessons or chapters are based on traditional word categories (animals, food, etc.).
In addition, Lele’s book offers many chapters that cover groups of words based on prefixes and word roots. I think these chapters would be very fun and useful for upper-intermediate to advanced learners.
See Also: Mary Balogh – Book Series In Order