What is the Duolingo French Podcast?

The Duolingo French Podcast is the first of its kind for French learners. Each episode features a fascinating, true story told in easy-to-understand French by a native speaker, along with narration from an English-speaking host throughout. The idea is to use compelling storytelling to help learners improve their listening comprehension while hearing and learning from people who represent the diversity of French speakers globally. Our first episode will focus on the story of Mahmoud M’Seddi, ​the son of Tunisian immigrants who was the ​youngest-ever winner​ of France’s Grand Prize for Best Parisian Baguette in 2018. Future episodes will feature stories from Cameroon, Réunion Island, Martinique and more.

Why is Duolingo launching a French Podcast?

In December 2017, we launched the ​Duolingo Spanish Podcast,​ ​which has since gotten 13M total downloads across 4 seasons, and has been the #1 Education podcast on Apple Podcasts. Given the great success of the Spanish Podcast, as well as the numerous requests we received for podcasts in additional languages, we are now looking forward to bringing this experience to French learners.

The hardest thing about learning a new language is staying motivated. Compelling stories have the ability to grip our attention and keep us coming back for more. That experience will enable language learners to persevere and improve their listening comprehension throughout their daily lives (commuting, exercising, etc). The Duolingo French Podcast​ ​also allows us to teach more intermediate and advanced language learners, like those who have completed some or all of the Duolingo French course. Our mission is to make education accessible to everyone, and this podcast will extend our offering of high-quality educational content.

How will this podcast help you learn French?

The podcast features slow, easy-to-understand French. An English-speaking narrator interjects strategically to help listeners stay onboard without struggling. The vocabulary used in these stories is mapped to the ​CEFR​ and is consistent with the abilities of an intermediate French learner.

How is this different from other language-learning podcasts?

These are not language lessons, they’re heartfelt and interesting true stories that break down stereotypes and represent a diverse array of voices. Rather than focusing on grammar and vocabulary lessons, this podcast aligns with the Duolingo philosophy in that it provides language learners with a fun, easy way to improve their listening comprehension.

Who is the target audience for this podcast?

The podcast is primarily designed for English speakers learning French. However, since it’s fully bilingual, it can also be useful for French speakers learning English. The focus is on telling great stories, rather than teaching, so the podcast is meant to be entertaining for any bilingual listener. There are over 20M people actively learning French with Duolingo who can benefit from having this free learning resource.

Who is the host of the podcast?

The Duolingo French Podcast is hosted by ​Ngofeen Mputubwele​ (​ngo-FEN mpù-tù-BWEH-leh​), a journalist, lawyer, and podcast producer based in New York City. The podcast is a production of Duolingo and ​Adonde Media​, who also partner with us on the Duolingo Spanish Podcast.

Where will the podcast be available?

The podcast is available at podcast.duolingo.com. Episodes (six in total for Season 1) will be released weekly, starting on June 18, 2019 and can be found on platforms including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, and Stitcher.