Do you feel stressed at the very thought of having to speak French?

Do you listen to native speakers and stare in awe, thinking you’ll never talk like that?

Nonsense!

You’ve got lips, a tongue, teeth and a throat, just like them.

If they can, you can, too.

Jacques Cœur once said: “À vaillant coeur rien d’impossible.” (There’s nothing impossible for a valiant heart.)

And I know your heart is valiant and your mouth is up for some French speaking, so get ready to live your life in the fast lane and learn how to speak French at supersonic speed.

Fasten your seat belt and enjoy the trip!

Why Learn to Speak French?

Learning how to speak French is a task for the brave of heart.

You’ll need to give your best to master one of the most romantic languages in the world.

But why is it so important to learn how to speak it?

Here you have some reasons:

• French is a widely spoken language in the world. French is spoken by over 300 million people in the world and is an official language in 29 countries. That’s a lot of potential speakers to interact with!

• French is an important business language. France is one of the world’s largest economies, and French is one of the official languages in organizations such as the European Union, the United Nations and the African Union, among others.

• You’ll need powerful speaking skills to pass your French oral exam. If you need to pass a French oral exam, you’re going to have to work on your pronunciation and speaking skills. French is a difficult language to pronounce, so winging the exam isn’t going to do the trick.

• French can land you the job of your dreams. What if your dream job involves speaking French fluently and having to ace a job interview in French? If you don’t speak the language, you ain’t getting the job, pal.

• It’ll help you meet new people. There are millions of French-speaking internet users. You could make a few good friends thanks to your language expertise. Imagine even meeting the love of your life because you know how to use French pick-up lines!

• Speaking French will make your trips and holidays easier. Whether you travel for pleasure or business, knowing French in a French-speaking country will always come in handy in hotels and restaurants, when asking for directions or at the doctor’s office.

French Speaking Tips

We’ve answered why, but the million-dollar question is how to improve your French speaking skills.

I have some million-dollar answers for you:

Improve your French pronunciation

The first and most obvious thing you need to do to speak proper French is work on your French pronunciation and improve your French accent.

French people are known for switching to English if they don’t like how you treat their language (i.e. if your French isn’t good enough by their standards) or they think their English is better than your French.

Whatever the case, you don’t want them to switch, so try to improve your French pronunciation ASAP!

Try shadowing

Shadowing is a simple but super effective language learning technique where you listen to native audio of the language you’re learning and repeat it as close to the original as possible.

It’s like being a human parrot, except it really works!

Shadowing will work wonders on your pronunciation and will allow you to learn vocabulary and grammar structures along the way.

Master non-verbal French communication

Being fluent in French and speaking the language better than Gérard Depardieu makes it necessary for you to include French gestures and French noises into your conversations.

French and English non-verbal communication aren’t the same, so if you want to pass for a native speaker, you’ll need to learn the differences between them.

Determine your level of French

You need to know your level of French to be able to improve it.

If you’re an advanced learner, you don’t need to waste time with resources on spoken French for beginners. Likewise, if you’re just starting to learn the language, resources for advanced students are completely out of reach for you.

Determine your level and use speaking resources that are appropriate for it.

Use French media to your advantage

If you really want to learn how to speak French fast, one of the best things you can do is use native French media.

From movies, series and videos to podcasts, the news and the radio, the internet is full of native French media ready for you to gorge on.

By listening to native speakers use their language, you’ll learn how to speak French fluently and will be able to improve your French speaking skills in a fun and easy way.

But if you’re still not ready for native media, you can always start your speaking practice with the videos available on French YouTube channels.

FluentU French uses real native content and dissects it for you so you can learn French easily while you get immersed in the language.

Thanks to videos like this, you’ll learn how to sound like a native French speaker in no time:

This is just one cool example of all the awesome content you’ll find in the channel. Subscribe to French YouTube channels and you’ll see your French speaking skills improve, no matter your level, one short video at a time.

Add filler words to your convos

From weird noises to fully-fledged words, French filler words are found in every single French conversation, both formal and informal.

If you want to achieve fluency in French someday, you need to start filling the silences with filler words, just like native French speakers do.

Read out loud

Reading out loud has a lot of benefits many language learners ignore.

For starters, it’ll help you improve your pronunciation and intonation, especially if you record yourself while reading and revise the audio afterward.

Additionally, it’ll get you ready for real speaking situations. You’ll be used to talking out loud, so you’ll stress much less when you have to have an actual conversation.

Last but not least, it’ll improve your French grammar and vocabulary. When you read out loud, you’re more aware of what you’re reading, so the process goes from passive to active learning.

Listen more to speak better

Listen to as much native French as you can. This’ll help you get a better grasp of how real French sounds like, which in turn will allow you to speak better and more fluently.

Use podcasts, audiobooks, the radio or any other source of French audio you can think of. To make the results even better, engage at least one other sense while you listen (for instance, you can listen to an audiobook and read the book at the same time, or watch a French movie with French audio and French subtitles).

Talk to yourself in French, a lot

I haven’t gone crazy. Talking to yourself in French is a superb way of practicing your French speaking skills.

You can just stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself your plan for the day, or have a conversation with yourself while having a shower.

You can even listen to your inner voice tell you a goodnight story in French!

Try it. The results will surprise you.

Get feedback and learn from it

Find a native French speaker who’s willing to listen to you and correct you when you make mistakes.

There are plenty of places on the internet where people are looking for speaking partners, so it shouldn’t be hard to find someone who can help you improve your spoken French.

Write your mistakes down and analyze them when you’re by yourself. Study the rules you’ve broken and repeat your mispronounced words until you get them right.

Learn from your mistakes and you’ll be unstoppable.

French Speaking Programs

Apart from applying the previous list of techniques, there are other options you can try to improve your French speaking skills.

There are several types of French speaking programs and learning strategies learners can use to sound more like a native French speaker.

The following are four of my favorite ones:

French language labs

French language labs are an excellent option for learners of French who want to boost their speaking skills, because they focus on pronunciation, speaking and listening comprehension.

There are many different kinds of French language labs available, the main being:

• Phone language labs (normally in the form of apps).

• Web-based language labs (available online).

• Software-based language labs (which you can install on your laptop or computer).

• Traditional physical language labs (in which you attend a class in person).

• Virtual language labs (which take place live in a virtual classroom via Zoom, Skype or a similar platform).

Online French speaking courses

Online French speaking courses are courses that have been specifically designed to help you improve your spoken French.

They have the advantage of letting you decide the teaching method, the learning channel, the amount of money you want to spend and the time commitment you’re putting toward them, among others.

Many of the French speaking courses available online allow you to have direct contact with native speakers of French, and you can even have a French teacher just for you if you’re willing to pay a bit more.

French home immersion

Home immersion is probably one of the most comfortable yet efficient ways to practice your French speaking.

If you want to learn how to speak French at home, there’s a wide array of possibilities you can choose from.

Some learners like to use French speaking apps or learn French on Discord, Reddit or Facebook. Others go for reading, listening to and watching only French content and media, and then there are others that do all of the above plus any other stuff they can think of so as to be completely surrounded by the French language.