Look, I’m gonna be honest with you right off the bat. I’m not some language expert or teacher or anything. I’m just a regular person who finally stopped making excuses and actually started learning with a French language course online. That’s it. This whole thing is basically me telling you what happened when I stopped being a lazy asshole and actually committed to something for once in my life. My sister figured out the same thing—instead of forcing her kids to do boring textbook stuff, she got them into online French classes for kids and they actually picked it up way faster than I did.
My ex was French. We dated for like three years. You’d think living with someone who speaks French would mean I’d learn French, right? Wrong. She spoke English, I was lazy, and I figured “eh, I’ll learn it eventually.” We broke up eight years ago. I never learned French. Smart move, me.
Then my sister started teaching her kids French. Not with some fancy system or anything—she just started throwing them into online French classes for kids because she wanted them to grow up bilingual. And these kids, man, they picked it up so fast it was insulting. My four-year-old nephew started saying French words. My nephew! Four years old! And I’m sitting there like a moron at 32 unable to order a coffee.
My sister finally called me out on it. She was like, “why are you still saying you’re gonna learn French if you’re not actually gonna do it?” And that pissed me off because she was right. So I literally just picked a French language course online and started doing it. I didn’t research anything, didn’t compare prices, just paid for three months of a French language course online and committed.
My sister finally called me out on it. She was like, “why are you still saying you’re gonna learn French if you’re not actually gonna do it?” And that pissed me off because she was right. So I literally just picked something random and started doing it.
Why I Actually Cared About French This Time
Honestly the reason I finally did it wasn’t some noble thing. It was stubbornness. My sister was right and I didn’t want to hear it anymore. But also I’d started traveling to Belgium for work sometimes, and you know what’s annoying? Being in a place where everyone speaks French and you don’t. Plus I was jealous of my sister’s kids. That’s petty but it’s true.
There’s also something that happened at work. We had these Belgian clients come visit, and one of our team members was able to talk to them a bit in French. Even though they all spoke English, there was something… I dunno, professional about it? Respectful? Like she actually bothered to meet them halfway. I felt like an idiot not knowing any French.
So I looked up French language course online stuff one night and just picked one. Didn’t do research, didn’t compare prices, didn’t watch a bunch of reviews. I just picked one and paid for three months. If I was gonna waste money, at least I’d be motivated to use it.
The First Two Weeks Were Painful But Not in the Way I Expected
I thought learning French online would be boring. Turns out it was awkward. The program had me trying to pronounce stuff and my roommate kept walking past and laughing at me. I sound like I’m choking when I try to say French R’s. It’s embarrassing even when nobody’s watching.
But like… within days I could say hello and goodbye. That sounds stupid but it actually felt good? I could do something I couldn’t do before. Then a week in I learned numbers and it felt less stupid.
The French language course online I picked wasn’t fancy or anything. Just videos, some exercises where you click stuff, some writing. Every day it was like 30 minutes of work. I set it to the same time every morning before I checked my emails, which helped because then it was just part of my routine.
By day ten I realized I could already understand tiny bits of stuff. I watched like thirty seconds of a French movie and caught two words I actually knew. Two words! That seems dumb but I was so excited. I texted my sister “I understood deux!!” and she was like “that’s literally the easiest word” but whatever, I understood it.
Week Three Was When I Actually Started Feeling Like I Wasn’t Completely Stupid
Around day 15 or 16, something shifted. My brain stopped fighting it so hard. The sounds that seemed impossible started becoming normal. French R’s still sucked but less, you know?
I could now order a coffee. Actually order it. Not perfectly, not without thinking about each word, but I could do it. I went to this French café near my apartment and tried it. The barista looked confused for like three seconds then understood me and got me my coffee. I felt like I’d won the lottery.
That sounds like such a small thing but it changed everything for me. Suddenly it wasn’t abstract anymore. It wasn’t just exercises in an app. I could use this in actual real life. That made me way more motivated to keep going.
