8 Best Coffee Break French Alternatives (2024 Research)

Coffee Break French is an online French learning platform that operates by hosting lessons on various podcast platforms. The company seeks to help learners improve their French listening and speaking skills through lessons that are dispatched as podcast episodes. 

Each lesson lasts 15–20 minutes on Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. Although it seems like a fun and innovative way to teach the language, can you really speak a language by listening to a podcast and through grammar alone?

We asked a bunch of questions on Reddit. And most respondents say they’re looking for a Coffee Break French alternative because they: 

• Want a course that doesn’t focus on French grammar alone

• Want a course that encompasses the phonological, semantic, and contextual aspects of the language

• Want to improve their speaking and listening skills, but also their reading and writing

• Find the service to be not so cost-effective 

• Are simply comparing options and looking at the overall service and pricing

If you’re here for one of the reasons above, you’re in for a treat. In this post, we will take a closer look at Coffee Break French’s alternatives, including our online French language company, Get French Classes.

Why Get French Class is your Best Alternative to Coffee Break French for Learning French Online

It’s nearly impossible to achieve any progress in your language learning journey by simply repeating audios. First, there’s a good chance you have no clue what you’re repeating, and most importantly, you have no context or idea in which situation what you’re repeating applies. 

Moreover, in French, each expression, phrasal verb, or word has different meanings in different situations, and it’s important to know these nuances.

Our team at Get French Classes spent months talking to French lovers and asking them, “What do most online French courses fail when it comes to their teaching method, and what would make a great online French course?” 

We used their answers and insights to create our French teaching method, which we believe is the best way to make any French learner go from zero to 1. 

Here are some of the benefits of learning French with us.

Learn and practice French with the nuances, context, and real-life situations

At Get French Classes, we develop our lessons and learning materials using formulas and systems that facilitate the understanding of French phrases, rules, and oral expression.

Our lessons are very short and very much focused on the teaching of a specific concept, a specific lesson, or a specific topic. This ensures that you don’t get bogged down and confused. And at the end of every lesson, you will be able to tell what you learned. 

Within the lessons, we use interactive elements like quizzes to ensure that you are following along. 

And at the end of the lessons, you get additional learning material that gives you more explanation on the subject and context examples.

What’s more, you get homework, and we make sure that all your homework is both spoken and written. Here is an example of spoken homework:

And here is an example of a written one:

This means you practice speaking and writing, which reinforces your ability to assimilate what you’re learning. There’s also a strong focus on real-life scenarios and the application of your learning to different situations.

Get contextual information and prompt feedback from your private French tutor

As we discussed above, when you're learning a language, it's very difficult to know if what you're saying is right for the context, if the way you're pronouncing it is correct, and, most importantly, if there's a simplified version of that expression that native speakers use, etc. 

Having a private tutor follow along with you and make sure you understand the grammar, vocabulary, numbers, culture, etc. is very useful when you're just starting out.

Get French Classes’ tutors are trained to be your companions in your French learning journey. Rather than acting as an external consultant who advises you on an hourly basis, they're more like the native French-speaking correspondent you get to practice with and ask questions with.

They ensure you don't fall behind and keep you on track to achieve your goals.

Your tutor ensures that you:

• understand previous lessons, 

• learn essential nuances and information (which is withheld from the classroom to avoid information overload), 

• get the opportunity to ask questions and practice live by checking your submitted homework and receiving feedback from your tutor. 

You'll also get lots of fun assignments to complete.

On top of that, you’ll also get group classes where you’ll have the opportunity to practice with peers, have debates, and have fun social activities while your tutor monitors the whole thing. 

Remain consistent and committed to your French-speaking goals with an accountability partner

Most people learning French get bogged down because they don’t have anyone to talk to or practice with. And the ones that do can only chat or text. This doesn’t help them improve your fluency.

By pairing our learners with a partner who is at about the same level, we boost our learners' motivation and help them keep up the momentum.

Every week, there is a live session with your accountability partner and live coach for discussion, conversation, and practice. Your tutor will make sure your pronunciation, sentence structure, and articulation are up to par.

Here are some of our tutors:

Keep up your momentum with challenges, badges, and gamified learning processes

We've also learned that rewarding learners with milestone badges and rewards encourages them to keep learning. 

Throughout our courses, we have assignments, exams, and rewards for learners who demonstrate mastery or progress from one Point A to another Point B. 

The core of our methodology is that your French learning efforts should be focused on an outcome. So, even without the badges and rewards, all of our courses have an end goal—taking you from one outcome to another. 

Most of the learners share the badges with their friends and family or on social media, and they get words of encouragement to keep on going. And the certificates are a testament to their hard work and dedication.

Grow professionally with a professional certificate

Sorry to break the news, but we don’t give certificates to everyone. You have to show to your tutor, and learner advisor through practice that you have mastered some French notions. 

I know it’s pretty common in the education space that people issue certificates of completion. Unfortunately, we don’t share the same vision.

