Bon Voyage — How French can help you travel the world

Language tutor Adeline encourages you to use your French language skills to enhance your global adventures

When you think of using your French, you probably picture yourself buying a baguette from a boulangerie near the Champs Elysées or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. If not, you may daydream about having a glass of red wine on a terrace in Bordeaux or taking in the sun on the French Riviera. However, French can take you much further away than this!

French is indeed spoken on 5 continents, and is now the fifth most spoken language in the world, according to a recent study by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. It is ranked behind Chinese, English, Spanish and Arabic. There are now 300 million people who speak French, and the numbers are still growing!

Here are some examples of places you could explore with your French:

The island of Martinique, in the Caribbean, is actually a region of France! Inhabitants often speak Creole in addition to French, but French will definitely allow you to get the best tips from locals about where to swim with turtles and where to get the best seafood.

If you fancy slightly milder temperatures, you might want to head to Québec. You might struggle a bit with the Québec accent at first, but once you are used to it, you will be able to order a poutine in a restaurant (French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds). If you can still walk after this, take a stroll in Old Québec, which is the only fortified city north of Mexico.

If you don’t want to go this far, Marrakesh is only a 3-hour flight away from London. You could stay in a riad (a townhouse with rooms around a garden) and explore the local medina (the old city centre). One of the most visited attractions is also the Jardin Majorelle, created by the painter Jacques Majorelle, and owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. Speaking French will allow you to get the most of your visit there!

French is also spoken in many central African countries. If you are a nature enthusiast, you’ll love Gabon — use your French to shop for equipment and go and explore the rainforest or savannah.

Last but not least: did you know that London is said to be the sixth biggest French-speaking city? So if you don’t feel like travelling just now, we’re pretty sure you could find a native French speaker near you. Some are even on our books, if you fancy brushing up your conversation skills in preparation for your next trip!

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Blog crafted by Adeline

Adeline is from the South of France, where she studied English at university. She made the most of the Erasmus program, spending a year at Edinburgh and a year at Cambridge, where she was the lectrice at Sidney Sussex College. She is a qualified teacher in France and has taught English there at both high-school and university level. In 2017, she completed a PhD on the ghostly dimension of Harold Pinter’s plays at the Université Paul-Valéry in Montpellier. She can call herself a doctor but can’t write prescriptions