Bonjour à tous ! Today, let me give you a few tips to help you boost your French speaking skills.
3 ways to boost your French speaking skills – Écouter
You are probably in the middle of your French learning journey. You already have acquired solid knowledge of grammar and conjugation, but you feel stuck : you are struggling to speak French. Here are the most common excuses that I hear from my students:
What if it’s not perfect?
What if I can’t find my words?
It’s too hard!
I sound ridiculous!
I can understand, but I am unable to speak.
I do agree with the fact that it’s never easy to learn how to speak fluently a foreign language.
This happened to me when I was a child and was still learning English. English is not my mother tongue, so I was too shy and i feared that my accent would be too obvious. It took some time to get here, but if I did not work on those extra steps, I wouldn’t be here recording my podcast episodes in English!
But here’s something that you need to know if you want to boost your French speaking skills: most students learn French in order to be able to communicate in the language. We are not looking to make perfect sentences, but to communicate.
I, especially as a teacher, will not judge someone who makes mistakes when they are speaking French. I am more than grateful to see that person is actually making the effort of communicating in my language!
So now, let me give you some tips on how to gain more confidence in French.
1. Listen to French everyday
If your goal is being confident in speaking French, you need to open your ears. Once again, I am going to insist on being an active learner. It’s a great thing to listen to French, and with all the resources that we have nowadays, there are plenty of topics to choose from. The most important thing to remember is to listen to things that you like and find interesting and be active. Some websites that you can find interesting : TV5 Monde or RFI Savoirs.
What does it mean to be an active listener? First of all, you need to make an effort to understand what you are listening. Of course, you are getting exposure to the language, but try to actively work on that document, video, or show. If there’s an expression or a word you don’t understand, make sure to write it down and google it after.
I would also recommend to repeat some sentences, words or expressions; the ones you’ve just learnt, the ones that sound nice to you, the ones that could be useful in the future.
Try to listen to French on a daily basis, if possible.
2. Communicate with native French speakers
Option 1
As obvious as this one sounds, it’s incredibly helpful. But if you don’t live in a French speaking country, how can you find a native French speaker?
If you want a free option, you can look into penpal websites. In some of them, you can create your profile and then look for a penpal to communicate with in your target language. However, your penpal is most likely going to want to speak in your native language as well, because that’s also the main reason why they created an account on that website!
Option 2
There is also another option that you can choose to communicate. If you are really looking to speak French, you may want to think of working on 1-on-1 lessons with a tutor. Some of my students simply want to have a weekly conversation in French, and I get to help them improve their communication skills.
Working with a French tutor will not only help you get better at speaking French, but you will also be more motivated if you are practicing with them on a regular basis.
Don’t hesitate to ask your tutor to correct your mistakes and feel free to write down some notes during the lessons.
Also, you can ask them how to say things in “everyday French“, as sometimes, they can be very different from textbook French.
Where can you find good French tutors? Well, you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Nowadays, there are many platforms to choose from. A platform that I can highly recommend would be LanguaTalk.com. There, you can find some very talented tutors from France and Belgium. Prices depend on the tutor you choose and start from around 14 US dollars (or 12 euros). You can see tutors’ reviews and videos then book a 30-minute free trial session with them.
If you would like to take a look at the different French tutors to choose from, click here.
If you want to know more, feel free to visit LanguaTalk by clicking on the button down below:
3. Listen to yourself
Another good way to boost your French speaking skills is to record yourself. There are many ways you can do this. First, you can listen to a sentence you find difficult to pronounce, pause it, record yourself repeating that sentence and listen to to your recording. Then, you can go back to the original document and listen to the French speaker again.
Also, you can write a short (or long!) text and read it out loud. If you don’t feel like going through the writing process, then simply pick a text to read (an article, a chapter in a book…). Concentrate on liaisons, articulation and intonation. Make sure to record yourself and to listen.
You might find it strange at the beginning, but trust me, this can be a good method for you to focus on your own pronunciation and improve the parts that sound “off” to you.
Conclusion
There is no magic recipe or secret to boost your French speaking skills. It requires practice and dedication, but if you stick to it, you will soon be able to notice your improvements. Be kind to yourself. Articulate, speak slowly, use your hands and gestures to express yourself! We are not in a rush, and remember, the most important thing is to be understood.
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, or you can also visit the Learn To French blog right here.
À bientôt !
