Learn French Your Way!
Whether you’re just beginning your French journey or looking to refine advanced language skills, the French Library offers classes designed to fit your goals, schedule, and learning style.
Choose from in-person and online courses held mornings, afternoons, evenings, and Saturdays. Our programs combine expert instruction, engaging conversation, and authentic cultural exploration to help you build confidence in French every step of the way.
Why Learn with the French Library?
– Experienced native and near-native instructors
– Small, interactive classes
– In-person and online options
– A welcoming community of learners
– Access to French and Francophone culture beyond the classroom
– Programs designed for both personal enrichment and professional development
Join us and discover that learning French is more than studying a language. It’s opening the door to a global culture, new perspectives, and meaningful connections.
Explore Our Adult Programs
Language Classes:
Progress through the CEFR levels (A1 to C1) in a supportive and interactive environment. Develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills while gaining practical confidence for real-life communication.
Skill Strengthening Classes:
Deepen your knowledge of French with one of our tailored classes to bolster pronunciation, grammar, listening comprehension, and more.
Conversation Classes:
Practice French in a relaxed setting through guided discussions, current events, cultural topics, and meaningful exchanges with fellow learners.
Theme Classes:
Discover the richness of the Francophone world through courses focused on literature, art, history, film, society, language, and culture.
Intensive Programs:
Need faster progress? Our immersive intensive courses are designed to help you accelerate your learning in a concentrated format. Perfect for students with busy schedules or specific goals.
New to the French Library?
Bienvenue! We’re delighted to welcome new students to our community of language learners and Francophiles.
Getting Started:
Complete beginner? –> You can enroll directly in A1.1 Beginner French.
Already know some French? –> Take our free placement test to identify the class that best matches your level and ensures a successful learning experience.
You can also explore our level guide to better understand the CEFR framework and the progression from beginner to advanced proficiency.
Need Help?
Our Education Team is here to assist you with placement, registration, and course selection.
adultprograms@frenchlibrary.org or call 617.865.2314
Find Your Class
A2-4 short track | Advanced Beginner French 4
Join us for a 6-week, online “Short Track” option for an A2-4 course! With the same 3 hours of instruction per week as our standard-length class, this new program is perfect for students who cannot make the financial or time commitment of 10 weeks of intensive learning. But just because you’re short on time, doesn’t mean you can’t live life to the fullest! By the end of our A2 Short Track program, students will feel just as confident moving into B1 as their standard language class cohort!
B1+/B2 | Comment les Français pensent-ils ?: Valeurs, débats et art de vivre à la française | In Person
Why do the French love to debate? Why are meals so important? How do the French view work, happiness, politics, education, and personal freedom? Through articles, videos, surveys, cultural documents, and lively discussions, students will explore some of the values and habits that shape contemporary France. This course goes beyond stereotypes to examine how history, culture, and everyday life influence the way many French people think and interact. Participants will develop their speaking skills while gaining a deeper understanding of French society.
A2-4 | Advanced Beginner French 4
This class will give you the skills to understand a tourist brochure, reserve a stay somewhere, research a destination online, express your indifference towards a situation and more!
A2-2 | Advanced Beginner French 2 | In Person
Do you want to discuss jobs of the future, describe the future, highlight the utility of an object, express intent or remind someone of something? Do you want to do all of that in French? You can! Plus you'll improve your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation skills at the same time.
A1-2 | Beginner French 2
Give an opinion on an outfit, analyze a weather app, talk about the weather, ask for and give your clothing and shoe size, ask for the price, describe an object—all in French!
A1+ | Prononciation en Action! | In Person
Master French sounds with flair! TV5MONDE’s Prononciation en action series is your go-to toolkit for leveling up your French pronunciation. Through fun, interactive videos led by phonetics expert Magali Boureux, you'll explore the rhythms and sounds of French using the verbo-tonal method. Whether you're in class or learning solo, these bite-sized lessons blend visuals, repetition, and real-life examples to help you speak more clearly and confidently. Say goodbye to tricky nasal vowels and hello to smooth, natural French!
