Sunday, March 23rd
2025 French Lesson Reviews
Ouino
- More than 450 French lessons
- More than 1,300 exercises
- Limited free version
- Take lessons in the order you like
If you want all the nuts and bolts to learning French, such as vocabulary and grammar lessons, lots of flashcard practice, listening to dialogs, writing and speaking practice, it's there with Ouino. But just like actual nuts and bolts, unless you want to delve into the workings of French with these lessons, it's just not much fun. Ouino is pretty old-school in its methodology - which works for some learners but not for others.
Study lessons that you want to study
If you've taken language lessons in a formal setting such as a classroom, there's a syllabus and the material goes in a certain order, whether you want to study a certain unit or not. Ouino, however, lets you choose the lessons you want to study in the order you want to study them. If you want to take a look back at what you've done and how well, choose the "progress and achievements” tool.
There's not much for free
Ouino offers quite a bit with their paid memberships. There's not enough in their free lessons to learn much. But just like test-driving a car, it's enough to give you a feel for how Ouino works. If you still need more experience to decide if you like it, you can purchase a membership and be sure to decide before the 30-day period ends.
Membership choices
There are 2 memberships available with Ouino:
- Limited membership
- 30-day satisfaction guarantee
- 450+ lessons
- 1,300+ exercises
- No ads
- Multiple devices and cloud sync
- Lifetime membership adds:
- 60-day satisfaction guarantee
- Personal language mentoring
- Free lifetime upgrades
You help your own pronunciation
There's a voice-recognition program, which means that Ouino will record your voice and you can hear the playback. In the context of the lesson, you will listen to your own voice next to that of the native speaker; then you judge yourself and can re-record if you want to try for improvement. Ouino doesn't have the capabilities to understand your voice and give feedback, where other online courses we've recommended can.
Costs
What can you expect to pay for Ouino? Here's the pricing for their plans:
- 3 months for $38.97 ($12.99 per month)
- 6 months for $59.94 ($9.99 per month)
- 12-months for $83.88 ($6.99 per month)
- Lifetime access for a one-time payment of $95.76
30- or 60-day money-back guarantee
Contact Ouino within 30 days, or 60 days with a lifetime membership, and Ouino will refund your payment, no questions asked.
Grammar lessons
There are building blocks where Ouino teaches you grammar and other French language structures. You'll hear the explanation, see sample sentences in blue where the grammar or structure is in red. They'll show you several samples to help and to build your confidence before you begin the exercises. The explanations are in English.
Practice
You can practice writing or speaking activities to test your knowledge, even if you haven't watched the grammar or vocab lessons. Maybe use these as a pre-test as well as a post-learning test. Once you complete the written activity, you might choose to practice again the words you missed the first time. Continue this as many times as you need to feel comfortable with these words.
Dialogs or conversations
You'll hear dialogs, or "conversations” as Ouino calls them. As they speak, you'll see both the French and the English written out for you. You can then practice the phrases. They'll say a phrase based on what you've learned and you choose the correct indication of what they've said.
There's even more practice, if you like
In the section of "extra language practice,” you can choose more listening, speaking, reading, writing, and memory - AKA flashcards - exercises.
It falls short
With Ouino, you have what you need to learn French. There are vocabulary and grammar lessons, dialogs to listen to, enough practice to improve all your skills, and a reasonable price. It's just not enough. The audio technology basically does what your device does: records your voice. It's up to you to compare it and judge it next to that of a native speaker. The lessons are good, but frankly, we got a little bored. When it comes to learning a new skill and being motivated to keep up with the lessons, Ouino just falls behind some of today's more novel French lesson platforms.
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When we think of someone speaking French, we think soothing and seductive, as it's simply dreamy to hear. We think of the romance of Paris with the Eiffel Tower, of Southern France with the rolling lavender fields, of the Alps with the snow-capped mountains, of the coast with the warm sandy beaches. And of course there's the decadent French food and wine.
Learning French allows you to more fully enjoy French culture. When you learn French, it opens the door to learning phrases that the French speakers use in conversation, manners and mannerisms, how the French live and interact in everyday situations, and perhaps gaining an appreciation and insight into their art and history. There are so many doors to be unlocked once you take the first step.
French Lesson FAQ
Continued from above...
Naturally, when we think French we think of France. Yet French is actually a global language and the official language of 29 countries, so you can practice your French language skills in more than one place. French is also a heritage language in all or part of Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, and even the US - like Louisiana.
Picking up the French language may be easier than you might think. Some of us are intimidated by the unusual sounds and the silent letters, but did you know that there are many words that look like English? We'll bet you know these French words: table, responsable, ambiance, brilliance. There are about 1,700 words in French that look like the English word, so there's a good start.
When choosing among the several options for online French lessons, here are some things to consider:
- Free trial. Look to see if there's a chance to try out the lessons before you buy them to see if this is how you want to learn and to see if you'll stay motivated. Most options include at least a free trial, and some have free access to a limited amount of lessons so you might be able to get all of what you want for free.
- How they teach. Today there is such a variety of teaching methods in the various online French lesson companies. You can learn individual words with flashcards first and then build to speaking or reading. Some teach by where you hear conversational phrases and build on those. Some build their lessons around grammar and vocabulary while others don't teach grammar specifically - you'll innately catch on the more you practice. Some cut to the chase like textbooks and some use AR and VR to keep you hooked and motivated.
- How much French you may already know. If you're a beginner, the French lesson world is your oyster - there's so much for you to choose from. If you are at the advanced level and want to polish your skills, most online programs don't teach to your level; though there are a few that could work for you.
- Your budget. There are some programs where you should be able to get quite a bit of practice for free. Others have a reasonable cost. Some have options for you to have a one-on-one instructor, and those will cost a bit more.
- One-time purchase or monthly subscription. There's the good, old fashioned way of purchasing a course, and that's where you keep the lessons, learning at your own pace, guilt-free if you need to take a long break. The subscription method is where you pay per month or year to use the product and it automatically renews at the end of that subscription time. You'll be motivated to not take a long hiatus from lessons if you know that your subscription auto renews whether you use it or not.
- Satisfaction guarantee. Most have a period of time where you can try out the courses to know if you really like them and want to continue. If you're not happy within that time, simply ask for a full refund
Top Consumer Reviews has researched and ranked the most popular French courses available today, to make it easy for you to choose how you'll want to learn French. Whether you're thinking of learning French for the first time or brushing up on what you may have taken in high school, now is a great time to learn French online as there are such a variety of French lesson programs out there. We're sure you'll find at least one that you'd like to try.
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