You are in your examination hall, taking one of your DELFs or DALFs. In the first part, one of the toughest parts is about to start: Comprehension de l’oral. With self-doubt and anxiety kicking in, you ask yourself, “What if I do not understand a word they say?” “What if I cannot take notes fast enough?” What if I zone out after a while?” “I should have practiced more!” 

Why Learn Using The Best Podcasts?

Well, practicing more listening is in fact more about habituating yourself to listen to more French. One could always watch French movies and shows, but there’s something even better that is much closer to our not-so-awaited Comprehension de l’oral. Podcasts!

We all have been listening to quite a lot of podcasts on Spotify these days. So here are some recommendations for all the French learners out there! 

1. Coffee Break French 

Coffee Break French, by Radio Lingua Network, just as the name suggests, has short 10-15 minutes episodes. Its season 1 deals with very basic mundane topics of conversation and grammar, making it the perfect podcast to start with if you are a newbie francophone. As the seasons proceed, the difficulty level increases. 

Click here for Coffee Break French

2. Learn French with Podcast 

This podcast by Plus publication is designed for beginners, as it starts with basic salutations, greetings, conversations, and expressions. The host explains difficult words every once in a while to help beginners understand better and expand their vocabulary. The podcast has around 205 episodes covering various topics along the way. Though it is suggested that one should start from the first episode if a beginner. 

Listen to Learn French with Podcast

The following podcasts have their individual websites, but it is easier to listen to them from Radio France Application

Android – Click download the application.

iOS – Click to Install

3. C’est bon pour ma planète

This is an excellent podcast on FranceInfo, that deals with some interesting and innovative ways of sustaining the environment. Though theme-specific, the podcast uses a rather easy yet good vocabulary making it worth a try for any beginner or an intermediate learner too. The environment being a classic DELF-DALF topic, you might pick up some ideas here. Additionally, they go only up to 3-4 minutes, hence doesn’t get too boring.  

Here is the link to its website

4. C’est dans ma tête 

Once again a podcast on Franceinfo is a very good podcast dealing with easy everyday topics like education, health, society, and so on, making it easy to understand for all the B1s and B2s out there as well as the beginners. Being as short as 3-4 minutes, it is surely a podcast to start with. 

Link to its website.

5. Le décryptage 

Le décryptage is a podcast on RFI, dealing with current affairs. For all those intermediate and advanced learners who like to stay up to date with current affairs, you might want to try listening to it in French on Le décryptage! Even for those who do not take any keen interest therein, the podcast does not last for more than 5 minutes, making it less likely to be boring. 

Link to its website.

6. 7 millards de voisins 

7 milliards de voisins on RFI is one of the most heard podcasts among the french learning community, ranging from intermediate learners to advanced and beyond, for the obvious reason that the questions dealt with are very much related to the traditional DELF-DALF topics and there are usually some different perspectives on certain questions that are worth a listen. The discussions go on for an hour or so, however, it is always possible to listen to it in parts if you are bound to zone out while listening. 

Link to its website.

7. Accent d’Europe 

With every episode, Accent d’Europe on RFI, there is a new interesting and different theme discussed. Topics that touch each aspect of our life like pollution, health, social issues are discussed through multiple perspectives. This podcast has rather longer episodes lasting up to 20 minutes. As the themes are complex, and hence the vocabulary, this podcast is suggested for intermediate and advanced learners. 

link to its website,

8. Grand bien vous fasse 

Grand bien vous fasse on France Inter is also an excellent podcast for intermediate and advanced learners. It usually has a lot of topics to discuss such as society, lifestyle, psychology, education, health and so many more. Just like the previous one, the episodes of this podcast can last for up to an hour. It may seem like too much to listen to, but the discussion is captivating enough to keep you hooked.  

Here is the link to its website.

There are a few things to do while you listen to a podcast. Firstly, it is highly suggested to take some notes to get habituated to note-taking. Secondly, it is always possible to slow down or speed up the audio to suit yourself. And lastly, there is nothing wrong with reading the transcripts once in a while. It helps a lot, especially for beginners to improve their pronunciations. I hope the recommendations helped you in some way.