The resource shelf
Free tools for
your next French step.
Check your level, choose a study plan or grab the cheat sheets. Start with what you need today.
Quiz and study plans: no sign-up.
The free PDF pack asks for your email.
Find my starting point
Try 20 questions, then choose where to begin. A practice result, not a certification.
Take the level quiz Free · No sign-upGive my week a plan
Choose a four-week beginner plan or an eight-week plan for the next stage.
Find my study plan Free PDF · Email requiredKeep the useful bits
Nine cheat sheets in one PDF: grammar, pronunciation, everyday phrases and emails.
See the free PDF packWant a complete practice guide? Explore our four guides
Resources at a glance
Free tools and study plans. Choose what you need below.Get every cheat sheet in one PDF
Tu vs vous, the past tenses, pronunciation, numbers and dates, survival phrases, email templates and more. Nine resources bundled into a single 27-page PDF. Enter your email and it downloads right away.
| Resource | What it does | Level | Type | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🐭 Level Quiz | Estimate your starting level | A0 → C2 | Free · 5 min | Start → |
| 🗓️ A0 → A1 Plan | 4-week beginner roadmap | A0 → A1 | Free | Open → |
| 🗓️ A1 → A2 Plan | 8-week intermediate roadmap | A1 → A2 | Free | Open → |
| 📄 Present Tense Verbs | 15 essential verbs, conjugations + drills | A0 → A1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 📄 Articles & Gender | Le, la, les, un, une, des explained | A0 → A1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 📄 A1 Foundations | Quick-start map for absolute beginners | A0 → A1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 🔢 Numbers, Dates & Time | The 70/80/90 math, dates and the 24-hour clock | A0 → A2 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 🧳 100 Survival Phrases | Ten situations, ten phrases each, all out loud | A0 → A1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 🤝 Tu vs Vous | The decision map plus the switching phrases | A1 → B1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 🎬 Passé composé vs imparfait | The photo-or-film method, triggers and drills | A2 → B1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 🗣️ Pronunciation Sounds | Nasals, the French u and r, liaison, rhythm | A1 → B1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| ✉️ French Email Templates | Eight ready-to-adapt emails, préfecture to friends | B1 | Free PDF | Get it free → |
| 📚 Learning Center | 117 free guides on grammar, culture, expat life | All | Free hub | Browse → |
Practise. Prepare. Settle in.
Need more than a cheat sheet?
Choose the one you need.
Each guide is sold separately.
The French Gamebook
Play a round with Margaux. Spot a mistake, check the answer and try for a better score.
300 pages · 2,000 questions
Play on your computer or print
Instant PDF download
DELF B1 Adventure
Open your six-month plan. Tackle a mission, practise speaking and writing, then check your progress.
26 missions · A2 foundations → B1
Interactive + Print A4 included
Instant PDF download
Long-Stay Visa Pack
Choose your route, organise the documents and understand the French used in requests. For US citizens.
For US citizens · about 170 pages
Fillable and printable PDF
Instant PDF download
Your First 90 Days
Practise the conversation before the viewing, the bank appointment or the call you need to make.
30 situations · about 180 pages per edition
Interactive + Print A4 included
Instant PDF download
Most people learning French as adults don’t have a content problem. They have a focus problem. There are millions of YouTube tutorials, hundreds of apps, dozens of Reddit threads, and exactly zero clarity. Every week you start a new method, abandon it on day three, and feel guilty about it on day four. That’s the cycle. The best way to learn French for English speakers isn’t another download. It’s a clean shape for the next ninety days.
This page exists to do one thing: narrow your choices. There’s a quiz to estimate your starting level. There are two structured plans, a four-week beginner plan and an eight-week elementary plan, written for people who have twenty-five minutes a day and no Sunday-morning marathon energy. There are nine printable resources in one PDF pack because the act of printing something and pinning it to your fridge moves the needle more than another browser tab. And there’s the Learning Center for the days you want to read instead of drill.
Beneath the free side there is exactly one paid thing: the French Gamebook, an interactive PDF to play on your computer or print. That is the whole catalogue. The free resources here are genuinely enough to take an English-speaking adult from zero to A2, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
One last thing. A lot of beginners get stuck early because they fight the wrong battles. They memorise vocabulary lists no one uses. They argue with grammar rules instead of absorbing them. Learning how to think in French and stop translating is the real unlock, and it doesn’t happen by reading more rules. It happens by doing fewer things, every day, for longer than you’d like.
Top 3 free starters
If you only do three things on this page, do these.The Level Quiz
Best for: finding out where you actually stand.
Twenty questions, instant CEFR score, one plan picked for you. The fastest way to stop guessing whether you’re an A1 or an A2 and start studying the right thing.La Rédaction
Start the quiz →A four-week beginner plan
Best for: total beginners who want a clear shape.
Twenty-five minutes a day, five days a week. Greetings and numbers in week one, the three core verbs in week two, then asking questions and ordering food. Practise a short conversation in week four.La Rédaction
Open the plan →A1 Foundations cheatsheet
Best for: one printable to use every day.
