“French in Action” is a groundbreaking and highly effective immersion program for learning French. It is praised for its natural, immersion-based approach and is considered by many to be the “gold standard” of language instruction. You will learn that it teaches rich, conversational French rather than stilted textbook phrases. The program has a nostalgic and dedicated fanbase.
The series was developed by Professor Pierre J. Capretz of Yale University in collaboration with WGBH Boston, Wellesley College, and the Annenberg/CPB Project. His driving vision and core philosophy was total immersion. He sought to teach the language naturally, without using English, by observing human behavior, facial expressions, and cultural context. Although the series is somewhat dated (it was produced in 1987), the language learning concepts are timeless and effective.
To get started, watch Professor Capretz’s “Preview Episode”. This site offers access to the entire video series as well as a set of complementary learning resources. Enjoy the journey.
French in Action “Preview Episode”
Watch French in Action Preview (4:42)
To get the most out of your study, we suggest the following “Deep Dive” method for each episode:
Before you begin, we recommend reviewing these series-wide materials to help you track the many characters in the series and be able to review the textbook table of contents and index, and a summary of all the episodes.
Done with the Preview Episode and resources?
✈️ Continue to Part 1: The Foundations (Episodes 1–9)There is only one set of audio files for both the textbook and workbook/study guides. Each audio file is used for both. The textbook contains the “script” and reading that goes with the audio file. The Workbook (Manual de actividades) contains the actual blanks to be filled in while listening to the audio file.
The audio is specifically designed to “talk” you through both the textbook and workbook activities. For example, a narrator will say, “Lección uno. Comprensión. Ejercicio A…” and then provide the audio content used to respond to the workbook questions & activities.
3 May 2026:
The Q&A content needed attention. Originally (a long time ago) I included two different sets of questions from various sources. But the questions were redundant, some answers were wrong, and the number of questions was overwhelming. With a little AI help I went through every episode and combined the Q&A sets, grouped the questions, and checked the answers. It took three long, tedious days to complete. I hope you like the results.
13 Apr 2026:
Please send suggestions and ideas. I will continue to update the site based on feedback.