The thing about the French language course online I picked is it had some live group classes once a week. I was dreading the first one because I knew my accent was garbage and I’d feel stupid. I did feel stupid but it turned out everyone else felt stupid too. We were all just there making terrible sounds at each other and trying to form sentences. The teacher was cool about it and didn’t make me feel like an idiot even though I definitely was one.
Month Two: Okay This Is Actually Kind of Fun
By month two I could actually have super basic conversations. “Hi, how are you? I’m fine. What’s your name? My name is…” Sounds boring but it’s way more than I could do three weeks before.
I started listening to French music. Not because the course told me to—just because. I still don’t understand most of the words but I like listening to how it sounds. Sometimes I’ll catch a phrase I actually know and it feels cool.
My job started picking up so I took like two weeks off from studying. When I came back I was panicking that I’d forget everything. Turns out I didn’t. It was still there. That was actually reassuring because it meant my brain was keeping it, not just temporary memorizing stuff.
The live classes got less terrifying. By month two, making ridiculous French sounds in front of five other people doesn’t feel so bad. We’d all be sitting there trying to tell each other about our jobs or our families, all of us completely butchering the pronunciation, and honestly it became fun. Nobody cares if you suck when everyone sucks together.
I started watching French YouTube videos about random stuff. Like woodworking videos in French. I probably understand like 40% of what’s happening but the rest I can piece together or just ignore. It’s weirdly effective actually.
Month Four-Five: The Weird Part Where You’re Not Terrible But Still Bad
Around month four I realized I was actually retaining stuff instead of just cycling through the same beginner lessons. I could understand more of the YouTube videos. I could read simpler articles. I could have actual conversations that weren’t just scripted questions.
But I also hit this weird wall where I was frustrated because I could understand so much more but couldn’t say it. Like my listening was way ahead of my speaking. Which apparently is normal but it sucks. You’re sitting there knowing a word but your mouth won’t make the sounds right.
I also started noticing how much I don’t know. Early on I thought “oh I’ll just learn like 1000 words and I’ll be done.” Nope. There are like 100,000+ words in French. Most people only use like 1000-2000 but still. It’s overwhelming when you actually think about it.
But I also stopped caring as much. Like yeah I’m bad at French. But I’m less bad than I was three months ago. Progress doesn’t need to be perfect to be progress.
My Sister’s Kids Learning Online French Classes for Kids
Meanwhile my sister got her kids into online French classes for kids and it was hilarious how fast they picked it up compared to me. Her oldest was doing online French classes for kids for like a month and was already better than me. A child! A child was beating me!
But here’s what was interesting—the online French classes for kids she chose was nothing like what I was doing with my French language course online. It was way more game-based and story-based. Like her kids were watching cartoons in French and learning from that. It didn’t look like traditional learning at all. It looked like entertainment. But somehow they were actually learning.
Her four-year-old started randomly saying French words. Like he’d ask for water in French sometimes. He had no idea he was learning a language—he was just picking it up from watching stuff he thought was fun.
The online French classes for kids had this thing where kids learn through games and characters they like instead of boring grammar lessons. Her kids didn’t feel like they were studying. They felt like they were playing. And that’s apparently how kids learn languages way faster than adults.
The other thing about the online French classes for kids my sister picked was it let the kids go at their own pace. Her oldest learns faster so she moves ahead. Her youngest learns slower so he takes his time. Nobody’s forcing them to match each other or match some schedule. They just do their 20 minutes a day and that’s it.
What actually got me was the kids weren’t forced to do it. My sister made it optional at first and they actually wanted to do it every day because it was fun. That’s insane to me. I have to force myself to study. These kids just… want to.
Why Online Actually Works When You Pick the Right One
I think what surprised me most is that online doesn’t suck like I expected. I thought it would be lonely and boring and I’d quit after two weeks. Nope. The combo of recorded lessons I can pause and rewind plus live classes where I actually talk to real people worked way better than I thought.
The recorded lessons are good because you can watch them as many times as you need. If you don’t get something, you just rewind. If you get it immediately you can skip ahead. Nobody’s waiting for you. Nobody’s impatient. It’s at your pace.
