Innerfrench Reviews 

I recently completed both intermediate-level courses offered by Hugo on the innerFrench website (B1 - Build a Strong Core, and B2 - Raconte ton histoire), and I would like to share with you my experience.

I absolutely love both of these courses and would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to get to an intermediate level of French. I started my French journey from absolute zero back in December 2025, and I enrolled in the innerFrench B1 course in April 2026. During this time period, I was teaching myself French grammar as well as building a foundational level of vocabulary. By April 2026, my understanding of French grammar was at around A2 and my vocabulary roster was probably low A2, but my listening comprehension was not quite there. That was when I discovered innerFrench course, and I couldn't be happier with my decision to enrol. Now, after having completed both courses, I can genuinely feel the difference in my French comprehension level. I can watch " L'Agence" with no subtitles on Netflix and is able to understand 80% or more, including grammar and expressions. "Dix pour cent" is still a little difficult for me to understand due to all the slangs and expressions.

If you are searching for the difference between the B1 and the B2 courses, I would say in summary, the B1 course teaches you "intermediate-level French grammar" through interesting videos that talk about French culture. Each lesson is always followed by a series of exercises to help drill in the grammar that was taught in that lesson. In my opinion, by listening to how the grammar is used in the video, followed by Hugo pointing it out during the grammar lesson, it really helps you remember. This is basically Hugo's method of "learning French in contexte". By the end of B1 level course, you should have a solid understanding of intermediate-level French grammar. For those interested in starting that course, I highly recommend that you build a foundation understanding and vocabulary level first since the course is taught fully in French.

The B2 level course brings your French comprehension to an even higher level through videos of Hugo interviewing his friends about their journey and experience, as well as some more French culture videos. The speed is faster than the B1 level, and the French level is more natural. You learn so many idioms and expressions that are commonly used everyday, which I believe is what really improved my listening comprehension.

Overall, I really enjoyed both courses and I can't wait to start the C1 level course, Les visages de Paris. Highly recommend these to those who want to want to progress past the "intermediate plateau" and learn French in context!

I highly recommend InnerFrench to anyone who is looking for a way to boost your skills when you’re at the intermediate level. I just finished the course “Build a Strong Core.” It’s the first online course that has truly engaged me through videos on interesting topics, thoughtful exercises, and a podcast, all of which challenge you to improve your skills. You can be as immersed in the community of learners as you want to be. Hugo and his team are incredibly responsive and encouraging. It's well worth the investment!

I just finished the second course on the InnerFrench platform and started the third and last almost immediately--that's how much I love these classes. I study other languages too and I wish I could find this same format. Hugo exposes you to real French, not just canned phrases, and you learn grammar through authentic conversations. There is a transcript for each lesson, so after watching a video I like to go back and shadow it with the transcript to practice my pronunciation. Definitely a five star learning experience, just like the podcasts too!

The course has been designed really well with a mix of content to develop our listening, informing us about grammar, and allowing grammar practice. The good thing is I can go over the parts of the course I feel weaker on to strengthen my grammar - but after doing the course I felt I had a much better understanding of the language. It’s a bit compliment with the podcast that he’s created and tries to less us have a rounder listening and writing ability.

Building a strong core is a great course. You can pace it yourself and review it as many times as you need (and i needed alot!) I love the podcasts too.

I did the B2 level course. It was very clearly presented and explained, and there was plenty of material to work through. Hugo comes across as pleasant and helpful. Good value for money.

J'ai essayé de nombre d'autres cours de langage et je trouve que Innerfrench est le meilleur de meilleur. J'adore les leçons d'Hugo. Les exercices m'aident beaucoup à apprendre vraiment le grammaire. Et surtout Hugo nous encourage à acharner. Un jour, on peut trouver qu'on comprend et qu'on peut lire, écrire et parler français avec courage. Il comprend vraiment que l'apprentissage devrait engager l'intellect et être stimulant et amusant.

The B2 course is comprehensive and helpful, perfect for self-learning and improving your French level from B1 to B2.

Merci, Hugo. J’ai particulièrement apprécié la qualité du votre cours. Vous êtes très pédagogue et savez rendre les cours dynamiques et efficaces.
Les activités proposées sont variées et nous permettent de progresser dans toutes les compétences. Grâce à ça, je me sens plus à l’aise pour m’exprimer en français.
Merci beaucoup pour sa patience et ses efforts.