We believe that certificates should be a reflection of one’s hard work, not attendance and video-skipping skills.

We use tests similar to the CEFR tests and exams to assess your level, and we use your test results to fill out the certificate with your actual French language level.

Get private tutoring plus course materials and exams at the best cost-value ratio

Our course is effective because it’s a combo of great course material, great live coaching, and excellent teaching methodology. But most importantly, we’re able to offer this level of sophisticated materials at a cost that’s on par with the value you get. With Lingoda, for instance, you’d be paying $250–$900 for 10 hours of private course with a tutor. With the French Institute Alliance Française, you’d be paying around the same cost. For that many private French classes plus the course materials and close monitoring from your tutoring even outside of class hours plus an accountability partner and a certificate, we charge half the cost. Here’s what our learners say:

Top 8 Coffee Break French Alternatives and Competitors for Learning French Online 

1 - Live Lingua

• Ratings: 4.9 stars out of 5 for 157 reviews  

• Languages: Spanish, French, English, and more

• Teaching methods: Expert matching with tutors, 1-on-1 lessons with online tutors, reading resources, audio courses, and more.

• Investment required: Between $35 and $29 per hour. 

Live Lingua uses personal tutors to teach you French. They offer their services through personalized one-on-one lessons. 

All you need to do is sign up from your home or anywhere. During sign-up, they ask about your reasons for learning French, your level, and your preferred accent. Then, their academic team connects you with an ideal tutor, usually a native speaker. 

The tutor designs a personalized plan to help you achieve your goals. They will guide you throughout the lessons, provide feedback, and even give you assignments that keep you engaged. 

Live Lingua is also effective when preparing for notable French exams such as DELF and DALF. They equip you with the knowledge you need to pass these exams. 

The site charges on an hourly basis. New users can take part in their free trial lessons. After that, you must pay for your class, which costs $35 per hour.

2 - Babbel

• Ratings: 3.9 stars out of 5 for 20706 reviews  

• Languages: French, Spanish, Turkish, Italian, and 10 other languages

• Teaching methods: Podcast, expert-crafted lessons, games, and live courses.

• Investment required: Courses within the platform cost between $7 and $14. On top of that, you have to be willing to learn by yourself.

Babbel is another Coffee Break French alternative where you can learn 13 languages, including French. It features some interactive activities that enable you to engage in real-life conversations. 

Since it believes authenticity is vital to learning a new language, it helps you learn from native speakers who teach you the language through culture. 

The platform's language expert creates each course based on your native language to help you learn more effectively. They believe that users of a particular language, like Spanish, learn French differently from other language users, like German or Portuguese. As a result, the team crafts your French course based on your first language.

The platform also employs learning methods like live online classes, games, podcasts, videos, stories, and more to make the learning session enjoyable. 

Babbel offers three different plans for all interested learners. They are:

• A 6-month plan that costs $8.45 per month

• A 12-month plan, which costs $6.95 per month

• A lifetime plan which costs $299.99

3 - Fluent Forever

• Ratings: 4.3 stars out of 5 for 81 reviews  

• Languages: Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, English, and 10+ other languages

• Teaching methods: Learn languages through videos

• Investment required: They have a free trial, but their premium services cost between $15 and $30.

Fluent Forever understands that traditional learning methods, such as memorization or grammar rules, are ineffective in the long run. 

As a result, it implements learning techniques like spaced repetition and storytelling. These techniques make the session exciting and enjoyable for the learners. These sessions often last for at least ten minutes a day. Lessons take place on the app or through live online coaching sessions. 

Fluent Forever has different pricing plans for each platform. The app has a three-tier pricing plan that includes:

• Intro, which costs $9.99 per month

• Fluent, which costs $95.88 for 12 months

• Base, which costs $53.94 for six months. 

Meanwhile, the online coaching session also has a three-tier pricing plan that includes:

• Slow and Steady plan, which costs $99

• Fire-up plan, which costs $185 

• Full Steam Ahead plan, which is $275

4 - Memrise

• Ratings: 2.3 stars out of 5 for 77 reviews  

• Languages: German, Polish, Icelandic, and 10+ other languages

• Teaching methods: Spaced repetition and bilingual translation

• Investment required: It costs between $15 per month and $199 for lifetime usage of the app.

Memrise’s French lessons are available for all levels, from beginner to advanced. 

Unlike Coffee Break French which utilizes podcasts, this program organizes its lessons mostly through short video lessons. 

It provides you with native-speaker videos that can help you engage in real-life conversations. These videos focus on different topics such as politics, yoga, amusement parks, food, numbers, and so on. 

Focusing on your language skills, you get to engage in exercises and drills that contribute positively to your learning journey. These drills can be fill-in-the-blanks, multiple-choice questions, writing sentences, choosing the correct translations of some given words, and more. 

The app also features an AI language partner that provides you with unlimited human-like conversation practice. It aims to improve your French learning and lets you practice real-life conversations. 

