Frequently asked questions
What FrenchToEnglish is, what it costs, and what it will not do for you. Short answers, no sales pitch. If something here is still unclear, write to us.
Getting started
Is this for complete beginners?
Partly. The Learning Center covers levels A1 through C2, and a good number of guides are written for people who know almost no French. But this site is not a course that walks you from zero to fluent in a fixed order. It is a reference library and a way to practise reading, built for English speakers who are dealing with real French situations: renting, banking, working, travelling, following the news.
If you have never studied French at all, start with the guides tagged A1 in the Learning Center and read them in whatever order matches what you are actually about to do.
How do I find out my level?
Take the free Level Quiz. It is 20 questions and gives you a CEFR estimate from A0 to C2, plus a read on what to fix first. There is a longer 50 question version if you want a more precise placement. Neither requires an account, and both are free.
One honest caveat: a quiz is a snapshot, not a diagnosis. If your result surprises you in either direction, trust the reading you do over the next month more than the number.
Do you offer private lessons?
No. We used to, and older pages on the internet may still say otherwise. That offer no longer exists and there is no trial lesson, no weekly one-to-one and no booking system.
What replaced it is written: free guides, French news at readable levels, and four optional digital guides. Each guide is sold separately. If you want live conversation practice, an in-person tutor or an italki-style marketplace will serve you better than we can.
Do I need an account?
No. Every free part of the site works without signing up. You give an email if you choose publication alerts or want your quiz result sent to you. Buying a digital guide goes through checkout, which asks for your name, email and payment details.
What is free
What exactly costs nothing?
Most of the site. The Learning Center guides, the French Briefing and its comprehension quizzes, the Level Quiz, the downloadable PDFs on the Resources page, and the book recommendations in the Library. No paywall, no article limit, no account.
What is The French Briefing?
French news explained for English speakers. Each edition takes one real story from France, explains the context an outsider would miss, and teaches the vocabulary that story actually uses. Every edition ends with a comprehension quiz so you can check whether you followed it or merely recognised the words.
It is free and it lives at /news/. You can read it in the browser without subscribing to anything.
How often do you publish?
Irregularly, and we would rather say that than invent a schedule. The Briefing follows what is actually happening in France, and the Learning Center grows when a guide is worth writing rather than on a calendar. If you want to be told when something lands, the email form on the Briefing and Learning Center pages is the way.
Can I use your material with my students?
For classroom use, yes, with attribution and a link. Republishing the text on another site is not fine. If you are unsure, ask us rather than guess.
What costs money
Which digital guides can I buy?
There are four guides, each sold separately: the French Gamebook for practising common mistakes, the DELF B1 kit for exam preparation, the Long-Stay Visa Pack for US citizens planning a move, and Your First 90 Days in France for everyday conversations after arrival. The Library helps you compare them, see current prices and preview the one that fits your next step.
What is the French Gamebook?
A book built around the twenty-one mistakes English speakers make most often in French. It is written as a gamebook: you make a choice, you see the consequence, you learn why the natural-sounding option was wrong. One interactive PDF: play on your computer or print your favourite rounds. $9, with a full refund within 30 days.
The full description and current prices are on the product page.
Can I get a refund on the Gamebook?
Yes. The French Gamebook has a thirty-day money-back guarantee. If it does not do what you expected, email us within thirty days for a full refund. The refund policy explains the details.
Are the free guides just adverts for paid guides?
No. The articles, quizzes and other free resources are complete without a purchase. Some articles link to a related digital guide and its free preview. You can keep using the Learning Center without buying one.
Practical
Who writes this?
A small editorial team of French teachers and writers, working from France. Guides go through a factual check before publication, and administrative or legal points are sourced to the official French government pages, which we link at the bottom of the relevant article.
When something we published turns out to be wrong or out of date, we correct the article rather than quietly delete it.
Which variety of French do you teach?
Metropolitan French, the French of France. Where Québécois, Belgian or Swiss usage differs in a way that would actually trip you up, we say so explicitly and flag which country the phrasing belongs to. We do not present one variety as correct and the others as quaint.
How do I unsubscribe from emails?
Every email we send carries an unsubscribe link that works immediately and needs no explanation from you. If it ever fails, tell us and we will remove you by hand.
Something on the site is broken or wrong. Who do I tell?
Use the contact page. Broken links, a translation that does not sound right, an administrative fact that has changed: all of it is useful, and corrections get made faster than you would expect.
