Learn French With AI: Ten Tips To Master French With Chatbots

As most people are aware, artificial intelligence is a hot topic right now, and the tech behind it is advancing at lightning pace.

Indeed, between creating art, making music, writing articles and simply chatting realistically, we find ourselves constantly being amazed by what AI already seems capable of.

It will also have occurred to many people that AI has huge potential as a tool for learning French. So to give you a few ideas about how to use it, in this post, I look at some of the best ways to learn French with AI.

Below, I’ll be mentioning three of the AIs I’m most familiar with, Langua, TalkPal and ChatGPT, – the former two being AIs specifically designed to help with learning languages. However, most of what I talk about here will be relevant to other AIs too.

So now let’s jump in and look at 10 ways to learn French with AI.

A Quick Note About Different AI Tools

While you can use a chatbot like ChatGPT for language learning, you'll learn French with AI more effectively if you use a dedicated language learning AI such as Langua, particularly when it comes to speaking French.

Unlike a generic chatbot which you have to spend time prompting, Langua is designed for conversation, with dozens of options – from role plays, to debates, to interesting topics, to practicing your saved vocabulary.

Langua also corrects your French speaking and you have options for how you'd like to receive those corrections. You can receive them via the voice reply if you like. Otherwise, you can opt to see corrections, alternatives and explanations via text.

Langua isn't just AI chat either – it also uses AI to quickly generate interactive transcripts for podcasts and videos.

If you do want to use ChatGPT, Claude or other generic chatbots for language learning, you of course can. But be aware that the voice mode on ChatGPT is:

• very buggy
• doesn't sound native
• doesn't show text as you listen
• doesn't correct you unless you ask it to

So while you will see suggestions in this list on how to use generic AI tools, for best results when learning French with AI, stick to platforms like Langua.

1. Chat In French With Chatbots

One of the most obvious ways to learn French with AI is as a virtual language partner simply to chat with, so let’s start by looking at this in detail.

Although chatting with real people is a great way to improve your spoken French, using AI actually has certain advantages over conversing with a human language partner.

For example, with AI, you can chat whenever you want and for however long you want. You don’t need to worry about the other person’s schedule, and you don’t even have to speak English half the time as part of the exchange. With AI, you can speak French 100% of the time!

What's more, since you’re not speaking to a real person, there’s none of the pressure, anxiety or stress that can sometimes come with speaking to a native.

This means many people will feel more at ease practising with an AI first before they move on to speaking French in real situations.

In addition, if you use a tool like Langua, the AI can provide instant and detailed feedback on your mistakes while giving you suggestions for improving your French.

As a result, even if this is the only thing you try, just chatting with AI is an excellent way to improve many aspects of your French. Here are some of the main areas it can help with.

• Fluency

Just the simple act of speaking helps improve fluency. You don’t always need somebody to correct you as you speak, and it doesn’t matter if you just speak to your pets or even to yourself in French – it’s all good practice.

That said, speaking to something that can “understand” what you say and respond is far more gratifying than talking to animals or inanimate objects. And this is something AI is particularly good at.

With Langua you can use auto-record and auto-send options so you can chat without pressing buttons – convenient for talking while on the go or doing other things. You can also go back to any conversation and continue where you left off.

More importantly, Langua lets you choose the type of conversation you want to have, from role-plays to debates, so that the chatbot isn't just asking you the same repetitive questions.

By downloading the ChatGPT app onto your phone, you can have hands-free spoken conversations with the AI, which will quickly level-up your fluency in French.

Alternatively, if you use Talkpal, you can also speak to different fictional or historical characters to broaden the scope of your conversations, something I particularly like.

• Listening comprehension

When using AIs like Langua, ChatGPT, or Talkpal, you can choose to receive spoken responses in French, which will also help with your listening ability.

With AIs like Talkpal, you can also adjust the level and speed of the French to make sure you understand enough of what is being said.

You can then go back and check the text of the conversation later, listening back to any bits you missed to further enhance your listening ability.

• Vocab – new and recycled

One of the biggest challenges when learning a language is picking up enough vocabulary to be able to engage in conversation and then not forgetting the words before you need them again.

Regularly using your French – for example, by speaking with real people or an AI or by reading – facilitates word retention since daily practice ensures that vocab is constantly recycled, helping fix it in your long-term memory.

