Radio stations are like a bag of assorted chocolates because you never know which side of French you will get to taste.
Tune into France’s most popular radio stations to get comprehensive coverage of world events focusing on cultural diversity and contrasting viewpoints.
The benefits of listening to the radio
To begin with, you will explore the various accents and informal phrases that are way different from the ones listed in your textbooks. It keeps you updated with the current affairs, latest songs, and movies to name a few.
You will get used to the speed of the conversations. Some stations have the benefit of adjusting the level of speed which will help you as a beginner. Further, exposure to a wide range of vocabularies every day boosts your spoken French.
It provides unlimited topics for free. There is a genre for everyone in the pile. Finally, it brings our French lessons in a portable box loaded with information and fun to kill our endless days of boredom.
Useful French radio stations
The world of French radio is a wide area to cover with its diverse topics. Let me help you to narrow the list down to the most useful French radio stations in France along with my favorite shows, music, and lessons from each station.
Though all the radio stations have their individual websites, you can access multiple stations at the same time using Radio France and TuneIn.
1. France Inter
France Inter is one of the most popular radio stations in France. It is a part of the Radio France group that covers all the global information. It provides live news throughout the day. It attracts a wider group of adults who loves politics and social activities.
It leans more towards the intermediate group of listeners as it indulges in talk shows debating over complex issues. It offers a variety of podcasts intertwining news and culture.
They also feature content revolving around music and food. If you are a beginner I would highly recommend the kid’s corner which is filled with interesting stories and scientific facts. My favorite shows include Les Odyssées and Bestoiles.
Les Odyssées focuses more on the historical characters from the past. It explains the great inventions and discoveries that lead to revolutionary changes. Bestoiles is another interesting show about animals. Each episode unravels cool facts about animals and birds.
With the right measure of seriousness and fun, experience a bit of everything with France Inter.
2. RFI (Radio France Internationale)
RFI is a radio station that is broadcasted in French alongside 12 different languages. You can listen to the live streaming of the latest news, political information, and cultural and sports events from all around the world.
This is one of the best radio stations to intensify your French. It is known among many French learners for its bilingual content. In addition to the numerous audios, it also offers activities to improve your listening skills.
Parlez-vous Paris? is my favorite show; it is extremely useful for beginners to explore the language and culture. It is an authentic show that is organized into five themes to understand Parisien life.
With a lot of live streaming, it is difficult to follow the news in French. RFI overcomes that problem with Journal en français facile, a show that brings you the latest news in just 10 minutes. You can also follow the transcripts which are available below each video.
3. Mouv’
A radio station that is popular among teenagers. This station showcases the hip hop and urban mix of French music. The unlimited shows it offers revolve around gaming, rap battles, and all things related to music and series.
You can scout around for famous French artists and keep yourself updated with the release dates and behind the scene stories of all the latest series. Be prepared to discover a new side of French with Mouv’.
Don’t spend too much time trying to find the right show; tune into a random frequency and relax with some good French songs. After all, everything is better with a little bit of music.
4. Rire & chansons
Rire & chansons is a radio station based in Paris. It is a unique platform that combines comedy and music. Owing to its title, it broadcasts shows that feature the funny side of French people with each joke accompanied by a list of French pop music.
You can take a look at how the French perceive humor. It is a bit challenging to understand all the inside jokes but it is still worth the attempt to incorporate some funny taglines into our French lessons.
You can also check their youtube channel and view the shows with the french subtitles to get a good grasp of the context before jumping into the radio straight away.
I’m aware that it is quite hard to sound funny in a foreign language but we would all love to give it a try don’t we?
5. Radio Nova
Nova is another cool radio station for all music lovers. It provides music under different categories. It features the music played along in different French cities like Bordeaux and Lyon.
It also streams informative podcasts and cultural shows that are easy to follow. Tech paf is my favorite show to understand French and technology at the same time. It portrays the future world with innovative technologies.
What are you tuning into today?
The French radio is your key to unlocking the French culture, music, trending news, and events simultaneously within an inch apart.
Your initial days may be hard to dive into the rhythm of upbeat music and fast-paced talk shows. As days go by, you will be singing to the beat of every French song.
