Last updated on March 10th, 2024 at 01:08 pm
Speaking French fluently is the dream of many students who learn French and who already have a decent level. One option to really become fluent in French is to spend a certain amount of time in France or another French speaking country. 6 months is probably the minimum if you really want to feel the difference. Interacting in French all the time is probably the best way to speak French more fluently.
Speaking French fluently without leaving the country
It’s not always possible to devote 6 months or more overseas just for the purpose of speaking French fluently.
That’s why at Live-French.net, we developed the idea of taking French conversation lessons with native-French teachers by telephone or by Skype who would focus on the vocabulary and topics that are good for you. It’s flexible, personalized and fun!
What does it take to speak French fluently?
There are several factors that impact your fluency in French. Let’s have a look at 4 of them:
- Reduce the amount of grammar mistakes: the more you practice, the more you will feel confident using grammar structures you were maybe reluctant to use because they sounded too complex. A good command of the main grammar topics (feminine/masculine, tenses, subjonctif, prepositions, connecting words, etc.) will take your spoken French to the next level.
- Speak French at a reasonable pace: you need to reach the point where you are comfortable speaking without preparing your sentences in advance on paper. Words need to come to you without thinking too much. Practice small talks with your French tutor, discuss current affairs or article-based topics and you will naturally reach a higher talking speed.
- Use a wide range of vocabulary and expressions: here again your French tutor will help you expand your French vocabulary, learn expressions and rehearse so that they become part of your daily vocabulary. No need to learn lists of words, a contextual approach where you use new vocabulary in context around a wide range of topics will be more efficient.
- Make your French pronunciation and intonation more natural: while talking to your native-French teacher, you will be able to mimic what he says and will improve your pronunciation. You will need to identify the sounds that are difficult for you to pronounce so that you can focus your learning on improving these sounds.
Your ability to speak French fluently will depend on your motivation and the time you can invest to reach your goal, but it’s definitely possible to start feeling improvements after only 10 lessons.