Memrise offers three pricing plans for its users:

• A monthly plan that costs $14.99

• An annual program that costs $89.99

• A lifetime plan that costs $199.99

5 - Italki

• N/A

Italki is different from the other language-learning alternative platforms we have mentioned. It is a freelance language learning platform where you can choose a teacher to teach you various languages, including French.  

You can search for and select a personal teacher based on your target language, level, goals, and budget. Italki also offers group class sessions to their learners. 

With Italki, you can test their language skills to determine your current abilities and identify areas you can improve. It also features a community where you can engage in quizzes, listen to podcasts, or read articles to improve your language skills. 

Italki doesn’t offer a specific price for learning a particular language. Instead, each teacher sets their pricing details, usually on an hourly basis. All you need is to choose one that fits your budget. 

6 - LingQ.com

• Ratings: 3 stars out of 5  

• Languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Norwegian, and 10+ other languages

• Teaching methods: Gamified learning + tutoring

• Investment required: It costs between $15 per month or $199 for 12 months.

If you want to learn from a program with different types of content, LingQ is an excellent choice. It's featured in notable publications such as CBC, TechCrunch, Medium, El Pais, and more.

With an extensive library of language courses, you can choose a lesson that intrigues you. Most of its immersion-based lessons focus on different categories such as travel, food, science, business, entertainment, and more. 

LingQ offers its lessons in different formats: videos, books, emails, podcasts, songs, articles, and more. It employs learning materials such as flashcards, some gamification elements, and learning challenges to teach its learners. 

In addition, the program lets you track your progress. It features an accountability system with general stats, daily goals, and streaks. There is also a community section where you can interact with other language learners. 

LingQ offers its pricing plans in two categories: Premium and Premium Plus. The premium plan includes.

• 1-month plan that costs $12.99 per month

• A 6-month plan that costs $11.99 per month or $71.94 for a one-time payment

• An annual plan that costs $8.99 per month or $107.88

• A 24-month plan that costs $7.99 per month or $191.76

The Premium Plus plan includes:

• 1-month that costs $39.99 per month

• A 6-month plan that costs $38.99 per month or $233.94 for a one-time payment

• An annual plan that costs $35.99 per month or $431.88

• A 24-month plan that costs $34.99 per month, or $839.76.

6 - Loecsen

• Ratings: 4.7 stars out of 5 for 191 reviews  

• Languages: Turkish, Italian, Portuguese, and 20+ other languages

• Teaching methods: Gamification through storytelling

• Investment required: It costs 0 dollars.

Loecsen is another notable French learning platform. According to its site, its "First Contact" training enables you to develop your vocabulary within two months. 

All you need to do is take free courses that provide you with the skills required to communicate in simple language. 

Loecsen adopts a loop training program that tests your knowledge. Before you take the test, you will engage in different activities, such as "read-aloud" sessions, to improve your pronunciation. You will also participate in listening activities and implement memorization techniques to evaluate their knowledge.  

There is no pricing information on this website. You can access any of the courses for free

7 - Brainscape

• Ratings: 4.6 stars out of 5 for a total of 47 review ratings. 

• Languages: French and Spanish

• Teaching methods: Flashcards through iOS and Android Apps combined with spaced repetition.

• Investment required:  

  • 1-month plan: $19.99 per month

  • Semester plan: $9.99 per month or $59.94 every six months

  • Annual plan: $7.99 per month or $95.88 every 12 months

  • Lifetime plan: $199.99

Brainscape is an ideal alternative option if you want to learn from flashcards. The mobile flashcards consist of 100 hours of curriculum that consistently drills you on French concepts. 

The site utilizes a learning method known as spaced repetition to help you study complex concepts. This method focuses on your weakest areas of knowledge. Then, it introduces frequent, bite-sized lessons to ensure growth.

You can also create your own flashcards to improve your learning process. You can shuffle the cards, set goals, and track progress on this platform.

The platform is available on iOS and Android devices. The premium version has four pricing plans:

• 1-month plan, which costs $19.99 per month

• Semester plan, which costs $9.99 per month or $59.94 for a one-time payment

• Annual plan, which costs $7.99 per month or $95.88 

• A lifetime plan which costs $199.99

Let Get French Classes Teach You French Online

If your goal is to learn French by solely focusing on the grammatical aspect of the language or audio repetition, we recommend Coffee Break French, Babbel, and LingQ. 

But if you want to achieve your French learning goals and work with an experienced partner that:

• Takes a more personalized teaching approach

• Doesn’t rely solely on grammatical concepts

• Ask meaningful questions to understand how they can achieve your learning goals

• Consists of detailed lessons that teach you the phonological, grammatical, and contextual aspects of the language.

That's us. 

At Get French Class, we do not rely on grammar rules or traditional teaching methods. Instead, we prioritize their learning goals and create an engaging class that contributes to them positively and leaves a lasting impression. 

We take the time to understand our learners and modify our teaching approach accordingly, ultimately helping them to understand and speak French fluently.