Frequently asked questions

I want to learn French

Taking the online French class: 

How do I enrol myself?
Do the classes exist on CD or in booklet form?
What level are the French classes?
How can I listen to the French classes in my language?

Improving oral comprehension:

- The news in simple French and the spotlight of the day
Where can I find yesterday’s news bulletin along with the transcript?
When are the spotlight of the day exercises updated?
How can I find all the exercises?
Where can I find the spotlight of the day’s transcript?

- Audio exercises
How do I print the exercises?
How do I find the audio exercises?
How do I find the transcript?
How can I find out my score?

- The TCF
How can I prepare myself for the TCF?
What level are the RFI tests?
Where can I find more TCF training exercises?

Develop your oral and written vocabulary:

How can I improve my vocabulary?
How can I improve my understanding of the vocabulary used by journalists?
How can I improve my written French?

I teach French

Teaching tools:

How can I use RFI in class?
How should I choose an audio clip?
How do I use the worksheets?
How do I use the audio exercises in class?

Resources:

How can I teach using the radio?
How can I keep up to date with the latest in language and literature and how it is taught?
I want to discover the francophone culture.
I want to know more about France and the French.
I want to work with literary themes.

Technical questions

How do I listen to or download sounds from the website?
How can I use RFI audio clips in class?
What is Podcast? How do I use it?
How can I tune in to RFI where I live?
How can I tune in to RFI in France?

Other questions

Your question has not been answered? Contact us:langue.francaise@rfi.fr

I want to learn French

Taking the online French class: 

How do I enrol myself?
You do not need to enrol. The online French classes are free and available to all non-francophone Web users.

Do the classes exist on CD or in booklet form?
You can listen to the French classes online and download the scripts in PDF format. Once downloaded, you can burn them onto your own CD. If are unable to print the scripts, ask us to mail them to you, indicating the name of the class as well as your name and precise address.
When you have a firm grasp of the fundamentals, head to a bookshop and look for “Comment vont les affaires ?” (published by Hachette); a CD/handbook kit of RFI’s radio series that comes with a teaching guide and an exercise book.

What level are the French classes?
RFI’s "French classes" are radio shows. They provide you with an introduction to French or allow you to perfect what you already know. You can also use them to compliment French classes in other language learning centres. The level we indicate for each class gives an idea of the level of linguistic and cultural content dealt with in the shows.
“Mission Europe” is an introduction to the French language for beginners (level A1); “L’affaire du coffret” is a series aimed at intermediates (levels A1 and A2); “Comment vont les affaires ?” focuses on French in the workplace for beginners and intermediates (A2 and B1).

How can I listen to the French classes in my language?
There are fourteen versions of the French classes, aired in both French and the language of the various RFI foreign language desks (German, English, Cambodian, Chinese, Spanish, Lao, Persian, Polish, African Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, South Slavic languages and Vietnamese).
To hear these classes on the radio, you can find the airing times in the programme guide: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/articles/072/article_401.asp
To find the correct RFI frequency near you, go to “Capter RFI”: http://www.rfi.fr/radiofr/statiques/capterRFI.asp
Listening to the classes on the Internet: the day the show airs, go to the RFI foreign language page where you can select the programme of your choice (for up to 24 hours after broadcast).

Improving oral comprehension:

- The news in simple French and the spotlight of the day

Where can I find yesterday’s news bulletin along with the transcript?
The news in simple French is available online one hour after it airs on the radio. You can listen to the bulletins online for up to 24 hours after broadcast on the “French language” page: http://www.rfi.fr/lfen/statiques/accueil.asp

The 9.30am (GMT) news bulletin comes along its transcript (click on the “read the script” link).

When are the spotlight of the day exercises updated?
Two new editions of the spotlight of the day are put online each week.

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How can I find all the exercises?
You can find all the spotlight of the day exercises in the archives. To open the archives, click on “Spotlight of the day” at the bottom of the main page: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/dynamiques/liste_fait_du_jour_archive.aspx

Where can I find the spotlight of the day’s transcript?
The oral comprehension exercises have been designed in such a manner that you will not require a transcript to be able to respond to the questions. All the same, you can consult the transcript in the answers page (click the “voir les réponses” button at the bottom of the exercise page, then click on “lire la transcription” on the bottom-left).