But the live classes are what kept me from quitting honestly. Because doing everything by yourself is lonely and easy to give up on. But when you’re on a call with other people, even terrible other people who also can’t speak French, you’re accountable. You show up because other people are showing up.
Plus there’s something about actually trying to speak French to a real person, even a terrible attempt, that sticks better than just doing exercises in an app. Your brain remembers the embarrassment and uses that to lock the words in place or something. I dunno, but it works.
Real Talk About What’s Actually Possible
Okay so I’m not fluent. I’m not even close. I’m like… basic conversational at best. I can talk about my job, my family, what I did last weekend, stuff like that. But if someone’s speaking French at normal speed I’m screwed. If they use slang or accents I’m confused.
But here’s the thing—six months ago I couldn’t say anything. Now I can have actual conversations where someone understands me. That’s something. That’s real.
I think if someone actually committed to studying consistently, like legitimately every day, they could have real conversations in like six or seven months. Real conversations, not perfect conversations, but actually being able to communicate. I’m slower because I’m lazy and I took breaks and I don’t practice speaking enough.
The people who actually get fluent are the ones who keep going past the frustrating parts. Turns out language learning is mostly just boring repetition and refusing to give up. Who knew. (Everyone knew. I was just dumb.)
Actually Getting My Sister’s Kids Into Online French Classes for Kids
So I got curious about what my sister was doing with the kids and looked at the actual online French classes for kids program she was using. It looked super different from my adult course, which made sense.
The online French classes for kids has like cartoons and games and interactive stuff. Not boring at all. The kids are learning through stories they actually care about, not grammar rules. The kids don’t even know they’re learning if I’m being honest.
What blew my mind is the online French classes for kids aren’t expensive. Like at all. My sister pays less for her kids to learn French than I pay for one month of my program. And the kids are learning faster than me.
The other thing is the online French classes for kids is flexible as hell. The kids do it whenever they want, as much as they want. Some days they do 20 minutes. Sometimes they do an hour because they actually want to. No forcing involved.
I asked my sister if the online French classes for kids was working or if it’s just screen time bullshit. She was like, “have you heard your nephew speak French?” And yeah, he speaks French. So it works.
The Boring But Actual Advice Part
If you actually want to learn French, do a French language course online. I don’t care which one. Just pick one and start. The worst thing that happens is you waste money and learn some French in the process.
Don’t overthink it. Don’t spend two months researching the “perfect” course like I was gonna. Just pick one, pay for it, and do it. That pressure of paying money will actually motivate you to use it.
Do it every single day if possible. Or at least most days. It doesn’t have to be long—30 minutes is fine. But consistency beats cramming. I’m serious about this.
Try to find one with live classes or conversation partners or something. Because at some point you gotta actually try to speak French to a real person or you’ll freeze up when you meet an actual French person.
If you’ve got kids and want them to learn French without it being a nightmare, look at online French classes for kids. They actually work and the kids might even enjoy it.
For a solid French language course online for adults, check https://berliners-institute.com/french-language-courses/. They have actual structured programs and live classes which is what actually matters.
If you’re looking for online French classes for kids specifically, go to https://berliners-institute.com/online-french-classes-for-kids/. My sister’s kids actually use this and it works.
The Actual Truth
I wasted eight years saying I was gonna learn French. I spent another six months saying I was gonna start an online course. Then I actually did it and it took me like a week to realize I was being stupid for not doing it sooner.
The thing is, learning French online is not hard. It’s not complicated. It just takes consistent effort and not giving up when it gets boring. That’s literally it. There’s no secret. No magic method. Just showing up and doing the work.
I’m sitting here now after like ten months of this and I can actually talk to French people. Not well, but I can do it. That’s wild to me. I didn’t think I could do it. Turns out I was just being lazy.
So if you’ve been saying you’re gonna learn French, stop saying it and start doing it. Pick a French language course online, commit to like two months minimum, and actually show up. Your future self will be grateful even if your current self is annoyed about having to learn grammar.
That’s honestly all there is to it.