Video games can be a great source of comprehensible input for French learners. They teach you new words and expressions in a fun context. Here are some tips to choose video games to practice with French comprehensible input from home!
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How to choose a video game to improve your French
There are games dedicated to teaching a foreign languages, but in this article I’ll write about playing usual video games and turning the language to French to practice immersion.
Video games with audio or written dialogs
Usually, we can practice immersion with a video game because there are dialogs. Those translated dialogs are most often written, as games with audio dubbing in several languages are more scarce. Story-rich, open-world RPGs are the most likely to offer French voice overs.
For example, the following RPGs do have French dubbing: The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk, la série Borderlands, Fallout 4, Assassin’s Creed, Skyrim…
How to find games with French voice over on Steam?
Steam store filters don’t allow to directly search for games with French subs or dubs, but the website SteamDB does. Be careful thought, as some game without dialogs can end up in the results: always double-check before bying.
- Games with French voice over or original French audio on Steam
- Games with subtitles in French on Steam
How to find games with good quality audio in French
Unfortunately, translations and dubbing in French are not always great or natural. Your best bet is to choose games developed by French companies. Here are a few examples:
- Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed, The Division, Far Cry, Anno…)
- Asobo studio (A Plague Tale)
- Sandfall Interactive (Clair Obscur Expedition 33)
Choose games where misunderstanding dialogs doesn’t prevent progressing
It can be really demotivating you if you’re stuck early in the game because dialogs are giving important hints or instructions that you don’t (perfectly) understand. Except if your level is quite good already, you’d better choose games where dialogs are not making or breaking the experience.
For example, avoid games that are really story-driven and where your choices have a big impact on the course of the main quest, puzzle games where you need to understand the hints to solve problems, as well as games with instructions you have to follow during fast sequences (fighting, racing, timed quest…).
A good candidate in this regard is Hades, long dialogs happen in between fights or runs, and it’s mostly storytelling. It’s totally possible to complete the game without understanding them. Also, you have to press a button to continue in the dialog, which gives plenty of time to read at your own pace.
Pausing dialogs
In some games, dialogs run automatically without pressing a button. It means you might not have the time to read everything or look up some words if you’d like. It can be frustrating if you cannot finish reading, and it really disadvantages you if those dialogs are important for progression.
Vocabulary specific to the genre
When considering books, tv shows, movies as well as games, take into account that the world where the story happens will influence the kind of vocabulary that is used. For example, fantasy worlds use words that are rarely heard in other situations, like weapons, armor, stones, spells, potions, creatures…
It can make it more difficult to immerse, because you’ll have to learn new words. That being said, if you really enjoy that genre, it’s worth learning its specific vocabulary as you’ll also see it or hear it in books, movies, shows…
Create a reusable memo with those words so you don’t have to look them up every time you practice comprehensible input with that kind of media.
Games with really down-to-earth stories allow you to learn vocabulary and sentences that you can use when communicating in French, so they’re worth playing even though it’s not your favorite genre.
You might also be interested: How to find free ebooks in French to practice reading
Language style
Based on the game theme and world, the kind of language may greatly vary. Games with a medieval or fantasy setting might use sentences that are very literary or old school, and wouldn’t sound natural at all nowadays. Not only are they less useful, but they will make it more difficult to understand in the first place.
For example, the game Cult of the Lamb uses such convoluted sentences because it fits the atmosphere of the game, making the dialogs more complicated to understand for non-native French speakers.
On the other hand, some games use very a colloquial language, slang or vulgar expressions. These words can help you understand modern, natural French in casual contexts, but you have to know when to use them not to offense anyone, and they are difficult to understand or even translate (slang words do not always appear in the dictionary).
For example, the characters of the game Donut County have a very casual conversation style and use a lot of slang and figurative expressions. Even with a dictionary or translater, it can be really difficult to understand the nuances or actually get what they mean. In the Borderlands series, dialogs are full of irony and vulgar jokes.
The most important criteria when choosing a video game to practice immersion…
is going for a game that you actually like, and having fun in the process!
Learning French with cosy video games without dialogs
There’s another way to practice French with video games, without reading or listening to dialogs. With cosy games, you can practice naming things, explaining what actions you’re taking or what you’re seeing. It’s even better if you do it aloud, as you’re also practicing speaking in French. This method is accessible to French learners even if they don’t feel ready to start immersion.
Games like A little to the left and Unpacking are just perfect for this.
What games have you already played in French?
Learn more vocabulary about video games and other hobbies in French with the comprehensible input book Les loisirs de Louise.
