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Accessibility statement
An image to illustrate Beginners French 1: eh oui! short course
Whether you want to visit, work or live in a French-speaking environment, being able to communicate effectively will enrich your experience. In this course, you'll begin developing your reading and listening skills in French, and learn to speak and write in everyday situations. You'll explore basic French structures and key vocabulary to help you meet and greet people, and talk about yourself and others. The course also builds your awareness of the cultural diversity of France and other French-speaking countries. On completion, you'll receive a digital badge to share on social media, add to emails or use as a certificate.
Have you always loved the sound of French but never been able to grasp what’s being said? Perhaps you’ve taken holidays frequently in France and felt frustrated that you couldn’t start or join in a conversation? Or maybe there’s a chance you could work in France or another French-speaking country? There are many reasons for learning French, but it can be difficult to know where to start.
This 16-unit course offers you an excellent start to your learning journey. Starting from simple greetings and saying your name, you’ll progress unit by unit towards being able to hold longer conversations and to understand more language in different situations.
In this course, you'll learn how to:
Learning a language is also learning about culture, so you will discover information about how the French behave when meeting and greeting people, the evolution of the family in France, and French attitudes to clothes.
Throughout the course you will improve your ability to understand spoken and written French and to communicate your own information and ideas. You will acquire a knowledge of the basic structures of French along with key vocabulary. Each unit comprises 3–4 hours of interactive activities, exercises, explanations and tips about language-learning. It’s a good idea to keep notes either in a notebook or on your preferred digital device. There are regular revision units and, at the end of each unit, there is a quiz for you to practise what you’ve been learning.
Please note that although this course is non-accredited, it can be used towards the module Making your learning count (YXM130) to gain OU credits.
The course is designed to help you achieve a level of language proficiency equivalent to level A1 of the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR).
You will have access to discussion forums that you are strongly encouraged to participate in as these forums combine support from fellow students with input from a language-specialist learning adviser. Other support is available via the StudentHome website and Computing Helpdesk.
The course is made up of 16 units, with each unit expected to take about 3-4 hours to study. In total, you’ll need around 64 hours to complete the course.
You can begin at any time during the life of the course and study at your own pace. The course will be open to you for a time period of between 6 and 18 months depending on your course registration date and you will be advised of the specific time limitations upon enrolment.
All learning materials are delivered entirely online and there is no formal tuition for this course.
Your study is self-directed and you’ll have access to a course website, which includes:
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
There are no entry requirements for this course. It’s suitable if you are completely new to French and to language learning, and it does not assume any prior knowledge.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact us.
The course is delivered online and makes use of a variety of online resources. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in using a computer or the internet you are advised to contact us about support which can be given to meet your needs.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying LGXF001 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
StartEngland fee
At anytime before 31/07/2026£195
We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.
If this course is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could ask your employer to sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees. Your sponsor just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
The fee information provided here is valid for short courses starting in the 2026/27 academic year. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
You can start this course anytime.
You can start this course anytime.
Level info