French Language

Search Engines and Web Directories for French Language Sites, in French

Search Engine Colossus and Search Engine Guide are comprehensive global master directories of local search engines for regional, country, or language-specific searches. Google offers a comprehensive Language Tools Page to search in specific languages or countries, translate text, change language interfaces, or link to country-specific Google sites. Google Translate is another site option. The 2lingual site allows you to search with Google simultaneously in two languages. Glearch allows you to search for language and country-specific content in "top results from Google, Yahoo and Bing as well as the most popular search engines for the selected country." Internet broadcasts in many languages are accessible through the International Radio and Television Broadcasts page of this WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources.

• BBC Learning Online Basic French Courses-- Several short online introductory courses, with audio and video support, from the British Broadcasting Corporation.

• Center for the Teaching of French-- Partnership among the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, Yale University, and the Connecticut State Board of Education to promote the teaching of French language and culture. Posts and links to pedagogical information and resources about French language, culture, and society and about Francophone countries.

• ClicNet--Swarthmore College posts this site for students and teachers of French, and all those interested in French-language sources on the culture, art, and literature of the francophone world.

• Documentation française-- "La Documentation française est une direction d’administration centrale des services du Premier ministre, placée sous l’autorité du Secrétaire général du Gouvernement... exerce une mission de service public en matière d’information générale sur l’actualité politique, administrative, économique et sociale française, étrangère et internationale."

• Français Interactif!-- From the University of Texas, "explore the French language and culture by following the lives of real students from the University of Texas who have participated in the UT Summer Program in Lyon, France... we will also watch interviews of native French speakers, as well as scenes of day-to-day interactions in France."

• French in Action-- "A video instructional series in French for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 52 half-hour video programs, audiocassettes, coordinated books, and Web site," produced by Yale University and WGBH Boston with Wellesley College. Entire series is viewable online with free registration.

• French Courses-- From  the Open Learning Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University, "introductory, interactive video-based courses intended for use by university students and independent learners on the Internet. Each course is divided into five thematic modules, with three lessons within each module. Each lesson is designed to take approximately one week to complete so working though an entire course will take the average learner approximately fifteen weeks."

• French Language-- About.com's colorful and helpful guide to things French.

• French Revision-- Large number of free interactive exercises for practice of the French language at all levels, in listening, reading and writing, with graded exercises.

• French Studies: Resources for Students, Scholars, and General Readers-- Annotated article on Internet resources around the world for French studies, as of June 2007, in full-text and with hypertext links, from the "College and Research Libraries News" of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

•  H-France Discussion Network-- "Provides an electronic [scholarly] forum covering all aspects of the history and culture of the Francophone world [and] offers a repository of resources and links which historians and students of French history and culture may find useful."

• Le Meilleur (The Best) de l’internet: A Review of French-Language Information Sources-- Useful review article (September 2005) with links, by Pascal Lupien, Academic Liaison Librarian, McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph. From Searcher magazine.

• Loquella's Learn French-- Free online French language course for students at any level, based on materials originally created by the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State. Lessons focus on proper pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, through listening and repeating audio and reading the corresponding sentences in English and French.

• Ressources Internet Francophones-- From Professor Thomas C. Spear of the French Department at Lehman College, City University of New York, a wide-ranging directory of key websites in the French language.

• Tennessee Bob's Famous French Links-- A "10,000-link Globe-Gate Supersite" Web directory from the University of Tennessee.

• TypeIt.org-- This site allows you to type unique characters in French easily, even if you don't have a specialized keyboard, then to edit your text in the box and copy it to your document, e-mail message, etc.