Learning: French
4 small habits for your first French conversations 🇫🇷
Published
① Practise the opening out loud
A greeting gives you a simple way into a conversation. Start with “Bonjour” during the day and practise adding the sentence you need after it.
Try “Bonjour, je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît” — “Hello, I’d like a coffee, please.” Say the whole request, including the greeting. Then change the drink. You are getting used to starting an exchange rather than remembering a list of separate words.
② Keep a few sentences about yourself
Choose information you are happy to share: your name, where you live or something you enjoy. Make the sentences short enough to say without reading them.
“Je m’appelle Mina” means “My name is Mina.” “J’aime le cinéma” means “I like cinema.” Change the details so they are true for you. Practise one answer, then ask a partner to put the questions in a different order.
③ Use polite help phrases before you need them
It is normal to miss part of a reply when you are beginning. Prepare a way to ask for a repeat and a way to ask someone to slow down.
Try “Vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît ?” — “Can you repeat, please?” Or “Vous pouvez parler plus lentement ?” — “Can you speak more slowly?” Say them aloud while practising. You can use these polite vous forms with someone you do not know.
④ Rehearse a reply, not only your opening
An introduction is only the first turn. Ask your practice partner or AI tutor to answer your greeting and give you one simple question to respond to.
If you say you like cinema, be ready to name a film or say what kind you enjoy. Keep the answer brief. After the exchange, check one missing expression and try the conversation again with a different detail.