This course was designed thoughtfully and the website functions well. It covers all the grammar essentials and common traps/ missteps, and does so with engaging videos and exercises that effectively reinforce the lessons. You will learn the French language and French culture beyond Paris, bread, wine and cheese (though, those things are great too). It took me a long time to finish the course, but it’s worth finishing. I know my French is better for it, and I’ve made real progress toward getting myself out of the intermediary plateau. I have followed InnerFrench for years. Their team puts out great, quality content whatever they do.

I have just completed the ‘Build a Strong Core’ course and have enjoyed it very much while reacquainting myself with all the basics ! Hugo is easy to understand and always speaks clearly and at a normal pace. The grammar lessons are clearly presented and well illustrated - I’m really looking forward to starting ‘Les Connais-tu ?’ next !

I completed the course recently and I really enjoyed it. I think Hugo makes an excellent job in selecting the topics covering very useful areas where I personally used to make a lot of mistakes. I know I will re-visit these lessons to refresh and improve my weak points. I absolutely loved the video intro at the beginning of each lesson - fun and educational!
Katya (New York)

I really enjoyed the course. Hugo is very talented at explaining complex things in a simple way. I particularly enjoyed the incredible interesting interviews with his friends. This course is brilliant, so I highly recommend it.

Challenging in the best way- interesting topics and plenty of exercises to dig into grammar when you want to.

J’ai bien choisis ce cours. Evidemment je savais déjà un peu de français que jái étudié pendant douze ans mais ça il ya déjà longtemps. Mais si on ne pratique à quoi sert tout ça? Les exercices de grammaire très bien conçus ainsi que les sujets de culture aussi très intéressants. Aucun ennui de faire les exercices. Au contraire, chaque leçon était un plaisir d’écouter et apprendre. Et en plus, j’aurai toujours, d’une façon organisée, le cours avec moi, s’il faut clarifier quelque doute. Un excellent cours et mes félicitations à toute l’équipe d’Innerfrench.

I had discovered the InnerFrench blog and found it very useful for the stage I was at which was intermediate. There was not very many sites that focused on going from B1 to B2 and on which was my goal. Hugo has put a lot of work into his blogs and they’re very interesting, and instructive for vocabulary and subject matter. I also downloaded his free booklet of expressions which was very comprehensive. I was reticent at first at taking his courses because I wasn’t sure how they would be. Based on what I knew of the blog, I was sure they would be excellent. I have taken various courses in different environments which all lacked a sense of direction and forward advancement in a step by step manner. I quickly found that the Inner French course was so well structured and relevant and building up one’s knowledge of speaking French in a logical way. That was the best thing I think you get with the Inner French course. You also receive answers to any of your questions from the team as you go along. I really appreciate the effort that Hugo and his team have made to French language learning through his blog and courses. I have completed the first course and will be taking the next two.

I fell in love with Hugo after listening his first episode of his podcast.. I think it was about robots :) and then for a very long time I was just listening the interesting stuff on his podcast and hesitated to subscribe to his courses… huge mistake !
I have just finished Building a strong core and already looking forward to repeat it and then do the next one !
Beside the incredible content of the course, I learned so much about France, politics, education..
Great journey 🙏🏻

The classes were very well-structured and the grammar lessons were useful.

The thing that often makes language-learning difficult is that it's hard to get pulled away from all the podcasts, tv shows, news sites etc. in your own language that you like to watch & listen to, because most intermediate-level language learning material just isn't as interesting. Hugo and his team at InnerFrench have clearly gone to great trouble to bring us stuff that will be interesting enough to really jump start our French learning!

Great course! Highly recommend for intermediate learners. This course is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the language, as well as learn more about the different beautiful cultures that speak French.

I can’t recommend Hugo’s class highly enough. I have been studying French a long time in a rather slapdash fashion, and I was stuck in the infamous intermediate slough. The InnerFrench podcast helped me to keep improving and inspired me to try this course. Hugo’s approach deemphasizes grammar and emphasizes one’s contact with, and pleasure in, the language. I have a PhD in English Literature, and this reminds me of how, as a child, I first came to become a passionate reader. At the same time, because Hugo does not overemphasize grammar, you know that what you are learning is important. I’m sure this course improved my French comprehension and gave me a sense of forward momentum.

Even though the interface is not as slick as gamified apps like Duolingo, this drawback is more than compensated for the care with which it has been created. (Also it is better for your soul not to pay a company that is laying off a staff to replace them with janky AI.) When I didn’t understand why I had failed to answer a particular question correctly, I almost always found that my question had been anticipated by Hugo or one of the other moderators.

One last thing, pay attention to the advice that Hugo gives at the beginning about learning to learn a language. Personally, I found his tip taking handwritten notes and re-writing the correct answers to exercises helped keep me engaged.