Verbal French and written French, ARE, and can safely be considered as two separate languages for the purpose of learning. Yet, we always get caught up between the two. Only because as we grew up we lost the rhythm of study and forgot the techniques that once helped us succeed. What we learn, what we speak differs considerably from the actual French spoken in day-to-day life by the natives.

To help you improve your verbal French, I am listing here some points for those who wish to learn French to speak and communicate, not just to pass exams!!

One of the best ways to be able to learn French verbally is to train with audio that would help you train your speaking ability, by teaching you the right content, with the right speed, and is modified to your level. 

Verbal French would enable you to work on your pronunciation, memorize common sentences and expressions by means of repetition. All you need to do is, get the courage to speak out loud. Don’t try to grab the tougher topics, start with easy ones first!

Listen and try to imitate the speaker as many times as necessary, or until you have the pronunciation down! Then, and only then, look at the transcript and translation if you need to figure out the meaning of a word or two. You could speak aloud over the speaker, if you are an advanced student, to figure out differences in your pronunciation. Pay closer attention to the word grouping, where the reader breathes, the liaisons, and the eventual glidings.

Another great way to Learn French verbally is to exchange text conversations with people who know French, learn question building, and prepare/seek the right answers to them, before the verbal practice. Find a real person to correct your pronunciation. The reason people find it better to learn in actual classes with a teacher is that they are able to get instant feedback and get corrected just as they make a mistake! You may be blessed with plenty of good resources to learn French pronunciation, but if you do not have someone who can listen and correct your mistakes, it’s a waste of effort. No bots, no apps, no online software, no recorded lessons can help you with that. It needs a real person.

So do consider a small investment by getting yourself a tutor. A few verbal French lessons on phone/ online class/ classroom can permanently change your French accent for the rest of your life.

Listing French words improves your understanding but to master French verbally you need to start from an English word and see if you can come up with its French equivalent. 

Flashcards are another great way to memorize a lot of vocabulary, spoken aloud, provided you don’t skip the articles with their nouns. Make a mental connection with the Object, the Situation by starting to link French words to English words as much as possible. As an example, you learn the word “la mère”, picture your mother in your head, and link the French word to this. Linking to English will derail you from proper learning of French especially when French and English stop following the same pattern.

French is a highly structured language, and you need to internalize this. You need to have perfect grammar to build a sentence! You can train yourself to acquire reflexes, by memorizing and have the words come naturally to you but without understanding; it just won’t work. When we memorize something in order, our brain memorizes the order as well! Like the multiplication tables!! French verbs are taught from “Je” to “Ils” and when learning in order your brain has to go through the whole list to get to the “ils” form…

It may be strange to mention, but it’s proven that randomizing subject pronouns actually imparts you a lot of speed when holding a verbal communication(Including training in the negative form). Work on building reflexes to reply instantly without having to “think” of an answer only when you are transitioning into the intermediate level. Keep a list of important exchanges ready- sentences especially ones with French pronouns, common yet complex French pronoun sentences: 

“il m’a dit”, 

“je lui ai donné” etc… to memorize them, besides things that are relevant to you, that are likely to come up in conversation: what you like to do, your job, your family situation etc.

Memorizing anything, trains our brain to store the matter for a shorter term. The only way to retain it, in the long run, is through experience and repetition. So ensure you make a dedicated schedule every day, even if it’s for 15- 20 minutes, and do a lot of loud oral repetitions. 

The final aim is to get to deliver a beautiful verbal French accent and speak faster than a native speaker.

You’ll find exclusive mini lessons, tips, audios, flashcard help, pictures, and many more resources online to support you in your endeavor of mastering verbal French!