A1-1 | Beginner French 1
Are you ready to kick-start your French education? Learn to Ask for and give directions, understand an itinerary, get around using public transportation, and much more! This class is for students with limited prior experience in French.
A1-4 | Beginner French 4 | In Person
Are you ready to kick-start your French education? Learn to understand an exchange program, describe positive experiences, express purpose, describe a professional goal, indicate a wish or desire, talk about an ability or skill, understand professional tasks. and much more!
A1-3 | Beginner French 3 | In Person
Are you ready to kick-start your French education? Learn how to look for an apartment, understand a room inspection, learn about lodging regulations, draft a set of rules for shared living, and much more!
A2 | Lunch Break | In Person
Come join us for this casual conversation class! Learn French in a relaxed environment during your lunch break. Sharpen your skills and discuss everything from daily activities to social issues. No homework and no required textbook.
A2-1 | Advanced Beginner French 1 - Slow-Paced - Part 2 | In Person
Do you like to take your time learning? Not a problem! This class will cover the first half of our A2-1 class over 10 weeks.
A2/A2+ | Advanced Beginner Conversation
Develop your conversational and communication skills through role-play, discussion of French media and other speaking activities adapted to your level.
A2-1 | Advanced Beginner French 1
Time to go beyond the basics! Gain the grammar, vocabulary, and confidence you'll need to comprehend an excerpt from a piece of literature, describe a photograph, share a memory (happy or otherwise), read a tourist manual, and much more.
B1-1 | Intermediate French 1 | In Person
Identify criteria for something, be cautious or aware of something, express your wishes and intentions, ask politely for something, talk over the phone, give advice, outline a hypothetical situation, describe a memory, a place, a visit to a foreign city and more!
B1+ | Listen Up! | In Person
Strengthen your listening skills while improving your vocabulary and grammar by engaging with a variety of fascinating audio media, including podcasts, readings, and mini role plays!
A2-3 | Advanced Beginner French 3
Keep building your language skills and awareness. In this class, you will learn how to interpret a chart about names, speak to someone’s character, describe someone, talk about your emotions and much more!
B2-2 | Advanced French 2 | In Person
Build upon your French skills by studying advanced grammar concepts and performing challenging tasks. Talk about fashion and trends, talk about food fads, look at different travel trends and more!
B1-4 | Intermediate French 4 | In Person
Delve deeper into the Francophone cultures around the globe while honing your language skills: understand a scientific documentary, learn about young, francophone thinkers, explain a scientific discovery, present the pros and cons of an innovation in technology, give your opinion, imagine the future. and more!
B2-2 short track | Advanced French 2
Just because you’re short on time, doesn’t mean you can’t live life to the fullest! By the end of our B2 Short Track program, students will feel just as confident moving into C1 as their standard language class cohort!
B1+/B2 | Comment les Français pensent-ils ?: Valeurs, débats et art de vivre à la française | In Person
Why do the French love to debate? Why are meals so important? How do the French view work, happiness, politics, education, and personal freedom? Through articles, videos, surveys, cultural documents, and lively discussions, students will explore some of the values and habits that shape contemporary France. This course goes beyond stereotypes to examine how history, culture, and everyday life influence the way many French people think and interact. Participants will develop their speaking skills while gaining a deeper understanding of French society.
B1+ | French Game Club: Learn through Play
Learn French while having fun! In this interactive game club, participants practice speaking French through a variety of engaging board games, card games, word games, and collaborative challenges. Each session encourages spontaneous conversation, vocabulary building, strategic thinking, and authentic communication in a relaxed, supportive atmosphere. Games are carefully selected and adapted to match participants' language level, making this workshop a fun way to gain confidence, improve fluency, and connect with other French learners.
A2 | Les petites joies françaises : the art of savoring daily life | In Person
What makes a simple cup of coffee, a walk through a market, or an afternoon in a park so special? Discover the French art of finding joy in everyday moments while building your language skills. Through conversation, culture, and authentic materials, you'll explore cafés, markets, traditions, and simple pleasures from across the Francophone world. A warm and inspiring course for A2 learners who want to practice French while celebrating the beauty of everyday life.
