How to set realistic French goals for the New Year
- Camille Alayrangues
- Jan 17
- 4 min read
Make 2026 the year you actually stick to your French goals!
Bonne Année 🥳!
Have you made any French resolutions in January? If not, it’s not too late 💪! If you want to keep improving your skills in the world’s sexiest language, this article is here to help!
Whether you’re a VCE student or simply learning for fun, let’s look at how to set realistic French learning goals for the New Year—and make 2026 the year your French truly takes off 🛫.
Start a vocabulary notebook
This is a super practical tip—and it won’t cost you much, I promise!
Grab a notebook and dedicate it to your French vocabulary 📔. Then, after each tutoring session (or whenever you watch a French movie, series, podcast, or read a text) write down a few new words you have learned.
The goal is to add new vocabulary or idiomatic expressions at least once a week, even if it’s just three words. Review your vocabulary regularly, at a pace that helps you remember it—for example, every Tuesday and Thursday. If you stick to this habit, you’ll quickly see your knowledge grow.
➡️ Ask a friend or a family member to help you review your vocabulary!
Speak French once a week
This is probably the best advice I can give you. To build confidence and improve your skills this year, you need to speak French once a week (minimum!)
I know it’s easier said than done, so here are a few simple ideas:
Join a conversation group
Meet up or video call with French-speaking friends
Send voice messages to Francophone friends
The key here is consistency. By speaking French for about an hour each week, you’ll gradually gain confidence and fluency over time.
➡️ Need someone to practise with? Our native tutors are ready to help you progress 🙂.
Listen to your favourite language outside the classroom
In today’s world, being exposed to French is pretty easy (blame the internet 😜). And that’s a big advantage for us learners! Indeed, listening to Céline Dion’s language regularly—even passively—trains your brain to recognise vocabulary and grammatical structures you’ve learnt, and to pick up new words naturally.
There are many simple ways to do this:
Watch Francophone travel vloggers on Youtube (for example Léa Camilleri, Alex Vizeo, Little Gypsy…)
Follow your favourite series or movies with French dubbing on Netflix
Watch videos on TV5 monde—you can even choose your level!
Pick a theme you love and listen to a Francophone podcast about it
Tune in to radio stations from France
Play a playlist on Spotify or Youtube for some passive listening
Five minutes of active listening each week is more effective than a long session once in a blue moon. And don’t forget to jot down a few new words in your notebook along the way 😉.
Read authentic Francophone content
If you’re interested in reading, there are also plenty of ways to improve!
First, you could start by setting your cellphone to French (trust me—by the end of the year, you’ll have the words “supprimer”, “enregistrer”, or “entrer le code PIN” imprinted in your head!).
If you’re active on social media, you could follow Francophone accounts on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or X and read their posts. Another great idea is to add some French blogs to your bookmarks and read their articles regularly. Of course, pick subjects that interest you—whether it’s self-development, baking, or fashion! If you follow the news, you can also check out websites like Le Monde, France Info or Le Nouvel Obs.
Are you a bookworm? If so, why not join our online French book club 📚🥰? Every month, we discuss a new book, and you can enroll in whichever session suits you best—according to your level or your interests!
➡️ Check out the books we’ll be reading in the French book club for 2026!
Start writing short texts in French
My last piece of advice is about writing. And don’t worry—you don’t need to be Simone de Beauvoir to start producing texts in French 😉.If you really want to improve your written skills, here are a few simple ideas:
Journal about your week’s highlights
Leave a comment on this blog in French
Send an email to your tutor to talk about what you did over the weekend
Start a gratitude journal in French (write three things you’re grateful for each day)
Whenever you write, try to use different tenses or grammatical structures that you’ve learnt during your lessons. Once again, consistency matters more than length: writing a short text at least once a week is more than enough to make progress.
To sum-up: how to set realistic French goals for the New Year
What really matters is making French part of your weekly routine. Small habits, repeated every week, will take you much further than big objectives you can’t stick to.
So here’s your goal, try to do each of the following at least once a week:
Start a vocabulary notebook and add new words after each French session 📒 (review it regularly!)
Speak French 🗣️
Listen to Francophone resources outside class 🎧
Read authentic Francophone content 📖
Write short texts 🖊️
And that’s it! You’re now ready to start the New Year with clear objectives. Stick to them, stay consistent, and your French will thank you 😉.
➡️ Looking for a language tutor? Discover 6 benefits of learning French with a native teacher!
By the way, I’m curious… What resolutions have you made this year? Share them in the comments—it could be your first little writing practise of the year!
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