- Audio exercises

How do I print the exercises?
The exercises are interactive, to be completed online, and thus cannot be printed with all the available options.

How do I find the audio exercises?
You can find all the exercises in “audio exercises” at the bottom of the webpage.
The exercises are free to access, no password required.

How do I find the transcript?
The oral comprehension exercises have been designed in such a manner that you will not require a transcript in order to respond to the questions. All the same, you can consult the transcript in the answers page (click the “voir les réponses” button at the bottom of the exercise page, then click the link “lire la transcription” on the bottom-left).

How can I find out my score?
You can compare your responses to those suggested in the answers page. They are explained with excerpts taken from the audio clip.

- The TCF

How can I prepare myself for the TCF?
Training exercises for the level 5 and 6 oral comprehension test are available in “Apprendre à écouter>TCF” in the left menu bar. Listen to the audio clip and the question that follows, and then respond to the question.

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What level are the RFI tests?
The training exercises for the TCF correspond to the advanced level tests (5 and 6), in other words levels C1 and C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Where can I find more TCF training exercises?
You can find more information about preparing for the TCF at the following address:
http://www.ciep.fr/tcf/preparation.php

Develop your oral and written vocabulary:

How can I improve my vocabulary?
For beginners, the section “Learn French online” offers listening lessons, designed to enrich your vocabulary, with notes and explanations in both your language and in French.

How can I improve my understanding of the vocabulary used by journalists?
For the more advanced, the section “Words in the news" ("Understanding the news>Words in the news”) explains words and expressions used in the news, focusing on etymological roots, synonyms and semantic fields. You can listen and read the transcript online: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/listes/001/liste_abcdaire_mots_de_l_actu_A.asp

How can I improve my written French?
RFI is a radio network. Radio in itself is a training resource for oral comprehension but some audio files also are transcribed on our website. You can use them to check your comprehension after doing the exercises.
Beginners can read scripts of the dialogues from the French class.
The more advanced can read transcripts of news bulletins in basic French, spotlights of the day, listening exercises and the language of news.

I teach French

Teaching tools:

How can I use RFI in class?
You can use the available resources on the “French language” pages, in particular the “fiches pédagogiques” and the “dossiers pour la classe”. You can also use sound clips from RFI’s “French language” or “radio” pages to develop your own classes, or even record radio shows on your home stereo. To make the most of these excerpts, you can find ideas in the “experiences et conseils”.

How should I choose an audio clip?
Firstly, choose a show that will interest your students, or one that corresponds to your teaching and linguistic objectives (theme of show, guests, type of radio show). Then choose a short excerpt from the show (between one and five minutes maximum).
Keep the following advice in mind:
The excerpt must not be too long – it is difficult for students to concentrate for more than a few minutes (depending on the degree of comprehension required, their age and level of French).
The excerpt must retain a sense of the original audio clip’s context (your students will not hear what is said before and after the excerpt, so it must be independently comprehensible).
The excerpt must have a clean, coherent beginning and end: an opening intonation at the beginning of the excerpt and a descending intonation at the end.
For more information, read “Comment choisir un document radiophonique ?” in the “experiences et conseils” section: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/articles/072/article_392.asp

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How do I use the worksheets?
The worksheets are “ready-to-use". You can download and print the text files in PDF format; the audio clips are in MP3 format. Each card offers a class plan for the teacher, a print-out for the students made up of all the necessary documents to complete the activities, an answer sheet and the transcript of the audio clip.
The worksheets are also related to the “dossiers pour la classe”, allowing you to complement the handout with a “ready-to-use” teaching guide.

How do I use the audio exercises in class?
The interactive audio exercises are to be completed online. Currently there is no downloadable format.
If your establishment has a multimedia room, your class can do the listening exercises there. If not they can be assigned as homework.

