News In Slow French Review: Not Bad But Better Options Exist

  • Lara Scott
    Written by Lara Scott
  • Read time 2 mins
  • Comments 0
A solid French resource that caters better for higher level learners.
News In Slow French Review: Not Bad But Better Options Exist

News In Slow French
News In Slow French
Pricing: $19.90 per month
Positives
  • Easily understood stories that can be sped up or slowed down
  • Translating verbs and unfamiliar words is possible and transcripts are available
  • Cultural references are available throughout the courses
Negatives
  • There is a heavy emphasis on listening and a lack of visual aids
  • More useful for higher levels

Summary

A comprehensive French language learning resource that caters for all levels, but is better for intermediate to advanced. The price is great for the content, but there is more emphasis on listening than having a conversation.

depth
Depth This is 'content' richness. How comprehensive is News In Slow French and does it take you far in terms of levels, or is it more suited to low level/tourist learners?
uniqueness
Uniqueness Is News In Slow French innovative or is it just an imitation? Does it have a unique selling proposition (USP) that makes it stand out among competitors?
quality
Quality Overall product quality indicator that covers everything from video/dialogue clarity, authenticity, explanations, and effectiveness.
cost
Cost Is News In Slow French acceptably priced and how does its pricing compare to market competition?

The News in Slow French course has a cultural emphasis and was designed to make learning the French language simpler.

I took a look at the various features of this French language learning resource to see how it works.

This is what News in Slow French offers.

Features of News in Slow French

With News in Slow French, you’ll be able to access a beginner course, an intermediate course and an advanced course.

Each has a varying level of difficulty.

The main feature of the News in Slow French product is its audios and articles.

The audios are the recorded version of the news articles presented in the text.

On the courses, you’ll also find grammar lessons and quizzes.

There are also different lesson topics such as a lesson on food.

Test your knowledge with a few quizzes

All lessons feature quizzes that will help you test your knowledge.

These are mostly complete the blanks activities that typically require you to conjugate French verbs in the right form.

Record your pronunciation

If you’re just getting started with French pronunciation and think it’s notoriously challenging, you’ll appreciate the pronunciation option.

What you’ll have to do here is record yourself pronouncing a word or phrase that are played in the audio.

This will help you find out whether you’re pronouncing the word correctly.

Flashcards in French

Good language learning platforms feature good resources, such as flashcards.

The News in Slow French platform does feature flashcards, which is a thumbs up.

What I’ll say about these flashcards is they are not well set out.

They are arranged in sections, starting with nouns, moving on to verbs and finally on to sayings and exclamations.

However, none of these different sections is headed.

What’s also a limitation is that they are fewer flashcards, more a listed set of vocabulary in a table.

They don’t have any visual aids, which would help those in the beginner course to remember them.

News in Slow French is a great resource for learning French.

I think it’s well priced and offers a detailed course for all levels.

If you’re a visual learner, the flashcards might seem a little lacklustre.

But by backing up your studies with other resources, you can learn a lot with News in Slow French.

IMO, you might be better off checking out a course like Rocket French or even FrenchPod101 if you’re starting out.


Have you used News In Slow French before?

Share your thoughts below.

🎓 Cite article

Share link Grab the link to this article
Copy Link
See my favorite resources for:
French
Handpicked, reviewed and test-driven
Show Me
Support me by sharing:

Let me help you learn
JOIN THE GUILD:

Donovan Nagel
Donovan Nagel - B. Th, MA AppLing
I'm an Applied Linguistics graduate, teacher and translator with a passion for language learning (especially Arabic).
Currently learning: Greek
Greek

COMMENTS

Comment Policy: I love comments and feedback (positive and negative) but I have my limits. You're in my home here so act accordingly.
NO ADVERTISING. Links will be automatically flagged for moderation.
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."
- Ludwig Wittgenstein