The key to speaking French like a native is accentuation. The Museum of Knowledge modules are specifically designed to facilitate competency in French speaking skills for intermediate (social) and advanced (business) language learners.

French pronunciation and accentuation may be one of the most challenging areas language learners will embark on when learning how to speak French.

French is an emphatic language so it does require a certain amount of confidence more than anything else. To speak French with fluidity, French language learners need to consider that the movement of the mouth and clarity is key, This is why many language learners may feel embarrassed speaking French because there is nowhere to hide if you get it wrong. There are also other considerations such as the great emphasis on accentuation making it difficult to sound French if you do not master skills of precision.

For example the word régularisation (regulation) and the verb retrouver (to find, to discover) have a strong emphasis on the letter “r”. French speakers should roll the “r” and the expression of the letter “r” comes from the throat. As the word régularisation has an accent aigu French speakers must pronounce the letter “r” with the throat and the action of the mouth is wide, similar to the action of the mouth when saying the word “ears” in English. For the verb retrouver, French speakers should also roll the letter “r” but more gently, the action of the mouth is hollow and similar to the mouth action when saying the word “hoot” in English, because there is no aigu accent on the letter “e” for the verb retrouver.

Therefore you can see in these two French examples that the letter “r” is not pronounced in any way similar to the letter “r” in Spanish nor the letter “r” in English. French language learners have to pay very close attention to the placement of accents in French that will guide them in advance on the best ways to pronounce words correctly and this is the reason why written and spoken French are so different. This alone is what will stand French language learners apart when speaking French like a native. The correct and impactful roll of the letter “r” and usage.