Learning a language can feel extremely difficult at times, so it is important to find ways to diversify the ways you improve so that it does not always feel like a chore.
Watching TV is one of the best ways to work on your listening skills in a more casual manner, while also allowing you to widen your vocabulary by linking what you hear with what you see on screen.
It is also an activity you can keep up with indoors, when August temperatures outside begin to soar
Below, we have a list of new (and old) TV shows and films you can watch this summer.
Échappées Belles
First aired in 2005, charming TV show Échappées Belles has plenty of content to get your teeth stuck into.
Each week one of the four hosts visits a city either in France or further afield, offering diverse insight into what to see and do there.
The show has been described as perfect escapism, and will help to widen your vocabulary around tourism and travel while also potentially inspiring your next holiday destination.
Now well into its 18th series, there are not many places left untouched by the programme.
Episodes can be found on France 5.
Many full episodes can also be found on the show’s official YouTube page, including this (slightly older) one about the UK.
Plus Belle la Vie
If you are missing your classic soap operas you need not worry, because these exist in France as well.
Plus Belle La Vie is the French answer to EastEnders or Neighbours.
It was first released in 2004 and is set in the fictional district of Mistral in Marseille.
Although the soap came to an end in 2022, a follow up series was launched in 2024 on TF1, called Plus Belle La Vie, encore plus belle.
Both series follow the daily lives and dramas of the residents of Mistral, with 25-minute long episodes full of classic soap opera plotlines.
This is a good option to get your ear tuned into everyday spoken French, and to understand how people communicate in their social lives - you will see a big difference from formal classroom French.
It will also introduce you to the distinctive Marseille accent.
All the original episodes as well as the follow up series are available to stream on TF1, and many of the older episodes are also available on the show’s official YouTube channel.
If you want to jump into the thick of it, the trailer for some of the upcoming episodes of Plus Belle La Vie, encore plus belle can be seen below.
Engrenages
Known as Spiral in English, Engrenages is an old French detective series from the early noughties.
It revolves around a justice team of police and prosecutors who are tasked with investigating some of Paris’s most harrowing crimes.
It is one of France’s most well known series, having been shown in nearly 70 countries around the world, including in the UK on BBC 4.
The aim was to show an accurate image of France’s justice system, with many real life experts working to advise writers and producers.
The eight series can be found on Canal+. Although discussion of a ninth series was rumoured in 2020, this has since been denied and there are no current plans for new episodes.
Nos jours heureux
This is a film with something of a cult following in France, and being available on Netflix it is well worth a watch.
Set in 1992, the film tells the story of Vincent Rousseau who is working as a director of a summer camp for the first time.
Of course, there are problems from the very beginning: faced with 80 children and a team with varying levels of professionalism, the events which unfold make for entertaining viewing.
This summer setting fits perfectly with the warm weather outside, and for many French people, will bring back nostalgic memories either of attending or working at such a camp, or if younger, watching the film with their family during their childhood.
The film marked the breakthrough of directing duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, who went on to create Intouchables, which became the most viewed French film in the world.
The Olympic Games
While it may seem obvious, watching the Olympics Games in French as a non-native offers a whole new perspective on the country.
Each country’s broadcasters tend to favour the athletes of their own nation, so this is a good way to introduce yourself to France’s sporting heroes.
It also offers the opportunity to improve your vocabulary, as you can watch what is happening while the commentators describe the actions.
This style of learning is often good as it allows your mind to make natural connections between words and activities you are seeing in real-time.
Plus, with it being a home Games in Paris, the camaraderie and support behind the French team just makes for a general feel-good atmosphere on French TV.
Read more: Incredible photos of French Olympic athletes in action
