How to be confortable speaking French, even for beginners!
Updated: Mar 15, 2022
I think you will agree with me when I say that speaking is the hardest steps to take when learning a language.
We feel uncomfortable trying to pronounce each word properly because we are not used to speak the language. What if there was one trick to making the whole process less awkward. One trick that would help you think in French all day even from day one of your learning process? You don't need to live in France to immerse yourself! You probably heard that immersion was the fastest way to learn french. But how to do that at home? How to do that when you work all day in another language? How to do that when you are a beginner french? The answer is simple, listen to French songs. Even if you don't understand the lyrics. You need to train your ears, train your brain like a muscle. Give it everything it needs to be in automatic mode. Why am I saying this?
Have you ever heard a word and instantly got reminded of a song? Maybe a song you haven't heard for years but you still remember all the lyrics.
Did this song stay in your head for a few minutes, a few hours? Is it still in your head?
To give you an example, I was watching a Masterclass the other morning. The person used the expression "haut comme trois pommes". In french this mean "when I was a kid". This is also the french theme song of the very loved anime Tom Sawyer. Needless to say that for days this song was in my head even if it's been 20 years since I heard it! Disney, anime, pop songs are designed to stick in your head. It plays over and over in your brain, even when sleeping, without any effort. If you learn a few sentences, or the whole song, you could be training on your pronunciation for hours every days without realizing it, even in your sleep.
Only a few steps to follow and your brain will do the rest!
Pic a song
Find the chorus (this is the one usually design to stick more in your brain!)
Listen and read along, you can choose the speed on Youtube, I suggest 0.75 at first.
First go word by word, really focus on the pronunciation
Play - repeat out loud, play - repeat out loud, over and over again until you are satisfied with how each word sound.
Then go on with full sentences.
Once you are ready, play with normal speed and sing along as you clean, workout, drive or cook!
Just keep in mind what we are doing here, we are training the brain like a muscle. We are training your mouth to take the right position, we are training your ears to hear all the sounds and your voice to mimic those sounds. We are using the brain and the song industry specialists to our advantage. We are making sure you spend hours each day thinking in French. We are not trying to translate or learn the vocabulary yet. This will come later! So what is your favorite music? I prepared a few playlists for all different types of music with 10 - 20 songs from the most popular hits. Pick your favorite one and let's go!
French Pop (Lyrics )
Tell me in the comments which song you chose! Do you have another song that you like ad would like to see in the suggestions? (no email needed!)