One of the first things I did while taking French 110 (now 111/112) was add a French keyboard to my laptop and phone. What I didn’t know as a beginning French student was that even the French keyboard layout is different!
This layout is called AZERTY, with all the additional French characters (ex. ç, é, and à) arranged on number and symbol keys. It also swaps the positions of Q/A, W/Z, and M, which actually helps you type in French faster, believe it or not! As you advance in French, improving your typing (“la dactylographie”) skills will make a difference in typing emails, essays, and texts. Here are two typing practice recommendations to boost your AZERTY typing skills!
1. AgileFingers
AgileFingers has two modes, “Exemple de texte” (example text) and “Jeux” (games). “Exemple de texte” mode simply displays an excerpt of a work of French literature with an on-screen AZERTY keyboard. It’s helpful to practice reading the texts as you type, as well! “Jeux” mode has step-by-step levels for beginners to get comfortable with the AZERTY layout and keys. These games focus on words rather than a large text, so this is helpful to learn new vocabulary!
2. TypeRacer
TypeRacer is a typing game that lets you race against other players as you practice typing in French. Like AgileFingers, the shorter texts are taken from works of French literature. Race against your friends and try to get the highest typing speed!
Bonus tips!
- Your computer may have a “Keyboard Viewer” feature, which displays the layout of the keyboard onto your screen. This is helpful if you’re having trouble making associations between the AZERTY key input and your QWERTY physical keyboard.
- Be extra cautious when using keyboard shortcuts! Remember that Q/A and W/Z are swapped between QWERTY and AZERTY keyboards. I’ve made the fatal mistake of closing all my tabs by accident so many times.
Learning the French AZERTY keyboard doesn’t have to be impossible, and I hope these ideas help anyone trying out this different keyboard for the first time!