Why is speaking French SO hard? - My thoughts as a non-native speaker living in France

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Why is _speaking_ French hard *pour toi* ? After I finished the video I thought of at least 2 more reasons. Maybe you're already thinking of them. Can't wait to read your answers.

[@mitch9441]

The hardest part of speaking for me is: A. having something to talk about, I struggle with small talk in English at the best of times. Of course it's harder still to find something talk about in French where my vocabulary is limited, because of this and despite wanting to speak with someone, I usually don't as I don't know what to talk about, and B. finding someone I'm comfortable talking with and making a fool of myself in front of. I'm learning French on my own and I don't have direct real life exposure to French anyway, so most of my French exposure takes place online in various language learning communities on platforms like Discord. If I took nothing else from this amazing video, I will remember hearing you roll the RR in «fourrure» @ 3:19 :). Despite my best efforts I am currently stuck with a rolled French R (think Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour or Stromae for example) and so hearing it used outside of music is really uplifting and comforting. Merci d'avoir créé ces vidéos, ils m'ont beaucoup aidés

[@desalpagesgator4988]

Bonjour, si vous voulez parler couramment le français, la seule solution est d'écouter des chansons, regarder la télévision, voir des films et parler toujours en français, même avec des anglais, je fais ça pour l'anglais, l'italien, le portugais, l'allemand, le russe et l'espagnol en permanence car j'ai un travail qui m'oblige à connaître ces langues, pas parfaitement heureusement, parfois je mélange les langues surtout quand les mots sont proches comm en allemand et en anglais, ou je confond l'espagnol avec l'italien, mais j'arrive à comprendre et à me faire comprendre, c'est l'essentiel. Faites attention, les français parlent très mal leur propre langue et quand ils écrivent c'est une catastrophe. Amusez vous bien à apprendre le français.

[@louisrobitaille5810]

2:45 This difference actually goes way back in the Middle Ages. The North of France got their way of speaking French to become the "official" one (Langues d'oïl at the time), but the South didn't magically lose theirs just because the different regions unified under one flag. The not silent silent letters are just one trait among many that remain from that time.

[@lawrencebaker2318]

Having a kind, tolerant person to speak French with is also important. When I visited friends in Geneva, many years ago, they were so kind to intermittently let me practice my very limited French. I am sure it was awful and the mistakes were many, but I could make myself understood. That gave me confidence when I visited France a couple of years ago. Nobody would ever mistake me for a native, but I can communicate. That is victory enough at this stage... and gives me something to build on to get better! I also think that our French communication was intermittent was important. Drifting back and forth between French and English made it less stressful!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

That's fantastic Lawrence. Such a pragmatic approach. I like that you found a balance that both allowed you to practice and improve without unnecessarily making the whole trip about your French. It's not always realistic to go from 0 French to 100% French with someone you already know, so it's good to manage your expectations so you can still call a win a win. Thanks for sharing your story!

[@zengseng1234]

I visited my French friends in Toulouse and they left it up to me to speak French the whole day hanging out with them. It was exhausting, but I did it (with a ton of mistakes) and expressed most things I wanted to say. Goal accomplished!

[@fv1291]

Never be ashamed of your effort, just speak with confidence and a smile. 😊

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Great advice

[@thedavidguy01]

You do a good job explaining the psychology of the situation with some excellent practical advice for dealing with it. For me the biggest problem is what you call overthinking. I often try to speak perfectly. It's a guaranteed way to become self conscious and block. Ironically, this problem has become worse as my level improves. For a long while I was comfortable making mistakes and just letting my words flow. Now I keep thinking, your French is good enough that you shouldn't be making mistakes, so I'm more self conscious than I used to be. It's a vicious circle, and I need to follow your advice. Fortunately, I have French language partners who are interesting to talk with, who are encouraging, and not too judgmental.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

It's a long old journey is language learning. Humans naturally want the path of least resistance so I think it's normal that you found a way to get comfortable making mistakes and ignoring perfectionism at the start. Now that you have a better level you can speak more so you feel that you should meet a higher standard in every conversation. The thing is, the pool of conversation topics you can now start to have is a lot bigger, and so that higher demand isn't really justified. I would suggest you figure out how you're going to bring those expectations down to something more reasonable yet still ambitious.

[@thedavidguy01]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Vous avez raison. C'est toujours une question d'attentes raisonnables et de patience. Je suis assez pressé, mais ça ne marche pas.