A2 | Discover France through songs | In Person
Learn French through some of the country's most beloved songs. In this five-week course, students will discover French culture, everyday vocabulary, and pronunciation through accessible songs from different eras. Each session combines listening activities, vocabulary building, cultural exploration, and conversation practice. No musical knowledge is required, only curiosity and a desire to sing, listen, and speak French.
B1+ | The Language of Emotions | In Person
Amour, empathie, joie, affection, honte, nostalgie, surprise, colère, fierté, gratitude, compassion, jalousie, tendresse, tristesse, dégoût, peur, confiance, admiration... And the list goes on and on. This course invites participants to explore how emotions, thoughts, and inner experiences are expressed in French through some of the greatest works of French literature. Through themes such as consciousness, memory, desire, and nostalgia, we will discover how renowned authors have pushed the boundaries of the French language to capture the complexities of inner life, while helping to shape a distinctive vision of the “French soul.”
B1+ | Grammar: Tackling Difficult Tenses with Emma Bovary| In Person
This course offers a systematic introduction to, or more in-depth practice with, several distinctly literary French tenses and moods, including the subjunctive (present and imperfect), the pluperfect, the past anterior, the future perfect, the various conditional tenses, and the passé simple. Particular emphasis will be placed on the passé simple and the present and imperfect subjunctive, which are commonplace and essential features of French literature but are often treated only briefly as grammatical curiosities in most language-learning programs.
B2+/C1 | Literature: Mother Figures - l'image de la mère à travers des œuvres majeures du 20ème siècle
Join Tony in a 5- or 10-week exploration of how the figure of the mother has served as a fundamental pillar of both human experience and literary history. This course traces the growing awareness of this crucial relationship in French culture, examining how shifting social dynamics and the rise of 20th-century psychoanalysis revolutionized the way we understand family ties. Through the lens of modern French literature, you will discover how iconic authors such as Proust, Camus, Duras, Ernaux, and Colette, navigate the full spectrum of maternal relationships, from deep, fusional bonds to psychological conflict, emotional distance, and tragic disconnect. Œuvres étudiées (all reading materials will be provided): Proust : À la recherche du temps perdu Camus : L'Étranger Marguerite Duras : L'Amant ; Un barrage contre le Pacifique Annie Ernaux : Une femme Colette : Sido
B1+/B2 | René Goscinny: l'humour au service de la société
Meet René Goscinny, one of France's most beloved writers and storytellers. Through his iconic characters and humorous writing, students will discover French culture, society, and everyday life while strengthening their language skills through discussion, analysis, and creative activities.
B2 | L'art français dans les collections du Massachusetts | In Person
Ce cours vous propose un voyage à travers l’histoire de l’art français à partir des œuvres conservées dans le Massachusetts. Du classicisme au néoclassicisme, du réalisme à l’impressionnisme et au postimpressionnisme, nous explorerons les grands mouvements artistiques, leurs contextes historiques et les artistes qui les ont façonnés.
B2 | Les Impressionnistes français au MFA | In Person
À l’occasion du 250ᵉ anniversaire des États-Unis, découvrez la remarquable collection impressionniste du Museum of Fine Arts de Boston. À travers les œuvres de Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Sisley et Cassatt, ce cours explore l’histoire de l’impressionnisme, ses grands artistes et le rôle essentiel des collectionneurs américains dans la reconnaissance et la préservation de ce mouvement artistique.
B2 | Bartholdi et la Statue de la Liberté | In Person
Découvrez l’histoire française derrière la Statue de la Liberté tout en perfectionnant votre français. À travers des documents authentiques, des images, des vidéos et des échanges interactifs, vous développerez vos compétences linguistiques tout en explorant la vie d’Auguste Bartholdi et les liens historiques, culturels et artistiques entre la France et les États-Unis, à l’occasion du 250ᵉ anniversaire de l’indépendance américaine.