Learn English for French speakers
English stories at your level, with French translations on every tap. Three centuries of Anglo-French exchange means you already know more than you think.
Free to start · no card · your first story in 10 seconds
What French speakers already know
French speakers walk into English with a massive lexical advantage — roughly 30% of English vocabulary comes directly from French (1066 Norman conquest plus continuous medieval and modern borrowing). Words like restaurant, government, decision, attention, important, possible map almost one-to-one. Same alphabet, similar punctuation, SVO word order.
The friction points
- Pronunciation is the hardest part — silent letters in French are read; in English, spelling and pronunciation diverge in different and often arbitrary ways.
- Articles overlap but diverge in many cases ("life is hard" vs "la vie est dure") — instinct comes from input.
- Phrasal verbs (give up, put up with, look forward to) are entirely new — French uses single verbs.
- Continuous tenses (I am working / I have been working) have no exact French equivalent — feeling them takes exposure.
False friends to know first
Words that look familiar but mean something else. The first ones to learn so you don't embarrass yourself.
What English looks like in Newt
Generated by Newt at the level you set. Tap any word for an instant French translation, definition, and pronunciation — no leaving the page.
I've been working from home since the beginning of the month.
Je travaille de chez moi depuis le début du mois.
Present perfect continuous — French uses simple present + depuis where English needs perfect continuous.
If I were you, I'd take the earlier train tomorrow.
Si j'étais toi, je prendrais le train plus tôt demain.
Second conditional (if + past, would) — parallel to French si + imperfect + conditional.
Why French speakers pick up English
French-speakers across Europe, Quebec, francophone Africa, and the French tech scene in London and New York all need English at a working level. The challenge is rarely vocabulary (so many cognates) — it's accent, listening, and the natural-flow phrases that don't come from textbooks. Reading is the missing input volume.
Read → tap → save → repeat
- Tell Newt what you care aboutPick a topic (cycling, history, coffee, indie games — anything). Newt writes you a short English story around it at your level.
- Tap any word for instant translationTap a word — Newt shows the French translation, definition, and pronunciation in a popup. No page-switching.
- Save the ones you don't know yetSaved words land in your vocabulary list with the sentence you met them in — context comes free.
- Newt reuses them in your next storyEach new story tries to fold in 2-3 words you recently saved, so you meet them again in fresh context. That's how vocabulary actually sticks.
- Spaced repetition catches what slippedA short daily review session brings back words the algorithm thinks you're about to forget. Same idea as Anki, except you never had to build the deck.
Common questions
How is this different from Duolingo for English?
Duolingo teaches isolated phrases in a fixed curriculum. Newt generates short stories from topics you actually care about, at your current level, with every word tappable for an instant French translation. Words you save come back automatically in future stories — that's the part that makes vocabulary stick.
How is this different from asking ChatGPT to write me a English text?
ChatGPT can write you a story, but it forgets everything between sessions. It doesn't know which words you already learned, doesn't space them out for review, and doesn't quietly weave your saved words into the next story. Newt does all of that — it's a closed loop, not a one-shot prompt.
What level of English do I need to start?
Any. Newt supports A1 (complete beginner) through C1 (advanced). At A1 you'll get short, very simple texts with high-frequency vocabulary; at B2+ you'll get nuanced articles and stories. The system calibrates as you tap and save words.
Is it free?
Yes — there's a free plan with 3 fresh AI texts every day, no card required to sign up. Premium lifts the daily cap and lets you study multiple languages at once; you can upgrade anytime.
How long until I can read a real book in English?
Realistic timeline for French speakers: 4-8 months of consistent daily reading (15-30 min) to read a young-adult novel comfortably, 12+ months to read literary fiction. The single biggest predictor is hours of input — Newt's job is to make those hours easy to start.
Start reading English tonight
Pick a topic, your first story lands in 10 seconds. Free to start, no card.