Frantz Fanon disait “Parler une langue, c'est adopter un monde, une culture.” (How to immerse yourself in French culture?)
And it's totally true. To speak a language, you need to immerse yourself in the culture of the country. To understand the language, you need to understand the culture of the country.
But it's not so easy to immerse yourself in the French culture, especially if you don't live in France.
That's why today, I'm going to give you some tips on how to immerse yourself in the French culture even if you don't live in France.
Watching French series :
The first way to immerse yourself in French culture is to watch French series and movies.
I'm sure you're already doing it, or at least I hope you are.
In any case, it's a very good way to get a vision of the French culture, of what the French like, how the French live every day, how they behave.
I will advise you to watch series that are more, I would say, "légère". I don't necessarily advise you to watch police series or thrillers in French in order to immerse yourself in French culture. After all, we don't experience crime every day in our lives.
I would recommend you to watch more realistic series about the life of French people like :
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Fais pas ci, fais pas ça :
It's a series that follows the daily lives of two family friends. It's funny and pleasant to watch.
You can watch this series on France 2, channel 2, if you live in France.
If you don't live in France, you can watch this series on Apple TV
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Clem
In the first seasons, we follow the life of Clementine who becomes pregnant at 16. During the seasons, we follow her life and that of her family on a daily basis.
If you live in France, this series is broadcasted on TF1, the first channel.
Otherwise, you can find this series on Disney + or on Apple TV.
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Scènes de ménages
Scènes de ménages is a series in which you follow the lives of several French couples in their daily lives. It's funny and light.
You can find many episodes on YouTube.
In France, you can watch it on M6, channel 6.
Watching French TV shows:
And another very good way to immerse yourself in French culture is to watch French TV shows. So, yes, I know, if you're not in France, you don't have access to French TV. But, on YouTube, you can find a lot of reruns of French TV shows.
I personally recommend you to watch Télé Matin. They have a YouTube channel where they broadcast parts of their show.
The topics are very varied and diverse. They talk about news, technology, but also a lot of culture. Their reports are very interesting.
It's personally the show I watch while having breakfast every morning and I like it.
Taking an interest in French History :
The best way to immerse yourself in a country's culture and understand it is to take an interest in the History (with a capital H) of the country.
Personally, it's a subject I love and when I'm interested in the History of a country, I feel like I'm much closer to its culture and I understand it better too.
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Petite histoire de France de Jacques Bainville
If you have an intermediate level, I found this playlist on YouTube “Petite histoire de France de Jacques Bainville”.
These are short videos about historical facts or French historical figures. It's quite simplified, because it's intended for children. But, personally, I watched some videos and it is quite accessible to adults too. It's even very pleasant to watch.
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Nota Bene
For advanced levels, I recommend Nota Bene. He is a French Youtuber specialized in History. Not only the History of France, but of course he talks about it too.
Take an interest in French news:
And one last excellent way to get interested in French culture is to get interested in its news.
And for that I recommend the magazines Bien-Dire :
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Bien-Dire
Bien-Dire offers paper magazines, but also online. These are magazines for you, learners of French who want to learning French through culture.
They are on their site some free online articles. And they also offer these magazines that I'm going to introduce to you. And spoiler: I think they are really "awesome"!
In a magazine, you have:
- more than 45 pages of articles written in French
- help to better understand the vocabulary and culture.
- Very interesting articles
- Illustrations
- Transcribed dialogues + audio
- Points on language (expressions, vocabulary, etc.)
- Grammar points
- Cultural articles
- Games and comprehension test
So, you can subscribe to these magazines in print and/or have them in digital format with audio. It also allows you to work on your listening comprehension.
It's a bi-monthly subscription, which means that there are 6 magazines per year. Bien-Dire offered me a partnership with an affiliate link, thanks to which I can offer you a 20% discount on a one-year subscription. Or you will have access to the 6 paper and digital magazines, you will also have access to audio.
Instead of paying 98 euros for a year, you will get all this for 79 euros for a year.
Magazines for beginners to intermediate levels (A1 - A2)
Magazines for advanced levels (B1 - C2)
🇫🇷 I'll see you soon for new adventures, in French of course.
