French speaking practice: phrases, role-plays and a daily method
Shadowing trains your mouth and your ear together. Use it on every role-play below: each line has audio, pronunciation and a word-by-word gloss.
Short answer: speaking improves fastest when you say real French aloud every day, even alone. Learn a handful of phrases that keep a conversation going, practise short role-plays until they feel automatic, and add the small fillers French speakers use while they think. Then find a partner and use them.
Phrases that keep a conversation going
These are the lines that stop a conversation breaking down when you miss a word. Learn them before anything else; they work at every level, from your first week to C2. The same techniques work in English; see our guides to public speaking and presentations.
Commenthowononeditsays« … »…en français ?in French
ko-mah(n) toh(n) DEE … ah(n) frah(n)-SEH“How do you say “…” in French?”
Ask what something means
Çathatveutwantsdireto-sayquoi ?what
sa vuh DEER KWA“What does that mean?”
Buy time
Attends,waitjeIréfléchis.think
a-TAH(N), zhuh ray-flay-SHEE“Hang on, let me think.”
Check you got it
Vousyouvoulezwantdireto-sayque…that
voo voo-LAY DEER kuh“You mean that…”
Say you’re learning
JeIparlespeakun peua littlefrançais.French
zhuh parl uh(n) PUH frah(n)-SEH“I speak a little French.”
Four role-plays to practise aloud
Pick a scene, shadow each line, then hide the English and play both parts yourself. The polite vous is used with strangers; the last scene uses tu between new friends. See register for when to switch.
You order a drink and pay. Polite vous throughout.
uh(n) ka-FAY ay uh(n) krwa-SAH(N), seel voo PLEH“A coffee and a croissant, please.”
Serveur
Sur placeon-siteouorà emporter ?to-take-away
sür PLASS oo a ah(n)-por-TAY“For here or to take away?”
Vous
Sur place,on-sitemerci.thanks
sür PLASS, mair-SEE“For here, thanks.”
Vous
JeIpeuxcanpayerpaypar carte ?by card
zhuh puh peh-YAY par KART“Can I pay by card?”
Serveur
Bien sûr.of-courseÇathatfaitmakesquatre euros.four euros
byan SÜR. sa feh ka-truh-RO“Of course. That’s four euros.”
Fillers: what French speakers say while they think
A filler is a small word that holds your turn while you find the next idea, like English “um” or “well”. Using French fillers instead of English ones makes you sound fluent long before your grammar is perfect.
Filler
Roughly
Use it to
UH
um
pause while you think
BOH(N)
well, right
start or change topic
BAN
well (casual)
begin an obvious answer
ah(n) FET
actually
correct or add detail
dü KOO
so, as a result
link to what follows
tü VWA
you see
check the listener follows
KWA
(you know)
close a sentence casually
Two or three fillers before a point is normal in speech. In writing, leave them all out.
Three sound pairs to say aloud every day
These pairs change the meaning of a word, so they are worth drilling until your mouth finds them without thinking. Say each pair five times, slowly, then fast. The full sound system is in French pronunciation.
u or ouFor u, say “ee” with your lips pushed forward into a tight circle. For ou, round the lips and pull the tongue back.
nasal or notIn bon the n is not said; air goes through the nose. In bonne the n is a full consonant.
é or èÉ is tight, with a smile. È is open, the mouth a little wider, like “e” in “bed”.