Maybe you’ve just moved to France (or Wallonia, or French-speaking Switzerland, or beyond!), or perhaps you’ve been living abroad for a while, quietly struggling with your French.
You may have already experienced that familiar deflation – the locals unimpressed, your efforts met with a shrug, or worse, a switch to English.
And so, like many before you, you’ve slipped into the comfort of the expat bubble, licking your wounds alongside others bruised by the uniquely French brand of disdain for foreign accents.
But take heart – it’s not personal. Every learner of French goes through this.
There is a way forward. It just requires a little more mental resilience than other languages might. The Germans might switch to English, but they’re rarely judgmental about it. Spanish speakers tend to cheer you on. Italian and Portuguese speakers? They’re often downright delighted by your attempts.
French? It’s different – but not impossible.
The path from clueless to confident is far more direct than it feels – and it starts with small, real-life wins.
The best advice I can give? Just do it. Nike got it right: forget the doubts, skip the excuses, and take that first step. Most importantly, tune out the scorn. Then take another. You’ll be amazed how much you grow just by doing.
Here are your first steps:
1) Change your mindset
It’s my view that mindset is nowhere more important than with the language of French.
If you find many of your attempts to practise compromised by disdainful reactions from native speakers, read my Language learning trauma: why people trash our language skills and why it hurts so much post.
And remember that everyone finds it hard to speak French with the French. Push through it.
If that’s not what’s holding you back, and you feel you’ve been hammering away at French for a while – you’re taking classes, after all – but nothing is going in, well, it’s time to get real.
Ask yourself – or count – how much time do I spend in French every week? Read my How immersed are you really in your foreign language? A quiz for learners abroad post to really put your powers of immersion to the test.
If you scored very low, then here’s the good news: the reason you’re not progressing isn’t because you’re “bad at languages” or “French is just too hard,” it’s because you’re not really doing much!
The excellent news is: it can only get better with a slight shift in tactic.
2) Change tactics
When I first lived in a French-speaking environment – as an intern in Geneva in my early 20s – I made a classic mistake. I assumed that just being surrounded by the language would make it sink in. I even told myself that since I’d already learned three Latin languages, French would naturally follow.
It didn’t. I enrolled in a course and landed in A1.3 (out of A1.4). The classes weren’t engaging, and Geneva, for all its charm, didn’t push me into speaking – it’s so international, you can easily get by in English. I felt stuck. What was the point in trying?
Read more about this in my How I reached C1 French in 3 months after 21 years of struggling post.
Looking back, the issue wasn’t motivation – it was my tactics. I was waiting for French to happen to me. What I needed was a way to create opportunities to use the language in real life.
That’s where mini-missions come in: they’re small, focused challenges that create momentum. I finally started using them during later stays in Paris and Bordeaux, and they completely shifted my learning.
3) Complete mini-missions
Try these 16 mini-missions; I’ve put together this selection of actions that mainly covers speaking.
I’ve also included a few missions to improve your listening (watch films/series – easy!), reading (add French news to your news feed and read only the headlines) and writing (message people on Bumble BFF, and trying some dictée exercises).
Print off the below PDF and tick the missions off as you complete them 👇
You’ll be amazed how much confidence you build from completing these. Set yourself a time limit to complete them (I’d suggest a month if you’re between A1-A2).
Not sure where to start? I recommend using Bumble BFF to get used to forming sentences in your head.
Final thoughts
Once you’ve completed all 16, repeat the process, but ramp it up:
- Prolong each conversation beyond a couple of sentences
- Test out podcasts (read my 8 top podcasts with free transcripts for A1-B2 French learners post for ideas)
- Meet someone you’ve been chatting to on Bumble BFF in person
I guarantee that if you complete even one round of these, you will feel a real sense of progress with your French.
And when you say something really embarrassing, don’t shy away from it; retell it to friends to shake off the shame. If you still need proof that you’re not the only one to make embarrassing mistakes, read about some of my worst language fails in my How to deal with embarrassing language errors: make them into a good story post.
Are you up to the challenge? Bonne Chance!
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