[@meganmartinaux6407]

I had my first italki community tutor lesson today, thanks to you and all the helpful links here. Funny that when I first found your channel, this resonated. Now a few months down the line, with a fresh pair of eyes I see where you are coming from. I also see the difference between coaching and French language lessons. The penny has just dropped! The other day my husband recorded me while we were filming some work stuff and I had taken this call from someone that was doing this transport survey. First time I ever took a call that was not from someone I know! When I played back the video while I was speaking French I felt like the absolute biggest fool. Your message here tells me that it is ok to be that fool. Thanks a million once again. Looking forward to signing up for coaching....with French in Plain Sight.

[@andreauneamericaine.5739]

It feels like people lose patience with me quickly when I speak French.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Who are you typically talking to Andrea?

[@andreauneamericaine.5739]

@@FrenchinPlainSight This is mostly an issue when I talk to French native speakers through a language exchange application. Maybe it's a cultural misunderstanding. Perhaps I'm too sensitive.

[@Theroadneverending]

@@andreauneamericaine.5739 na they are jerks

[@jeanrose1627]

@@andreauneamericaine.5739 Some of us are tolerant and super proud when you try to speak our beautiful language. Thanks for Trying anyway

[@jeanrose1627]

@@Theroadneverending No we're not

[@IdleAtre]

First of all, french grammar and conjugation are very complex but the reason why french is so hard to speak is because it barely translates from "speak to read/write", we have so many things that sound exactly the same, there is like 15 ways to write the sound "é" , so many letters we don't pronounce but sometimes we do or sometimes pronounce in a non logical way. French people speak a very bad french everyday not respecting most of its rules, not respecting accentuation and eating half their words (because of the "liaisons"). I won't even mention all the rules exceptions we have.

[@toutenfrancais...everythin9498]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rojCnpx3mtehd80

[@Bestialce2007]

I´m a spanish native (Latin America) and it does help a lot for reading and writing, but when it comes to speaking and listening, it actually becomes another barrier to get over. The phonetics are ridiculous and trying to imitate them makes me wanna rip my nose off XD And to think people complain about German because it sounds ¨rough¨...

[@toutenfrancais...everythin9498]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rojCnpx3mtehd80

[@chucku00]

One thing people don't necessary realise (I'm using this verb intentionally in its British English spelling to emphasise my point) is English vocabulary shares a lot of words with French vocabulary (for example the verb "to realise"-"réaliser"), and at least 40% of the time you can find English vocabulary words remarkably close to the French word you're looking for, except, obviously for the _faux amis_

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Yea it's a fun game to play (with yourself hehe) - to "franciser" an English word. You lose when it's a faux ami.

[@chucku00]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Ou d'angliciser un mot français...

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@chucku00 Oh la la. Les possibilités....

[@abishekb2920]

I started to learn French through Duolingo in July 1 of this year uninstalled after 20 days.. I went hardcore mode and now I could read and translate every sentence in my head even I have changed my language to French.. But the problem is all about speaking/understanding someone who speaks..

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

It's good you've identified the problem and taken action! What's the next thing you're trying in order to get better at understanding and speaking?

[@hanishsutaria8105]

If you gave up after 20 days, you'll never learn a language. Duolingo is great for beginners if you speak every sentence out loud and take your time with it, try to mimic the accent in the audio and repeat sentences to yourself

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

That's incredibly harsh. I would be very careful telling someone they'll "never" learn a language. I read his comment as he knew what wasn't working for him and took action to find another way. There's no one tool for everyone.

[@abishekb2920]

@@hanishsutaria8105 😂😂 no joking if I continue with Duolingo I won't come up to the level in which I am right now.. Also I didn't quit French learning. I just quit Duolingo. I am Still learning French upto this date.. peut-être que Duolingo est pour les débutants comme vous

[@Frilouz79]

Place names do not necessarily follow the rules of the national language. Remember that until the beginning of the twentieth century, many languages and dialects were spoken in France, and place names reflect this diversity, from Alsace to the Basque Country, from Provence to Brittany.