At the same time, you will also be exposed to new vocabulary items in context, helping you remember the new words you meet. With AI, you can then check the transcript after the conversation to extract any useful new words you encounter.

Many people think they can’t learn a language because they have a “bad memory”. This is not true, however, because language learning is not about “memorising” lists of words.

Rather, it’s about practising enough for words to stick, and this is something chatting with AI can help with enormously.

And some AIs go further! The vocabulary saved whilst chatting on Langua is integrated with spaced repetition flashcard exercises, or you can generate short stories that use your saved words. There's also a chat mode in which the AI will integrate your saved vocab into the conversation.

• Corrections and feedback

In terms of corrections and feedback, chatting with an AI can sometimes be more useful than chatting with a language partner or even a professional tutor because AI can monitor your language and give you instantaneous feedback on it. 

For example, Langua generates a report after each conversation with the AI, giving you corrections on any errors you made along with suggestions for how to make your sentences sound more natural.

This is something you won’t get from a regular human language partner – detailed feedback like this is usually only possible when working with an experienced one-to-one tutor, something that will probably cost a lot of money!

2. Get AI To Role Play Specific Situations

As well as just for general chat, you can also use learn French with AI by practising French in different real-life situations.

For example, even just using the free version of ChatGPT, you can set up role-plays to practise things like booking into a hotel, ordering food, going to the post office, taking a taxi or just about anything else you can imagine. Just tell it what you want to do and start practising!

I tried this with ChatGPT, but for a more realistic experience, I’d recommend using dedicated language-learning AIs like Langua or Talkpal.

Both of these offer different role-play situations for you to practise, so, for example, you could run through some of the different scenarios you’re likely to find yourself in before heading off on a trip to France.

A second option is for you to set up a debate (also available as an option on Langua) and then practise arguing your point with an AI, which is another great way of testing your language skills and pushing yourself to improve.

3. Use AI To Evaluate Your French Writing

Although AI is particularly useful for practising French speaking and listening, there’s a lot more it can help with besides. One area is writing – because after finishing a written composition, you can give it to an AI and ask for feedback.

If you want to write something creative or need to practise composing emails in French, you can simply feed your finished text into ChatGPT, and it will evaluate your work and offer you suggestions on how to improve.

For example, it might give you feedback on the correct use of French tenses – like using the past historic tense when writing a story rather than the perfect tense – and it can also offer suggestions for more creative or advanced French vocabulary to use.

With a letter or formal communication such as a work email, AIs like ChatGPT can also offer feedback on the appropriate use of language in your writing. 

This will then help you become familiar with the specific expressions and forms of address used in such communication.

4. Create French Listening Or Reading Material With AI

Although there’s already an almost unlimited amount of resources for learning French, you can also use AI to generate material tailored specifically to your needs.

Extensive reading of material at just the right level is one of the best ways of improving your ability in a language (it's what the StoryLearning method is all about). You can ask an AI such as ChatGPT to generate a French text for you on any subject you’re interested in.

You can even tell it which level of French to use. So for example, you can use a prompt like “give me a 500-word love story in B2 level French set in the south of France”. 

The AI will then generate the story, and you can either read it or listen to it – or both.

If you want to learn specific vocabulary about a particular topic, you can also incorporate this into your prompt by telling the AI to make the story about “fishing”, “clothes shopping” or “working in a restaurant”, for example – whatever interests you.

The story will then include relevant vocab for your chosen topic. To take this process further, Langua lets you turn saved French vocabulary from your conversations into stories. That way you can be sure that it's relevant.

5. Get Chatbots To Create French Vocab Lists

Something else I’ve experimented with is using AI to generate word lists relevant to different topics.

For example, I asked ChatGPT to generate a list of 30 common French vocabulary items related to cooking.

This could be used as a way of approaching a new topic. After scanning the words on the list, you could then ask the AI to generate a story about cooking that incorporates the new words. Or you could ask for a recipe to try as a way to help you consolidate the new vocab.

Similar ideas would be to generate a list of words like this before watching a TV show about a particular topic – for example, a cookery programme.

If you need French for your work, you might also do something similar to generate a list of words related to your job that are likely to come up during a meeting with a French client.

6. Ask ChatGPT For Explanations About French Vocabulary

When you’re not sure how to say something, the obvious thing is to look in a French dictionary.