Resources:

How can I teach using the radio?
You can visit the “experiences et conseils” section to find ideas for teaching with the radio: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/listes/001/liste_experience_et_conseil.asp

How can I keep up to date with the latest in language and literature and how it is taught?
The classroom folders provide you with complete handout on a given theme, accompanied by teaching guides (listening exercises and worksheets).
The “langage actuel” online magazine regularly updated with news articles.

I want to discover the francophone culture.
You can visit the “Francophonies” page in the “Dossiers pour la classe" page: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/pages/001/page_35.asp
We also provide a directory of links to help stay informed on the francophone and multilingual world in the “liens utiles” section at the bottom of the left menu bar:
http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/articles/077/article_782.asp

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I want to work with literary themes.
The “dossiers pour la classe” pages address wide-ranging themes linked to the latest in language and literature. In addition to text and audio, there are also worksheets to help get the best out of these pages in the classroom, as well as listening exercises for practice.

Technical questions

How do I listen to or download sounds from the website?
When you click on “listen” a window opens and the audio plays automatically. You can also download the audio in MP3 format by clicking on the “download” link in the grey rectangle in the bottom-left of the window.

How can I use RFI audio clips in class?
If you have computers in the classroom you can either download the audio clips onto your hard drive or burn them onto CD to play them on any computer.
If you wish to play them on your home stereo CD player, after downloading you must convert the files into CD or .wav format. The required converting software can be downloaded free from the following sites:

Switch Sound File Conversion Software (98/2000/XP et Mac OS X)
http://www.nch.com.au/switch/
http://www.01net.com/telecharger/windows/Multimedia/encodeurs_et_decodeurs/fiches/tele32122.html

GX transcoder  (98/NT/2000/XP)

http://www.germanixsoft.de/

http://www.01net.com/telecharger/windows/Multimedia/encodeurs_et_decodeurs/fiches/30726.html

Media-Convert 

Media-Convert is an online converter.Media-Convert is free to use without subscription. The user does not need to install anything and no specific software is required:

http://media-convert.com/convertir/

What is Podcast? How do I use it?
Podcast allows you to record RFI’s radio shows on your MP3 player or iPod directly from your computer. You can then listen to them as you wish. To listen to a Podcast you need a computer with a fast Internet connection and the relevant software. The iPoder Podcast receiver and iTunes media player can be downloaded at:
http://www.apple.com/fr/itunes/download/
The files are available online.

How can I tune in to RFI where I live?
When in the main “Radio” tab on the RFI website, click on “Capter RFI” at the bottom-right of the page:http://www.rfi.fr/radiofr/statiques/capterRFI.asp
The “Capter RFI” link can be found on the top menu bar of all other pages on the RFI website.

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How can I tune in to RFI in France? 
As the name suggests, Radio France Internationale broadcasts primarily to a francophone audience in France and a non-francophone audience outside France. In France RFI is only broadcast in Paris and the surrounding suburbs (89.0 FM et 738 AM).

I would like to come to France to learn French or deepen my teaching training.
In the section “Informations pratiques>liens utiles”, you will find a list of learning centres for French as a Second Language.

I would like to know about the RFI French language service offer.
Our press release is available in the “Practical information>About us”
Read and download our 2005 brochure in PDF format

I would like to use RFI audio clips for a publication. To whom can I speak?
If you wish to use RFI’s audio clips for a publication (paper or multimedia) or to build an audio database, you must contact the RFI legal department and for each audio clip desired you must specify: the name of the show, the name of the journalist or producer, the name of any guest and the date of the show’s first broadcast. In addition, you must also state how the excerpt will be used: the medium (paper, Internet, CD-ROM…), the number of copies, the required period for the cession of exploitation rights and the broadcast area(s).
Please contact Michelle Ducros: michelle.ducros@rfi.fr

I represent for a radio network who would like to air the RFI classes. How can I order them?
All radio networks may broadcast our French classes if they so wish. To find out more about our offer and the terms and conditions you can visit the page “Broadcast RFI’s French lessons (radio operators)” in the “French lessons” section: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/articles/072/article_401.asp

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