[@desalpagesgator4988]

The pronunciation of French is regular, there are very few exceptions, the tonic accent does not exist, you can create it if you want to accentuate a word in a sentence. You must make your conversation very fluid, you must not jerk your sentences, pay close attention to the connections, if they are done badly you could completely change the meaning of your sentence. The grammar is very complicated, avoid using literary conjugations, to write use simple sentences if you do not know the chords. Watch documentaries, reports and films in French frequently, avoid comic films if you are a beginner, the dialogues are very complex, filled with puns, slang and untranslatable expressions, not to mention coarse words, vulgar and even garbage. Try to follow the news, the language used by journalists is very correct.

[@naturerey1845]

I'm still a beginner but I think the hardest part is ou vs u for me and words like fourrure.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ah yea that's a tricky one. Luckily you won't often have to say "fourrure" but say it over and over to yourself for a few minutes at a time and it'll come in no time :). Sometimes being able to make both the u and the ou is important, and sometimes it won't matter because of context. Like, it matters if you're talking about above and below. Dessus and dessous. Kind of need to pick the right one!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I think I talk about it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6KoeIyff9GeoNE

[@toutenfrancais...everythin9498]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rojCnpx3mtehd80

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

The key to speaking French is to realise that the intonation is syllabic whereas English, other Germanic languages, and Portuguese have stress based intonation. What this means is that when speaking French you must clearly articulate each syllable. Practice speaking phrases carefully, with even stress on each syllable. And if you so that you will find the French r much easier to articulate. You have to listen to spoken French too, and often. Podcasts are ideal, but I recommend using headphones because French can be mumbly, and poor speakers make it even harder to follow. Interestingly the Spanish find Portugese unintelligible despite their closeness, and this is because Portugese has stress based intonation, whereas Spanish like French and Italian has a syllable based intonation. Another trick is to talk to yourself to get used to soeaking, and use a tool such as Anki to learn words.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank you for the insight Leif!

[@iparipaitegianiparipaitegi4643]

In Souther France the original language was Oc, not french. Oc sounds closer to latin. That’s why many city names in South of France have more pronounced consonants.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Interesting!

[@fitzerelli1]

I hear you

[@matthewhopkins8032]

Great videos Alex! I am stuck. I cannot speak quickly or form my sentences quickly. I translate in my head and can only do 2-3 words at a time. Very frustrating when friends, who started learning at the same time as me, can come up with a 6-12 word sentence somewhat effortlessly. « Par exemple- je vends..........du vin...........de français..........pour mon boulot » Any tricks to overcome this annoying delay? I must be missing something

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hi Matthew. To keep it brief for a KZbin comment, it comes down to sticking at, as regularly as possible repeating the language in order for it to become smoother and quicker. Speed isn't the aim, but fluidity. It can be really hard to not compare yourself to others but it won't help you. Focus on you, and it will come. How long have you been at it and how regularly do you study and speak?

[@tochosei4185]

I'm Chinese with a C1 English level certificate. Personally, I'm most concerned with pronounciation and building my vocabulary in French. Do you think I could use IPA as a way to practice pronouncing French words?

[@boptillyouflop]

You can use IPA as a guide to French pronunciation, but it doesn't tell you about the intonation and the rhythm and the flow of French, and these guides rarely go into the more slangy common spoken French and the numerous contractions and liaisons.

[@alexandermorrison2218]

I’m actually thinking of moving to Luxembourg 🇱🇺, and they speak mainly French and German. German pronunciation is so much easier. Thank you for the examples 😂

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Good luck with your move :D

[@kirstymay1529]

I'm a beginner. Everything is confusing! I don't even know where to begin. What words to learn. I'm going french blind.!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Don't panic! Check out the books I list on my website. A couple of them are for beginners. I recommend Language Hacking frenchinplainsight.com/resources

[@joesoap2014]

Hi Kirsty. You are definitely not alone in this regard! When I started I got a 'French for Beginners' book, which started me off in a nice logical way, with the French basics. It also meant that I could go back after a while and refresh my memory. I still use it to check that what I'm saying/thinking is correct as well. Anyway, don't give up - as Alex says, it's a marathon and not a sprint, and he's absolutely right there! Good luck, and try to enjoy the journey!

