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#5 in Language LearningUdemyLanguage LearningPaid courseBeginner level

3 Minute French - Free taster course | Lessons for beginners (Udemy.com)

Learn to speak French you can use in everyday real-world situations - all in just 3-minute chunks!

Created by: Kieran Ball

Last updated April 2025

Our take

Based on the ratings of 9,156 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in April 2025. No course pays to be reviewed.

This is a free taster course, not a full French program: 1.7 hours across 37 lectures in five short sections, each lesson running about three minutes. Kieran Ball, who has taught languages for eighteen years, breaks French into small chunks and builds them back into sentences as you go, rather than opening with pronunciation rules or family vocabulary. The requirements list assumes zero French and no linguistics background, so it really is aimed at someone starting from nothing.

Reviewers, and there are over 9,000 of them with a 4.7 average, consistently praise the pronunciation practice and the pacing: Graham Fitzpatrick called it "very clear and easy to follow" with useful context around certain phrases, and Carolyn Zinzell liked hearing words pronounced correctly and practicing them herself. The gripes are mostly about scale, not quality. One reviewer summed up learning "two or three sentences in 6 minutes," which is honestly accurate: this is a taster, so it stops well short of conversational fluency, and there are no quizzes built in to check what's sticking.

Since it costs nothing and runs under two hours, there's little downside to trying it before committing to something bigger, like the Spanish for Beginners course it sits beside in the language-learning lineup. Treat it as a warm-up: a good way to see if Kieran's teaching style clicks and to pick up real, usable phrases fast, not as a substitute for a full beginner-to-intermediate French course.

Best forComplete beginners who want a low-commitment, free first taste of spoken French.
Skip it ifYou want a certificate or a full course that goes past basic beginner phrases.

Pros

  • Completely free, so there's no risk in trying it out
  • Lessons run about three minutes each, easy to fit into a busy day
  • Strong focus on pronunciation practice, not just vocabulary lists
  • 4.7 rating across more than 9,000 reviews

Cons

  • Only 1.7 hours total, so it barely scratches the surface of French
  • No certificate on completion
  • No quizzes built into the lessons to check progress
Very clear and easy to follow. Fantastic explanations and lovely extra pieces of context around certain words/phrases that helps with understanding
Graham Fitzpatrick, a student

Built for absolute beginners with no French at all; anyone past "hello" and basic greetings will outgrow it fast.

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What you will learn

  • Speak French confidently and comfortably in everyday situations
  • Understand what's being said back to you
  • Be more than just an average tourist when travelling to French speaking countries
  • Go from complete beginner to building your own sentences after the very first lesson
  • Build a solid base vocabulary of words and phrases you can use straight away in the real world
  • Understand and use grammatical and linguistic features of the French language with ease
  • Understand the structure of the French language
  • Get to grips with French pronunciation

Course content

5 sections · 37 lectures · 1.7 hours of video 9 assignments, 7 articles

  1. 1Introduction to the course 1 free preview1 lecture · 5 min
  2. 2Lesson 1 1 free preview6 lectures · 3 quizzes · 19 min
  3. 3Lesson 212 lectures · 3 quizzes · 30 min
  4. 4Lesson 313 lectures · 3 quizzes · 37 min
  5. 5Bonus lecture5 lectures · 9 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • You really want to learn to speak French in a very simple and very quick way
  • You are going to spend a holiday/vacation in France or another French speaking country
  • You have failed to learn French in the past, but really want to give it one more go
  • You have no experience with French, but you would like to learn fast
  • You have always wanted to learn a new language, but you are very busy and can never find the time

What you need before you start

  • The good thing about this course is that it is taught under the assumption that you know no French and nothing about languages
  • Everything is explained clearly and thoroughly without the use of confusing terminology

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Course Description

Bonjour et bienvenue :-)

My name is Kieran, and I’ve been teaching foreign languages for over eighteen years. I love languages, I love learning and I love teaching. I also love chocolate, but this isn’t really the place to discuss my chocoholism!

I created 3 Minute French as a way to make learning French easier than ever before and accessible to anybody, especially people who have tried and failed in the past. My course is perfect for the complete beginner as I break down the French language into tiny chunks that I show you how to build back together again in a logical, simple-to-understand way. You can go from knowing no French at all to putting together your own sentences in just a few minutes.

The words and phrases that you'll learn in this course will be useful to you in any French-speaking country. A lot of traditional language courses either start by teaching you an endless list of pronunciation rules, or you learn phrases that aren't too useful for the beginner, such as how to talk about your family or your job. In 3 Minute French, you'll learn the most useful words first. As well as vocabulary, there are some useful grammar points that will be explained to you in bitesized chunks. You'll then be given plenty of opportunities to put them into practice.

You'll also be given two Vocabulary Expansion Sheets, which are documents full of useful vocabulary in specific topics ('food & drink' and 'numbers'). These Vocabulary Expansion Sheets give a boost to your French and help to improve your comprehension.

Finally, the title... 3 Minute French?


Obviously, you can't learn French in just three minutes, but you can learn it in three-minute chunks.

As the name suggests, each lesson in this course lasts just three minutes (more or less!). In each lesson, you learn a tiny chunk of French that you can use to build sentences. As you work through the course, you learn more and more little chunks and your sentences will gradually get longer and longer.

The chunks that you learn in the first lessons are carried through to the last lessons. This means you don’t have to worry about trying to remember everything; you will get so much opportunity for practice that you will find the words and phrases just sink into your brain.

