Podcast
French Shadow Daily
A new French lesson every day for English speakers, made for listening with no screen: graded stories to shadow, grammar taken apart, survival French for the boulangerie, the métro and the pharmacie, listening quizzes, a café chat between a learner and a native French speaker, a weekly audio drama and slow French news. Every episode is graded to a CEFR level (A1 to C2) and leaves you pauses to speak out loud.
Want to see the words as well as hear them? Every kind of lesson here has an illustrated video version on our YouTube channel, with the French and English on screen, for every level from A1 to C2.
Subscribe in any podcast app with the feed: https://www.mandarinshadow.app/podcast/fr/feed.xml
Every day of the week
Sunday
Slow French News
this week's news from France and the French-speaking world in simple French
Monday
French Story Time
a graded French story to listen to and repeat
Tuesday
French Grammar in Focus
one grammar point, taken apart and practised
Wednesday
Survival French
the phrases for one real situation in France
Thursday
French Listening Quiz
a listening quiz with spoken choices
Friday
French Café Chat
an English learner and a native French speaker chat about one topic
Saturday
French Audio Drama
a graded French audio serial, a new episode each week
About one day in five, the day's show is a Learning Burst: a dense five-minute lesson: words, one grammar point, a shadowing drill and quick-fire recall.
Latest episodes
2026-11-09 · 4:52
Learning Burst (A1): Splitting the Bill with Friends On partage l’addition
Practise splitting the bill with friends in French, with today's word of the day tu, and learn regular -er verbs in the present tense.
2026-11-07 · 10:37
French Audio Drama: The Open Window, Part 3 (A2): Splitting the Bill in Brussels L’addition
Continues from Part 2: The Video Call to Brussels. Julien and Camille split a restaurant bill in Brussels and argue about who ate what. You will practise the partitive du, de la, des (some cheese, some soup, some fries) and get a level ladder for "That's expensive".
2026-11-05 · 5:28
Learning Burst (A1): Trying On Clothes J’essaie une veste
Practise words for buying and trying on clothes, plus être and avoir in the present: je suis, j'ai, c'est, il a.
2026-11-03 · 13:04
Basics 2 (below A1): The French Vowels Les voyelles
You'll practise the pure French vowels, the sounds in summer and father, and the key difference between the round-lipped u and the oo sound. Along the way you'll learn four new words: you, where, summer and father.
2026-11-02 · 13:55
French Listening Quiz (A2): Listening Quiz: Setting Up a New Phone Quiz d’écoute : un nouveau téléphone
Test your ear with short French sentences about setting up a new phone, from passwords and buttons to messages from work and family. Along the way you'll learn il faut + infinitive, the French way to say what you have to do.
2026-10-31 · 11:08
French Audio Drama: The Open Window, Part 2 (A2): The Video Call to Brussels L’appel vidéo
Continues from Part 1: The Blue Envelope. Camille video-calls Julien at his internship in Brussels, and the secret about the rent money starts to come out. You'll practise comparisons with plus … que and moins … que, plus phone-call phrases, prices and weather words.
2026-10-30 · 11:18
French Café Chat (A2): Joining a Hobby Club Rejoindre un club
Chat about joining a music, sport or painting club in France, and practise comparisons with plus … que and moins … que. You'll also climb a ladder of ways to say "never mind".
2026-10-29 · 13:18
French Listening Quiz (A2): Listening Quiz: Bus, Metro and City Life Quiz d’écoute : bus, métro et vie en ville
Listen to short French sentences about taking the bus and metro, city buildings, and health and free time, then pick the right meaning from three choices. You will also learn the object pronouns le, la, lui and leur.
2026-10-28 · 9:39
Survival French (A1): Survival French on a Mountain Hike En randonnée à la montagne
Practise the key phrases for a mountain hike: asking the way to a refuge, saying you are cold or tired, and ordering a hot drink, plus être and avoir in the present.
2026-10-27 · 14:23
Basics 1 (below A1): How French Works Le français, c’est quoi ?
Your very first French lesson: how French letters and sounds fit together, how French rhythm works, and your first four words: hello, thank you, yes and no.
2026-10-27 · 13:18
French Story Time (B1): A Really Bad Day in Geneva Une journée vraiment nulle
Listen to a short B1 story about Awa, a young Senegalese professional in Geneva, telling her flatmate about a terrible day. You'll practise the imparfait versus the passé composé, and words for feelings, moving house and everyday trouble.
2026-10-26 · 18:13
French Story Time (A1): Lost in Lyon: Asking the Way Perdue à Lyon
Follow a young Swiss woman who has just moved to a new city as she asks an older Canadian gentleman for directions to a restaurant. You will repeat every sentence of the story and learn the two key verbs to be and to have in the present tense.
2026-10-25 · 15:40
Slow French News (A2 & B1): The 2027 Tour de France Route Revealed Le Tour de France 2027
Practise B1 French by following this week's news: the 2027 Tour de France route, from Scotland to the Champs-Élysées. You will repeat each sentence out loud and learn the key words.
2026-10-24 · 7:56
French Audio Drama: The Open Window, Part 1 (A2): The Blue Envelope L’enveloppe bleue
Part 1 begins the story. Meet Camille and Julien, two flatmates in Lyon, and practise the passé composé, il faut, comparisons and everyday questions in a small mystery about missing rent money.
2026-10-24 · 9:52
French Listening Quiz (A2): Listening Quiz: Work, Money and Getting Around Quiz d’écoute : la vie en ville
You will practise understanding short spoken French sentences about work, money, transport and weekend plans. Choose the right meaning from three spoken options, then repeat the hardest sentences out loud.
2026-10-23 · 9:09
French Café Chat (A2): Coffee Orders and Saying Hello with la Bise Le café et la bise
Practise ordering at a café, greeting friends, and chatting about your weekend in simple French. You will also learn about la bise and tu versus vous.
2026-10-23 · 6:46
Survival French (B1): Getting Help at the Pharmacy À la pharmacie
You will learn the phrases to explain a small health problem and ask for medicine at a French pharmacy. Then you will practise a role play with the pharmacist and learn what you will hear.
2026-10-22 · 11:47
French Listening Quiz (A1): Listening Quiz: Food, Family and Daily Life Quiz d’écoute : Les choses du quotidien
Test your ear with a fast listening quiz at A1 level. You will hear short French sentences, pick the right English meaning, and say key phrases out loud.
2026-10-22 · 8:30
French Grammar in Focus (A2): Talking About the Past with Être Le passé avec être
Learn which French verbs build the past with the verb to be, and how the ending changes to match the person. You will practise going, coming, arriving and leaving out loud.
2026-10-21 · 8:51
Survival French (A2): Buying Bread at the Boulangerie À la boulangerie
Practise the polite phrases you need to buy bread and croissants in a French bakery, then rehearse a full role play with the baker. You will also learn to understand what the baker says to you.
2026-10-20 · 8:09
French Grammar in Focus (A1): Saying No with ne… pas La négation avec ne… pas
Learn how to make a French sentence negative with ne… pas, using regular -er verbs, être, avoir and aller. You will repeat a dozen examples and finish with a quick practice round.
2026-10-19 · 12:06
French Story Time (A1): A Morning at the Market Une journée au marché
Listen to and repeat a simple story about Léa buying food at the market with her grandfather. You will practise greetings, food words, je voudrais, il y a and adjectives.