[@robloxchris8523]

To be honest, My honest opinion would be that it’s pretty easy but, Recently I’ve been struggling with prounounciation

[@cybertar]

I literally studied this even before 1st grade and still struggle with it. Im on 11th grade btw

[@featherexe]

So it's simple if you're wondering why French is complicated it's partly by contribution to this grammar , and many thing Even if I'm French I don't understand at 100% this grammar we have verbs that we learn but will never serve us because no one talks like that anymore :) After French have different Similarity with with English Hamburger, Bar , Fun , Week-end, and many more lol And your video is very good :) 👌

[@idaass4899]

Vous vivez en France ( dans le sud) ? Je vois le drapeau avec la croix Occitane en dessous du drapeau français 😊😊😁

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

C'est ça. Je suis à Montpelier. Et vous ?

[@idaass4899]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Je suis pas loin de Toulouse 😁 dans le département de l'Aveyron 😁😊

[@ghanshayamdadel2331]

Je parle un peu farncsis from India

[@zak013]

Français

[@moniquemagny3833]

Im french but im watching this on an other acc and it's easy for me to speak french LOL

[@kimerswell7643]

Brill!

[@andrewg.carvill4596]

The French accent on almost every syllable is so different from the English, that the best way an English speaking person can learn to speak tolerable French is to almost ham it up, as though you are trying to mimic a stereotypical French person. If you try to speak French using any English-speaking accent, you're finished. You have to learn to say "pooqwa?" or else you'll only say "pore-quire?"

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hehe. Yea. Different sound system :). Do try to say the "r" though in "Pourquoi". The difference between "pooqwa" and "poorrrrqwa" is considerable.

[@Etiennerabati]

I noticed most of the english speakers put letters that don't exist or mix the letters in french.... fourrure.....why do you naturally say fourriure? Where this i comes from? The english brain put an i before the u....we don't know why.... For the word écureil, they say écrureil...they add the letter r

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Honestly, we don't mean to. It's just that the r is challenging on its own, and the ueil sound is challenging. Put them together and you have "la cata dans la bouche" haha

[@Etiennerabati]

@@FrenchinPlainSight 😊😊😂

[@Etiennerabati]

I can't say écureuil in english.......just impossible

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@Etiennerabati you couldn't even bring yourself to type "squirrel" so that means it's a real block!

[@Parcimonie_0]

@@Etiennerabati Same for me 😂😂. It's a nightmare! 🐿️😱

[@carlislejetubongen919]

You said your name is alex

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Oui. Et?

[@carlislejetubongen919]

@@FrenchinPlainSight yeah thats all i got😂 by the way you said yes and

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@carlislejetubongen919 so confused lol

[@timothywilliams1359]

French place names and family names almost never follow pronunciation rules because they are far older than modern French pronunciation. Ergo, (Francis) Poulenc = [pu lɛ̃k]

[@godreaper8928]

I’m a native french and I’m sorry I can’t understand how you can’t say fourrure (sorry) you need to don’t say the I you are saying(btw I’m really and at talking English)

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

If you're bad at talking English, just think about a word you find really hard to pronounce, and then you will understand. Easy

[@toutenfrancais...everythin9498]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rojCnpx3mtehd80

[@haha_catsOriginal]

j'ai pas besoin d'apprendre le français, je le parle déjà mdr

[@timothywilliams1359]

French pronunciation Rule # 1: "When in doubt, leave it out."

[@sebastienfabre7502]

It's a bit weird to put those two flags on your wall dude !!!! Libertat per l'occitània ! Uno lengo, un pais !

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

It's not your wall :)

[@victorwithav4882]

Good video! I made a video about my progress learning french after 6 months, I'd appreciate if you could take a look🙌

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Where is it?

[@victorwithav4882]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/apSUo2irna-Zi8U I appreciate it

[@toutenfrancais...everythin9498]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rojCnpx3mtehd80

[@tochiemmanuel3608]

To be honest. French is difficult.

[@slicksalmon6948]

Not in a million freaking years would I speak French in your presence, because you'd be standing there evaluating and tearing it apart. On one hand you say, "don't try to be perfect"; on the other you criticize every time it isn't perfect.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hello. Thank you for the comment. I replied to your other one as well. There is a difference between critiquing and criticising for the sake of criticising. Many people like to learn about mistakes so as not to make them themselves. Can't avoid them if you don't know what they are. I definitely evaluate, but I don't tear anyone apart. I break down the language so people can more easily understand the constituent parts. As someone who has gone through many difficulties with the language, and moved to France, I try to pass on my experience. However, not every teacher's personality and style will resonate with all learners. You need to find the one with whom you resonate with the most so that you can enjoy the journey with the French language. I accept that my detail-oriented approach is not for everyone.