How to sell your credibility as a French speaker

Why people switch to English when you try speaking French

Have you ever tried speaking French in Paris or Montreal or some other French-speaking city, only to face disappointment and humiliation when the other person replies in English, not even acknowledging your valiant effort at speaking French? Many people find those experiences frustrating and discouraging. They feel that the other person rates their French so low that they feel it’s best to just continue in English.

The reason some people won’t acknowledge your efforts at speaking French is that they might assume that you are simply trying to be polite, but don’t really speak the language.

What you need to do is to sell your credibility as a French speaker. Here are some tips to do that.

Speak with confidence

If you mumble, speak in a low voice or otherwise show that you’re not confident in your language skills (even if in fact, they are excellent), you will project insecurity and won’t encourage the other person to reply to you in French. Even if you’re far from fluent, pretend that you’re not, and speak with authority and confidence! Master common phrases that you’re going to use in daily situations, and make sure you are using modern, everyday language.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – you can speak fluently and “badly”

I have a friend who grew up in Montreal, but more on the anglophone side. I consider him to speak French fluently, even though he makes more grammatical mistakes than many of my students. He can fully function in a francophone environment, even though by some standards, his French would need a lot of improvement. The fact is that you can speak fluently and badly ((sorry Steve…). Mistakes are not as important as you think. If you speak with confidence, understand what the other person is saying and use many colloquial expressions, you will be accepted as a “fluent” French speaker.

Be careful with formal and informal language

As you know, French uses the informal tu and the formal vous.

There are other elements of formal language that go together, such as calling someone monsieur or madame.

Many mistakes can be made with formal and informal language, but the following are the main ones.

1)    Not using vous when the situation calls for it. Generally speaking, you’re better off using vous with strangers and people older than you.

2)    Not switching to vous if someone uses vous with you. It’s best to follow someone’s lead.

3)    Not switching to tu if someone starts using tu with you.

4)    Using tu along with monsieur or madame. For example, Toi, monsieur Patenaude, qu’est-ce que tu en penses.

5)    Using monsieur or madame along with a first name. For example: Monsieur Frédéric, qu’est-ce que vous en pensez? 

Avoiding making egregious mistakes with formal and informal French will help you sell your credibility as a French speaker.

Don’t be overly formal

You can make mistakes with vous and tu and be overly informal when the situation requires the more formal vous. But often, French learners sound overly formal. They do so by using many words and expressions that are usually reserved for formal situations or writing. Here are some examples of what is too formal to use in casual conversation:

Il est necessaire de

Il s’agit de

Inverted questions. For example: pouvez-vous répéter?

Anticiper

The use of the pronoun “nous” instead of the casual “on”

Par conséquent

Don’t make conscious efforts at using contractions

In French, contracted words are more common than in English. For example:

Je suis is often pronounced chuis or even chu

Le médecin is pronounced le médcin

Je ne sais pas can be pronounced ché pas

Understanding how words are pronounced is important. But speaking like a native is another story. If you make conscious efforts at using the same contractions as native speakers, it can sound forced and unnatural, making you sound less fluent. Why? Because you will probably do it incorrectly. You will contract words that should not be contracted or say something where only half the words are contracted and the rest are pronounced in a textbook fashion.

My suggestion is to learn how words are truly pronounced but wait to use more advanced and casual contractions (like ché pas instead of je ne sais pas). They should come naturally to you and not as a result of a conscious effort.

Be careful with slang

Some of my students are eager to use slang, swear words and especially the ones from Quebec. This is dangerous territory, for many reasons.

1)    Using slang incorrectly makes you sound at best ridiculous, at worst impolite.

2)    Using slang out of context is a faux pas.

3)    Using swear words out of context is a major faux pas.

4)    Using Quebecois words when the rest of your French is not completely quebecois, also makes you sound a bit ridiculous, or even disrespectful.

Be careful with slang. My suggestions are:

-       Don’t try to use slang. It should come naturally.

-       If a native speaker wants to have fun and teach you some slang, play along, but be careful about using those words later!

-       Never use slang in writing, including texting.

Eventually, you’ll be confident enough to spice up your language with some slang, but don’t chase that moment. Don’t force it — it’s a dangerous path!

Know the context

In Montreal, many people are not native French speakers but use French at work. If they hear your American or anglophone accent, they might automatically switch to English because it’s also going to be easier for them. So don’t take it personally, in that case.

Don’t Worry About Your Accent, but Watch Your Pronunciation

It’s important to distinguish correct pronunciation from accent. The latter has to do with the sounds of the language, especially vowels. This is very difficult, and probably impossible to completely change, because we learn our native language as a child, and it will form our phonetic understanding of every language for the rest of our lives.

I’m not so concerned about accent. You can have an accent and speak fluently. However, your pronunciation must be clear and accurate. That means that you must distinguish words that sound similar. You must be understood. Working with a qualified teacher will help you correct those mistakes.

Increase Your Vocabulary

Finally, and this is very important, the main reason why people don’t take you seriously as a French speaker is because you lack vocabulary. You don’t know the right things to say in certain situations. You reply using words that should be reserved for other situations. And you’re limited in your understanding because you don’t know enough words and expressions.

Vocabulary is the blind spot of most language learners. Most people overestimate their vocabulary compared to that of native speakers. Why? Because you don’t know what you don’t know.

If you only know 50% of the words, verbs, and expressions a native speakers know, you will still know a lot of French. You will know thousands of words, and this will have taken you a lot of time and effort. But because of the huge gap that separates you from native speakers, you will always be handicapped by what you don’t know. This will lead you to think that you’ve hit a plateau. So always be learning new words and expressions. Every single day!

Your comments are welcome below.