Must-know phrases, grammar anchors, pronunciation cues, and a minimal daily routine. The single sheet of paper successful learners pin to their wall and look at every morning.La Rédaction
Get it free →🗓️ Study plans · A0 to A2
Each plan gives you specific weekly goals you can actually finish. Twenty-five minutes a day, five days a week. If a week feels heavy, reduce the daily time but keep the streak. Repetition beats intensity, every time.
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A four-week beginner plan
For absolute beginners.
Start from zero with greetings, core verbs (être, avoir, aller), and the simple questions you’ll actually use. By week four, you’ll introduce yourself, order food, and ask for directions without freezing.
🐭 Take the Quiz firstWeek 1: greetings, numbers, basic introduction phrasesWeek 2: the three foundational verbs (être, avoir, aller)Week 3: asking questions, following directions, ordering foodWeek 4: review, plus your first real conversation practice -
A1 to A2, in eight weeks
For confirmed beginners ready to push.
Build real beginner fluency through practical themes: food, the city, family, hobbies, and past events. By week eight, you’ll hold short conversations, follow simple podcasts, and write basic emails.
🐭 Take the Quiz firstWeeks 1 – 2: past tense, daily routinesWeeks 3 – 4: food vocabulary, shopping, comparativesWeeks 5 – 6: travel essentials, directions, city lifeWeeks 7 – 8: review, conversation scenarios, mini exam
📄 Cheatsheets · printable PDFs
Pick one. Just one. Print it or save it to your phone home screen. Say the examples out loud every day for a full week. Then move to the next one. The act of looking at the same sheet daily beats any new app you’d download in its place.
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Present Tense, essential verbs
Conjugation tables for the 15 most frequent verbs, plus short drills you can say while making your morning coffee. Covers être, avoir, aller, faire, and the verbs you’ll use most.
Get it free → -
Articles, gender & agreement
Simple rules with clean visuals and quick self-checks. When to use le, la, les, un, une, des, and why French adjectives change their endings.
Get it free → -
A1 Foundations, the quick-start map
Must-know phrases, core grammar anchors, pronunciation cues, and a minimal daily routine. One sheet to pin on the wall and read every morning.
Get it free → -
Numbers, dates & time
Zéro to quatre-vingt-dix-neuf without tears: the 70/80/90 logic explained, dates, prices, phone numbers read in pairs, and the 24-hour clock France actually runs on.
Get it free → -
100 survival phrases
Ten situations, ten phrases each: café, directions, shopping, trains, pharmacy, small talk. Learn one section a day out loud and survive France politely in ten days.
Get it free → -
Tu or vous? The decision map
The 10-second verdict for fifteen real situations, the phrases to switch registers gracefully, and the traps that out you as a foreigner. When in doubt: vous.
Get it free → -
Passé composé vs imparfait
The photo-or-film method: trigger words that decide 90% of cases, twelve example pairs to read out loud, the être club, and a self-test with answers.
Get it free → -
Pronunciation: the missing sounds
The French u, the nasals, the soft r, silent letters (the CaReFuL rule), the five liaison rules, and the flat rhythm that instantly makes you sound more French.
Get it free → -
French email templates
Eight ready-to-adapt emails: asking for information, chasing the préfecture, booking, cancelling, landlord problems, job applications. Plus the sign-off ladder.
Get it free →
How to actually use this page
One quiz, one plan, one cheatsheet. Don’t open three tabs. The Level Quiz tells you which plan to follow, the plan tells you which cheatsheet to use, the cheatsheet tells you what to say out loud today. Anything more is procrastination dressed up as preparation.
Daily beats binge. Try a short, regular session that fits your week. Revisit yesterday’s examples, practise one new point and say a few sentences aloud. Adjust the duration so the routine is sustainable.
Print the PDF. Pin it on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, or beside your laptop. Every glance is a free three-second review. You don’t need to formally study a cheatsheet. You need to walk past it twenty times a day for two weeks.
Don’t switch plans mid-stream. The most common failure pattern we see is starting the A0 to A1 plan, hitting week two, deciding it’s “not enough”, and jumping to a new app. Finish the four weeks. Then decide. A realistic French timeline is measured in months, not weeks.
One short article a day. If you have ten extra minutes, open the Learning Center and read one piece. Don’t take notes. Don’t translate. Just read. French pronunciation and listening habits, false friends to avoid, untranslatable French words: pick one, read once, move on.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first to learn French?
I am just traveling to Paris. Where do I start?
How many resources do I really need?
Can I print the PDF cheatsheets?
How long does it take to reach A1 or A2?
Which exam should I prepare for, TCF or DELF?
Still on the fence? Take the Level Quiz.
Have five minutes? Try the quiz for a starting-level estimate. Then choose one plan and one reference sheet that match what you want to practise. Return to the result after some study to decide what needs more work.
🐭 Start the Level Quiz → Updated September 2026 by La Rédaction. Free, no account needed.Keep your French moving.
The books we actually recommend, plus every other way to get your daily dose of real French.
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Fluent Forever
Our book
Stop Making These 21 French Mistakes
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