English pronunciation for French speakers
French speakers' most valuable fixes are the dropped (or hyper-corrected) h, the ch/sh softening ('chair' → 'share'), the ship/sheep vowel merger, and French final-syllable stress flattening English words.
- 6 sounds to fix, in order
- Every sound read aloud
- A listening game for each contrast
Your sounds, in order
- h
1
h as in hat
h drops ('hair' → 'air') or appears where it shouldn't ('air' → 'hair')
Fix: Open your mouth in the position of the next vowel.
- tʃ
2
ch as in chair
/tʃ/ softens to /ʃ/: 'chair' → 'share', 'catch' → 'cash'
Fix: Start as if saying /t/, tongue on the ridge.
- dʒ
3
j as in job
/dʒ/ softens to /ʒ/: 'job' loses its initial punch
Fix: Start as if saying /d/, tongue on the ridge.
- ɪ
4
i as in sit
/ɪ/ vs /iː/ merge: 'live'/'leave'
Fix: Relax your lips and jaw, no smile.
- θ
5
th as in think
/θ/ → /s/, /ð/ → /z/: 'think' → 'sink', 'this' → 'zis'
Fix: Place the tip of your tongue lightly between your top and bottom teeth.
- ŋ
6
ng as in sing
/ŋ/ gains a hard g: 'singing' → 'sing-ging'
Fix: Raise the back of your tongue to the soft palate, the /k/ /ɡ/ position.
Stress and rhythm
- French stresses phrase-finally and evenly; English stress is per-word and must be learned (PHOto, phoTOgrapher).
- Practise vowel reduction: French gives every vowel full value; English shrinks the unstressed ones.
- Watch the habit of rising at every clause end; English statements finish with a fall.
Start this week
- h-breath drill: fog a mirror, then 'house, hotel, behind, perhaps'.
- ch-pop practice: 't'+'sh' as one sound: chair, church, question.
- Pick 20 common words and drill their stress: HOtel is hoTEL, VILlage is VILlage; verify each.