There are lots of reasons for wanting to learn French. If you have decided that now is the time for you to learn another language, why not make it le français?

This free course, Get ready for beginners' French, is a gentle introduction to learning French, incorporating language, culture and intercultural communication. Practical activities and audio-visual materials will bring the language to life throughout. After studying this course, you'll be equipped with a clear understanding of what learning French is like. You will feel confident about whether French is the language for you, and what steps you'd like to take next.

Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.

Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation – which also displays your Open University badge.

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our start-of-course survey . Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our end-of-course survey . Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• appreciate what learning French at beginners' level is like
• set some personal goals towards learning French
• recognise and pronounce a few basic French sounds and words
• understand a few basic notions of French grammar
• recall some basic facts about French-speaking countries and communities around the world, and understand basic cultural differences
• understand the skills developed by language learners, including intercultural communication skills.