However, dictionaries sometimes give you different words to choose from without telling you which one is the most natural option to use.

For example, laid and moche both mean “ugly”, but while the former is what you’re likely to find in vocabulary lists, the latter is more common in normal, informal conversation – something that AI can help you understand if you’re not sure.

When you look words up in a dictionary, you might also not have the context to use the word properly in a sentence. And this is another way you can learn French with AI.

For example, you might have a doubt about quand and lorsque (both meaning “when” but with slightly different usages), and an AI can help by giving you an explanation with examples.

Give it a go and see what the AI says – I found the explanation from ChatGPT very clear and easy to understand!

Finally, you can also ask for synonyms – with example sentences – something that will help build your vocabulary while improving your writing skills by allowing you to employ more interesting words.

7. Ask AI For French Grammar Explanations With Examples

Another useful tactic to learn French with AI is getting it to explain French grammar you’re not sure about. 

For example, let’s imagine you’re having trouble distinguishing between the French past tenses – perfect and imperfect.

Of course, you can check your regular textbook or grammar book – but you could also try asking AI for an explanation. 

An AI like ChatGPT or a dedicated AI for language learning will be able to explain the grammar, backing it up with examples. 

If you’re still not sure, you can ask the AI follow-up questions to check your understanding, something you can’t do if you’re left confused by an explanation in your textbook. And you can also give the AI example sentences to see if you can use the grammar correctly.

8. Generate French Exercises And Tests With AI

If you ask an AI to help you with a French grammar point or vocab problem, you can then ask the AI to generate a test to check your understanding.

For example, if you’re having trouble conjugating irregular French verbs, you might ask the AI to create an exercise to help you practise this.

Alternatively, you could simply ask for a random vocab or grammar test applicable to your level of French to see how you’re progressing.

You can specify the parameters – for example, you can ask for a 10-question multiple-choice grammar quiz for A2 level.

This kind of thing can be useful for checking your level or for identifying any weak areas you need to work on.

9. Prepare For French Exams With AI

If you’re preparing for an exam, AI can help you with that too, and here are a couple of suggestions for things to try.

If you’re thinking of taking, say, the B2 exam in French, before you decide to pay for exam preparation classes and the exam itself, you might want to know if your French is good enough for you to sit the exam.

To check, you can ask the AI to prepare a mini-test based on the exam you want to take. Then, according to the results, you can decide whether you have the level of French required to take the exam or if you need to study more first.

You can also get the AI to generate mock exams for you to try – either complete exams or just the specific parts you need to practise – so you can try a few tests at home before you do the real thing.

For example, you might be planning to sit the DELF B2 exam (DELF is the official French exam set by the French government). 

If you decide you need more practice on the reading comprehension part, you can ask the AI to generate some DELF-style reading comprehension tests for you to try.

Once you complete a test or mock exam, you can then even ask the AI to mark it for you and give you feedback.

Of course, it might not be a good idea to completely replace a professional tutor with AI because human tutors can still give you invaluable, accurate exam advice that an AI might not be able to offer.

However, since it’s cheap or even free to use, spending some additional time studying with AI can only improve your chances of performing to your best when you sit the exam for real.

10. Get French Learning Tips And Resource Suggestions From AI

A final way to learn French with AI is to ask what other ideas it has. You can tell the AI what you want to study and what your learning goals are, and it may be able to give you further suggestions or material to work with according to your needs.

This way, the AI may be able to help you find new reading material, podcasts or other study resources in French relevant to your level and goals.

Simply tell the AI your level and what you hope to achieve in French, and it will be able to generate a list of things for you to try, some of which might not have occurred to you before.

You can then take things further and follow up with the AI, perhaps by discussing a text it recommended for you to read, generating comprehension tests, testing new vocabulary you’ve just learnt or many other similar ideas.

Just be creative and try whatever comes to mind because AI is an incredibly powerful and flexible tool!

FAQs About Learning French With AI

Learn French With AI: Keep Experimenting

In this post, I’ve listed a few of the best ways I’ve found for learning French with AI.

However, this list is far from exhaustive, and I’m sure you’ll be able to think of other useful and original ways to use AI for learning French.

The key is to understand what works best for you – and then to combine these new learning techniques with all the other materials you already use to ensure you are receiving exposure to French in the most diverse range of contexts possible.