00:00When I started learning French, I was very timid, I didn't want to talk to anyone.
00:04But things started to change and I started to talk with more confidence thanks to two things.
00:10I'm not going to be an expert, I'm not at all okay.
00:13My French accent is not perfect today, but it's better than before.
00:17So I want to share two practical techniques and a change of mentality that helped me
00:22improve my French accent and that I continue to practice today. Let's go!
00:26Alright, so let's start with the basics. When it comes to sounding more like a native
00:29and French, I like to think that there's two simultaneous actors going on.
00:33We have your accent and then we have your pronunciation.
00:35Now while this is probably not the official Merriam-Webster definition,
00:39the way it makes sense in my head is that pronunciation is how you produce the actual
00:43sounds of a language. Individual letters, syllables, and words with a focus on saying them correctly,
00:48while the accent is the flavor that you give those correctly pronounced words.
00:52Rhythm, flow, intonation, emphasis on certain parts of the word, etc.
00:56So accent, pronunciation. And it's very important to get that second one right.
01:01You can have a non-native accent or a different accent and still be perfectly clear and understandable,
01:05but if your pronunciation is off, you're likely to be misunderstood,
01:08especially in a language that has so many similar sounds.
01:14So you're going to want to focus on vowels, especially when they're found in different parts
01:17of the word, as well as those tricky combinations that give us all problems.
01:21A lot of our native languages just don't have such nuanced sounds, but learning the difference
01:25between them is 100% doable.
01:27Of course, I cannot leave you all without some resources.
01:29Obviously, there's thousands of resources all over the internet on French pronunciation,
01:34but the one I'm going to leave you with is Learn French with Alexa on YouTube.
01:37This is an absolutely amazing resource to improve your French pronunciation because she has a whole
01:42playlist dedicated to pronunciation in French, which literally covers every single French sound you
01:47could think of in great detail in a way that makes sense and is practical right then and there in
01:51the moment without the videos being hours long. And I'm not saying you have to watch all the videos,
01:55but it's super helpful just to watch the videos on the sounds you have problems with,
01:59like vowels or the letter R, so I've linked her channel in the description.
02:03Now with these resources, there's a lot of methods to get this pronunciation down.
02:07Repetition is key, so drilling each sound until it's as correct as possible is going to be a good idea.
02:11And to aid with that, I recommend focusing on mouth mechanics,
02:14looking into the actual mouth shapes and movements that produce these sounds is very helpful in my opinion.
02:29The main thing is to be conscious of these patterns though, right? Recognizing that
02:33VOU and VOU are pronounced differently, even if you can't hear it the first couple times.
02:39VOU, VOU, VOU. With all that being said, pronunciation is important, but things really
02:45leveled up when I got to the next technique. Once your pronunciation is solid, the game changer for me
02:50when it came to trying to get the rhythm and the flow and just the vibe, you know, of a
02:55native speaker
02:55was shadowing. If you haven't heard of shadowing, shadowing is basically when you listen to native
03:00speech and then immediately repeat it out loud, right? We're trying to match the tone, rhythm, and speed
03:05as closely as possible. This trains your mouth and your muscle memory and it's honestly what has
03:09made the biggest difference for my accent, me personally.
03:24Now, if you're wondering what platform I'm using lately to practice shadowing, it's called Lingopi,
03:31and they're actually the sponsors of today's video, which I'm super excited about. Lingopi is the
03:34platform if you want real engaging material to shadow. TV shows, movies, reality TV, all in your
03:41target language. And it's not just about passive watching either, they have so many tools that
03:45turn every episode into a full language learning lesson. To highlight just a few of Lingopi's
03:49features, you get interactive subtitles where you can click on any word for an instant translation,
03:54built-in flashcards to practice vocabulary, and playback controls to slow things down if you need it.
03:59I'm arriving in the service of Reign.
04:02Shit. Let me slow that down.
04:03I'm arriving in the service of Reign.
04:05Just a few seconds ago, you saw me using Lingopi's loop feature, which is great if you want to
04:09replay a challenging sentence or phrase until you get its pronunciation right while you're shadowing.
04:16I'm also thoroughly impressed with their AI pronunciation checker,
04:20which analyzes your speech and gives you real-time feedback on your accent and pronunciation.
04:28If you want to make shadowing fun and binge-worthy, definitely check out Lingopi. I've put a link in
04:33the description where you can start a free trial and get 55% off of a yearly subscription.
04:37So some ground rules, things to keep in mind when you're shadowing. First, choose a person who you
04:42want to speak like that has an accent and a way of speaking that you would like to have.
04:46All right, so you want to take into consideration their age, their nationality, maybe their social
04:50class. So for example, if you're, you know, a middle-aged professional, maybe you're learning
04:55French for the business world, you might not want to shadow, say, a Gen Z streamer because you might
04:59end up picking up a way of speaking that you didn't intend to. Like I mentioned, when you're shadowing,
05:04you want to try and match the person that's speaking as closely as possible. Not just their
05:08way of pronouncing words, but their intonation, their rhythm, their filler words, even when they
05:13breathe. I recommend picking out short sentences and breaking down long sentences into shorter ones
05:18and repeating and repeating and repeating and repeating. Another small tip, if you're not doing
05:23it already, make sure you're speaking to native speakers in French. I know it's not accessible for
05:27everybody, but for some of y'all, it is, and you're just shy. So get it together.
05:31My ability to copy the people that I talk to is my greatest strength when it comes to learning
05:36languages. Growing up in the US, but in a home where there's Nigerian accents, but then going to
05:43a predominantly white school, but then after that, going to a predominantly black school.
05:48Why can't I just say that? I learned how to imitate accents very quickly. And this has benefited me a
05:52lot in my language learning journey, especially when it comes to sounding more native in a language.
05:56And anyone can do it, actually, even if you think you can. I think a lot of times we underestimate
06:00what the black box of our brain can do subconsciously if we just give it enough input. That's how
06:05people naturally form their accents in their first language, based on the people they surround
06:09themselves by. So do make an effort to talk to more native speakers, or if that's not accessible
06:13for you, make sure to ramp up the amount of content that you consume in French. It has the same
06:17effect.
06:18So hopefully now you have some tools in your belt to sound more native in French, but before we end
06:22this video, I want to tell you a secret, okay? You don't need to sound perfect to be respected.
06:30Like, you don't need to sound French or Canadian or like a native speaker to be respected. Looking
06:38back, I was just very scared, I guess, that people would judge my accent, but in my experience, y'all,
06:43people do not care. They don't care. And if they did notice that I had an accent, it actually invoked
06:49curiosity about where I was from and how I knew how to speak French. And I realized that I'm actually
06:53the same way. If I meet somebody and they speak English with an accent or in a different way than
06:57I do, then I'm actually curious about where is this person from? And if this person has learned
07:02English as a second language, that actually makes me respect them more. So yeah, having a native accent
07:07or rhythm or intonation, it's not the end-all be-all. The most important thing is that you're understood
07:12and that you speak with confidence. And for some people, that confidence will come with improving
07:16their accent and sounding more native. But for anyone, confidence can come with time, experience,
07:21practice, and repetition. So yeah, if this video helped you, be sure to give it a like and hit
07:27subscribe. I hope these tips helped you and that you'll go use them out on this French journey, man.
07:32It's not easy, but just remember, you got it.
Commentaires