The lessons in this course are focused, practical and effective, and you will build language skills that you can use straight away in real-world situations. You will be able to speak French comfortably and with confidence whenever you’re in a French-speaking country.


WHY 3 MINUTES?

When you begin learning something new, you tend to start off with lots of excitement and motivation. You might spend a few hours on the first day learning, but then the next day, you can only manage one hour, and then that goes down to half an hour, and then you get bored and you give up. Well, the reason behind the very short lessons is that it helps you to stay motivated and it also enhances the learning process.

By keeping your learning to short chunks, you will find three wonderful things start to happen:

1. You will maintain enthusiasm

If you want to learn anything, you have to maintain enthusiasm or else you won’t continue. If you limit your study time to just three minutes, you’ll keep French fresh and exciting and you’ll be eager to learn. If you spend hours studying, very quickly you’ll get bored with French and it’ll turn into a chore.

2. You will study more consistently

It’s much better to study for just three minutes once a day than to study for three hours once a week. A spare three minutes is relatively easy to find even in the most hectic of schedules. If you make sure you complete at least one three-minute study session every day, it’ll quickly become a habit that you’ll do without thinking. It’s much easier to fit in a daily three-minute habit than a weekly one-hour habit. By doing this, you’ll become a much more consistent learner, and consistency is the key to success.

3. You will remember things better

This is my favourite reason as to why you should limit your study to just three-minute chunks. If you study something for just three minutes every day, you’ll trick your brain into memorising the information more quickly than if it were to see the information for hours each day. It’ll think, “I see this information every day so it must be important, but I don’t see it for very long, so I’d better hold onto it and make it into a memory fast!” You’ll be amazed at how much more easily things tend to stay in your brain if you limit yourself to just three minutes a day.

So, that’s why I keep the lessons to just three minutes.


A METHOD THAT REALLY WORKS

I can’t quite believe it, but over 500,000 people in more than 200 countries have now used 3 Minute Languages to learn to speak a foreign language. It still amazes me when I get an email from somebody on the other side of the world telling me how much they have enjoyed learning French with me. Apart from the thrill it gives me to find out people are listening to my voice in places like Mongolia, Peru and even Fiji, it also confirms to me that the 3 Minute Languages courses work well.

So, if you want a course that teaches you to speak French you can use in everyday situations using a simple and fun method, then sign up to 3 Minute French today.

Merci :-)

Kieran

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Instructor Details

Kieran Ball

Hello, bonjour, hola, hallo, ciao and olá! 

I’m Kieran and I’m a language tutor based in the UK, and I also create online courses and write books to make language learning accessible to all.

My books and online courses are based on the method I developed for teaching languages, which I've been using in all my classes for many  years. The method will get you speaking quickly, without the  struggle normally associated with language learning.

I have created three series of language courses available in French,  Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese. They're called: '3 Minute  Languages', 'Building Structures' and 'Quick Guides'.


I hope you enjoy, and "Happy Learning" :-)

Kieran

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Reviews

4.7

9,156 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Carolyn Zinzell on 5/1/2026

I like the course a lot. It is especially helpful to hear the French words pronounced correctly and to have an opportunity to practice imitating the French pronunciations. The assignments reinforce the lessons well. Thanks!

By Brijraj Bhatt on 4/4/2026

It's very well made and the revison of all words before the start of each video is the best. The instructor is very clear on what he is doing. Very good course. Also check out his other french paid courses too. Highly recommended.

By Akashdeep Kundu on 1/25/2023

The author really inspires me to learn french. After I had lost all hope, it really ignites an interest in me to continue and now it feels like learning the french language is within grasp. I will continue with his methods and cue cards.

By Evangeline Atienza on 4/12/2019

It is good as introduction for non-French speakers to say that after taking this free course to have learned few French words.

By Angela MacInnes on 3/14/2019

This was an excellent introductory course, really enjoyed it. The repetition was really helpful and brings on vocabulary quickly. The tutor had an engaging manner. His diction was good and clear. Have signed up for the next level. My children have really enjoyed it too and didn't find it in any way laborious. It's been fun.

By Akinwale Omoteji on 12/1/2017

Interesting course that will engage and provide an introductory insight to a fresh learner of the language. The instructor was very calm and slow paced and provided more examples that are applicable to real life scenarios. The course leaves you longing for more and without much thinking, i bought the complete course.

By Joe Smith on 2/12/2017

Great course!. The lessons were easy to follow and to the point. Although, they can get repetitive sometimes. I've been wanting to learn French for some time now but didn't want to get bombarded by grammar rules right away. So I think the course gives a great, flexible way to approach the language.

By Paul Brown on 2/6/2017

c'est absolument tre bon. i really enjoyed learning some french. i learned just as easily as the italian course. i really like the way the course is set up. looking forward to expanding in this course as well. Paul Brown

By Lou Charon on 11/27/2016

The course was just as the Instructor promised; it flowed so easily from beginning to end, that I was surprised how much I absorbed. Thank you for making me feel that I can actually learn this beautiful language.

By Jacqueline King on 8/24/2016

This Course is so instructive for the absolute beginner and I thoroughly enjoyed the learning. It runs at a steady pace and the Instructor speaks very clearly and steadily for easy understanding and clarity. The Course gives confidence to the beginner and I do encourage other learners to do these 3 Minute Courses as a start to a wonderful language learning experience. I completed Italian, and I now look forward to continuing German, followed by Spanish. This language Course is highly recommended.

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Overall Score : 94 / 100