"The hardest thing for me in French is speaking!"
"I understand quite well, but I still can't speak!"
"I've been studying French for a long time, I understand a lot, I have a lot of vocabulary, but as soon as I start speaking, I forget everything!"
"Every time I want to speak in French, I find myself unable to build a single sentence without making mistakes!"
Do you recognize yourself in these sentences?
I have been teaching French since 2007 and this is what I hear the most from people who contact me after they started learning French. True, there are many people who have heard French in their childhood, or learned it on their own, with videos, books, podcasts, etc., and have had no opportunity to speak (or almost none). The result is that they gained knowledge and a wide vocabulary but never used it "on their own". And there are others who participated in French courses, took lessons with private teachers, and as part of their studies they had to speak. But they still say they can't.
So what can be done?
Today I would like to give you
3 tips to overcome the fear of speaking French
1- Put your ego aside
It's the first thing to do, yet no one says it.
You are learning a foreign language. No one expects you to speak fluent French in three months. No one expects you to speak without even one error within a year. Only you expect that from yourself.
Let's take me for example. I want to run. I am currently walking, and running part of my regular route (a small part). If I tell you that in a month I want to run (and finish) the Paris Marathon, what will you say? ... You will say that it doesn't make sense at all.
It's exactly the same with your French. Even if you are super smart and spend days and nights, you will not speak French in a month like you speak English (or your mother tongue).
So the first thing you need to do is to understand and accept the fact that right now you are speaking with very simple sentences, without all the nuances you would want to use (if you spoke English).
2- Talk from the first day
A lot of people think they need to learn more to speak. And what happens is exactly the opposite. Why?
Because you are gaining knowledge, learning more tenses and grammar points, and therefore, over time, your knowledge (and your level of understanding) requires you to speak a higher, richer language. But if you haven't spoken until now, if you haven't practiced the simple language orally, how exactly will you be able to speak in a higher language?
If we go back to my example - running, imagine that I watch videos of coaches, listen to testimonies of runners for 3 months, learn all their tips (how to breathe, how to put the foot on the ground, etc.) and then of course, on the first day I go for a real run, I will finish 18 kilometers easily . (Am I living in a movie?)
So the second thing you need to do is this : start talking from now on. No, sorry, from 5 minutes ago. With errors, with simple sentences. Get used to listening to you speaking French and improve yourself a little every day.
3- Take advantage of every opportunity
As in any field, confidence comes with time and practice.
If I run 2 kilometers once a week, that's better than nothing but it will take me a long time to run 12 kilometers feeling good.
So what can you do to speak French as much as possible? There are many options, daily, occasionally, free and not free.
You can talk to yourself, out loud (describe what you are doing, have done or are about to do).
You can say Bonjour, ça va" (and over time, expand the conversation a bit) to your French neighbor (you can replace the neighbor with a salesperson at a store, a nurse at a clinic, a colleague or any other person who speaks French - I am sure you can find someone around you).
You can listen to conversations on YouTube and repeat what they say.
You can "play" with the online dictionary, record a sentence and check that it understood you, or write a sentence in English, hear the translation in French and repeat it.
You can join my "daily WhatsApp program" and answer every task orally.
And after you feel comfortable talking only to me or alone, try conversation sessions in French (possible with me on Zoom or at language exchange events).
I hope my tips will convince you to start speaking and help you overcome the fear of speaking French.
One last thing: remember that improvement is not one straight line that goes up.
There will be good days (where the sentences come out easily), and there will be less good days (where you feel you have forgotten all the words). Well... I also don't come home after every run with a smile on my face. That's life. C'est la vie !
Anyway, I wish you luck. And if you have a question, remember I'm here 🙂
Watch Bradley Cooper not being afraid of speaking French AND making mistakes!
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