Struggling to Speak French? Here’s Why — and What to Do About It

You probably know a lot already…

You know tons of French vocabulary — family, home, work, transport, and more. You’ve studied your grammar: present tense, past and future tenses, definite, indefinite and even the partitive articles, direct and indirect pronouns, even reflexive and relative ones. Maybe you’ve even started exploring the mysteries of the subjonctif (if so, bravo!). And yet… speaking French still feels difficult.

I know exactly what that’s like. Moving from learning a foreign language to actually speaking it can feel like hitting a wall. Especially with French. But here’s the good news: once you understand why it’s hard, you can start fixing it. And that, I promise, is motivating.

Language is music

Yes, music. Language isn’t just words or grammar — it’s a melody. Every language has its tempo, its highs and lows, its sounds that connect like musical notes according to specific rythms each time. Think of spoken French (or any other language, by the way) as music played in real time: every sentence is a new performance.

The melody of French is probably quite different from the melody of your own native language. You can make it obvious by speaking your native language as a French person, with a strong French accent: isn't the result very different?

To improve your spoken French, you don’t need to sound native French. You can have an accent. Everyone has an accent and there are thousands of French accents throughout the world. As long as your accent does not create problems of intelligibility, it is ok. Speaking like a native is not the goal. Relax. But you do need to hear the melody — to recognize how it works. Once your ear catches it, your brain will start following - and so will your mouth.

Spelling vs. sounds — welcome to French reality

One major reason speaking French is so tricky is that the written form is very different from the spoken one. In some languages, each letter represents one sound. Unfortunately, French doesn’t work that way. For example:

• The sound /o/ can be written o, ô, au, or eau.

• The sound /s/ can be s, ss, or even t in some words.

• And don't get me started about the sound /e/... é, et, ez, ed, er, ai, ei, ë, ef... really? Yes.

• It gets worse: some letters are written but not pronounced at all — the famous silent letters.

Of course, there are historical and etymological reasons for all this. But for learners, it’s very confusing.

That’s why I often suggest exploring the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), even just a little. It helps you see that one French sound can have many different spellings — and that what you see is not always what you say. Plus, once you can read the IPA, you will be able to decrypt the pronounciation of any word from a simple dictionnary!

The secret melody of French: prosody

Now let’s talk about a word that sounds scary but isn’t: prosody. If the individual sounds of French are like musical notes, prosody is the melody — how those notes connect. It’s what makes French sound smooth, regular, and flowing.

In French:

• Each syllable has (almost) the same length.

• There’s no strong stress on one word in a sentence (unlike English).

• Words connect smoothly from one to another — that’s what we call liaisons and enchainements syllabiques.

You’ve probably heard this before without realizing it. For instance, maybe your teacher once said on va faire un jeu de rôle, but you heard on va faire un jeu drôle? That’s because of how syllables connect in French. French speakers naturally link a final consonant to the vowel that follows — il étudie l’histoire sounds like ee-leh-tu-dee-lees-twar.

If you want to hear this beautiful musical connection, listen to Rameau’s “Hymne à la Nuit” (a French composer from Dijon, 18th century): Listen on YouTube . Notice how the final consonants blend smoothly with the next vowels — for instance, le calme enchantement becomes le cal menchantement, and rêve heureux becomes rê-vereux.

That’s French music in motion.

To sum up…

I hope I haven’t put you to sleep with all this talk about melody and pronunciation!

The transition from “schoolbook French” to “spoken French” can be tough — I completely understand. But here’s the truth: all the grammar and vocabulary you’ve learned so far are essential foundations.

Now it’s time to add rhythm, melody, and voice. So open your ears, warm up your vocal cords… and start singing in French!

If you’d like to make your spoken French sound more natural, you can:
👉 Download my free list of 230 real-life French expressions — perfect for intermediate and advanced learners who want to sound more authentic.
👉 Book an online conversation class with me for personalized guidance, adapted to your level and taught with patience and kindness.

Speaking French doesn’t have to be stressful — it can actually be joyful. Let’s make it feel that way together. A bientôt !