Learning how to speak French fluently is a dream for many travelers, foodies and Francophiles. Speaking French isn’t about knowing every word in the dictionary, it’s simply having the confidence to be able to express yourself. Millions of language learners around the world are already learning French, so you’re in great company.
Photo Bastien Nvs by on Unsplash
10 Steps to become fluent in French
1. Fall in Love with French
What’s the key to speaking French? French is the language of love. And to speak any language, you’ve got to fall in love with it. Or at least find a really good reason to stick with it, even when the going gets tough.
Figure out why you should learn French? Find your motive
Your big "why" for learning French will keep you motivated through the ups and downs of learning a new language. It will be something to hold onto whenever you feel like giving up on learning French and start to wonder “What was I thinking?” Everyone has their own big why for speaking French.
Here are some really good reasons to fall in love with French:
To travel the world. French is an official language in over 25 countries and is widely spoken in many more.
To complete your higher education in France
To read French literary classics (think Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Alexandre Dumas, and Gustave Flaubert).
To connect with French native speakers.
To get an inside view of French culture.
French makes you sound attractive and romantic . Remember when Phoebe speaking French got Rachel all impressed?
2. Create a Mini-France in Your Home
It’s easier to speak French when you’re surrounded by French. But you don’t need to live in France to immerse yourself in the language. In fact, you can surround yourself with French wherever you live.
Switch the language settings on your phone to French. You can do the same with your computer.
Look for French speakers in your city. Most cities around the world, big or small, will have a community of French speakers.
3. Start writing and thinking in French
You’ll learn French much faster if you focus on words and phrases that are relevant to your life. Plus, when you have real conversations in French, you’ll be able to talk about yourself.
Write shopping lists, to-do lists in French. Have a little pep talks with yourself in front of the mirror.
Buy a small whiteboard and practice. Talk to your pets in French.
Look for quotes in French. Find short story books and annotate the words you can understand.
Find the French translated short poems that you already know.
We also suggest starting your personal phrasebook with:
“Je viens de [your home country]” (I’m from [your home country])
“Dans mon temps libre, j’aime [your favourite activities]” (In my spare time, I like [your favourite activities])
“Je veux apprendre le français parce que [your reasons for learning French]” (I want to learn French because [your reasons for learning French])
“Je suis [occupation]” (I’m a [your occupation])
Any other interesting information about yourself (Have you learned any other languages? Travelled to unusual places?)
4. Use filler words and Conversational Connectors
Conversations involve a lot more than simply exchanging bare facts. They would be awfully dull if they did. In a world like that, a conversation with a work colleague might go something like this:
You: “How was your weekend?”
Them: “It was fine.”
You: “Mine wasn’t.”
Them: “Oh.”
Boring, right?
I bet you don’t talk like this in your native language. More likely, you enrich the information you communicate by adding phrases to show your mood or level of politeness, or to simply transition smoothly between topics.
The same conversation, spoken more naturally, might sound more like this:
You: “So, how was your weekend?”
Them: “It wasn’t bad, thanks for asking. How about yours?”
You: “Actually, it wasn’t that great, to be honest.”
Them: “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?”
See how much better the conversation flows?
Both conversations communicate essentially the same information, but the second one uses conversational connectors These are short phrases that serve to make the conversation sound more natural, and less jarring and “staccato”.
The conversational connectors in the dialogue above are “Thanks for asking”, “How about you?”, “Actually”, “To be honest” and “I’m sorry to hear that”. These are phrases that people use over and over in their daily conversations, no matter what the topic.
The French use a lot of filler words to punctuate their sentences. While they might be hard to translate, they’re easy to learn and will help you speak French fluently.
Alors - So
Tu vois? - You know?
En fait - Actually
Ben oui - Uh yeah
If you learn these and other conversational connectors in French, your conversations will reach new heights. You’ll be able to hold the other person’s interest and make your sentences sound less “raw”. You’ll find you’re chatting longer with French speakers. This extra practice in turn will make you an even better French speaker.
5. Focus on the Easy Aspects of French
French really isn’t easier or harder to learn than any other language, but you can quickly forget this if you only focus on the difficult aspects of French.
Whenever you get discouraged, think about all of the ways that French is actually an easy language to learn.
French is an easy language because it:
Has no cases (nominative, accusative, etc), unlike Russian by the way if you want to learn Russian or Ukrainian language
Is not a tonal language, unlike many African and Asian languages.
Shares a lot of vocabulary with English due to their intertwined histories.
Uses the Latin alphabet.
Only has two noun genders, unlike German, which has three.
Remember these facts when you’re learning how to speak French, and the tougher aspects of the language suddenly won’t seem so bad!
6. Watch and listen
Get used to the rhythm of the language by watching French series on online streaming platforms with both French audio and subtitles.
Don't worry if you don’t understand every word, just try to recognise the way words sound, versus their spelling.
7. Sing along
Singing along to music is a playful way to learn new French words, immerse yourself in French culture and get in touch with your inner romantic.
Do not under estimate the power of music. Have you noticed British singers have American accent while singing. How is that possible? It’s because words in tune does not demand thick accents.
Similarly learning French songs will make you get used to French pronunciation and will make you sound very natural.
8. Make it a game
Playing games is a fun way to learn French passively. If you’re a gamer, try to find Francophone players to play with. Or buddy up with another French learner and challenge each other with simple games such as celebrity heads, taboo or 20 questions. Surround yourself with the French language as much as possible. Use ChatGPT to practice and converse back and forth, it is also an effective way to I prove your French.
9. Speak up
Start with simple texts like children's books or news articles and gradually work your way up to more complex literature. Reading will help improve your vocabulary and comprehension skills.
Chatting with native speakers is the best way to gain confidence speaking French. Pick up their expressions and gestures to help your conversational French sound more natural and fluent. Speaking is essential for fluency. Practice speaking French as much as possible, even if you make mistakes.
Don't be afraid to speak with native speakers or join language exchange groups.
10. Join Learnning Tree
Finally, at last but definitely not the least, joining LearnningTree can help you make your dreams come true. At LearnningTree, learning French is even easier.
We embrace your vision and aspirations, empowering you to explore new horizons through our strategic language learning guidance. With diverse language learning courses, interactive learning and cultural insights, it enriches your linguistic development.