Coucou les French learners,

Two weeks ago, I posted Antony’s question about having the correct pronunciation in French. The challenge of the French language is pronunciation. It is challenging to read in French because spelling does not match pronunciation.

There are also all those “weird” sounds (well, not for me!) like: -en, -on, -oin, -an… These are nasal sounds and they are challenging when you are not a native speaker. (This video is perfect to understand how to breathe those sounds!).

Fear not! These are my 5 tips to pronounce the words correctly in French.

1. Take the time to listen often.
The more you listen, the more you will get used to the melody of the French language. Each language has its unique melody and intonation. It is important to listen, listen and listen again to get this melody into your brain! Watch my video on YouTube – Prendre le temps d’écouter

2. Enjoy repeating what you understand.
When I listen to the Portuguese radio, whenever I understand a word, I repeat it. There are mostly connectors and ways to voice your opinion which I hear all the time. Words like – well, really?, however, I find that, at the end of day… When I repeat those words, I pretend I am the radio presenter and I try to sound like a Portuguese. Then when I speak to Portuguese people, those words come out of my mouth naturally without hesitation. Watch my video on YouTube – Le plaisir de répéter

3. Read aloud.
When you read a story, listen to the audio and repeat at the same time as the narrator. This is called shadowing. The Audio sync view button allows you to follow what the narrator is reading. You can choose different speeds from very slow (x0.5) to very fast (x1.5). It gives you the confidence to start speaking about a content you know at your own pace.

4. Use your phone!
Beth sent me this great suggestion which I haven’t tried yet but I thought it would be useful sharing. Beth wrote:

Here is what I do, I will speak into my phone in French to send texts to my French friends and the phone often messes up my words I thought I was saying. Anyway, I will re-do until it recognizes what I am actually saying. I also speak German (unfortunately better than French) and the phone almost always recognizes what I say in German correctly! Argh! Anyway, I thought you might like to know this technique for checking if I sound French enough for the phone to understand me.

5. Have fun!
Actually, this is the most important tip in the process! When you have fun, chances are you will keep on trying. It will keep your motivation going because it is a journey! So pretend you are French and have fun repeating and pronouncing the words, the French way! Laila Sell who is an inspiring polyglott yoga teacher told me that when she was young, she would spend time in her room pretending she was French. She is now fluent in French! Watch my on hour conversation with her on YouTube or listen to it as a podcast.