Learning to speak French: don't let the pronunciation scare you
French sounds beautiful, but do the pronunciation and spelling put you off? How to start speaking French with confidence.
French is one of the most loved languages in the world. But many people hold back because of the pronunciation: letters you don't say, sounds that come through the nose, words that run into each other...
The truth is, when you learn French by speaking it, these "hard" parts settle in much faster.
You already know more French than you think
English is full of French words: *restaurant, menu, café, ballet, garage, rendez-vous, souvenir, déjà vu*. Once you start French you'll notice how many words you already recognise.
Pronunciation tips
- Listen first, then copy. French has a melody. Try to hear sentences as a whole, not word by word.
- Don't worry about the silent letters. Many final letters aren't pronounced. You learn this by hearing and saying words, not by memorising rules.
- Don't be afraid of mistakes. Having an accent is fine. People are happy to listen to someone making the effort to speak their language.
Why French?
Work, study, travel, moving to countries like Canada or Belgium, art and food... French opens many doors. If you have an exam goal, speaking practice makes a big difference for DELF / DALF or TCF / TEF too.
French at Bean
In French lessons at Bean, the goal is to speak. Confidence over perfection: first you learn to express yourself comfortably, accuracy comes with time. Lessons are made for you, with no fixed coursebook.
At Bean you start by having a 30-minute lesson with two different teachers, then choose the one you feel most comfortable with. This first step is 150 TL; it is credited to your first invoice if you continue, and refunded if you're not happy. Lessons are live and one-to-one on Google Meet, can be 30, 45 or 60 minutes, and each month you only pay for the lessons you've had.
Meet our French teachers or try the free speaking test first.