Learning a new language is exciting! You learn how to communicate in a whole new way and with a whole new demographic of people in the world!
Think of the satisfaction when you can smoothly navigate complex conversations, express your thoughts with finesse, and truly immerse yourself in the beauty of the language.
So, how can you achieve this level of fluency? First, let’s cover what elements of language you’ll likely need to improve to step your fluency up.
What Do You Need to Know to Speak French At An Advanced Level?
With enough studying and instruction, you can learn hundreds or thousands of words including grammatical structures that allow you to express yourself fully and understand others with ease.
So, what more could you possibly need to know to be more fluent? Is a higher level of fluency possible?
Yes!
There is always more to learn in every language, even in your native tongue. Here are some of the biggest components of language that separate the advanced learner from the intermediate learner.
Argot
“Argot” is a concept that, in essence, is like “exclusive slang.” Whereas regular slang typically has at least a few words that an outsider could hazard a guess at, it’s unlikely a newcomer would be able to make heads or tails of anything (unless it’s already been popularized).
Sub-groups of people (in any language or culture) will develop their own argot (colloquial terms) so they can communicate without other people catching on, even if they are overheard. It’s almost like creating their own secret language!
You’re unlikely to learn much if any, argot in a formal setting. It’s extremely informal and highly specialized within groups.
You’ll also need to understand the cultural context of the words before blurting them out in public since the incorrect usage can be considered very impolite or even offensive (or simply, lame).
You’ve probably heard of a certain type of argot known as Le Verlan.
"Chacun voit midi à sa porte." - French proverb
Glissements (Glidings)
You're probably familiar with liaisons, elisions, and enchaînement, but have you delved into the realm of glissements? Glissements, often referred to as 'glidings,' revolve around how things are actually spoken in everyday conversations, contrasting with their "proper" pronunciation. It's all about understanding how words glide together in real-life speech rather than sticking to strict rules.
An example in English is like “What are you going to do about it?” We don’t say that. We say “Whaddaya gonna do aboudit?”
In French, “Je vais au cinema cette après-midi” could become “Shvais au cinoche c’t’aprem.”
Locutions and Idioms
Idioms are always a point of confusion for new language learners because they rarely make any sense at face value. Think about the English idioms we have, like “raining cats and dogs” or saying “break a leg” to mean “good luck.” An English learner would be thoroughly confused by these phrases!
It takes time to pick up the meanings and the thinking behind them. You need to get more familiar with how the French as a whole, in general, think, as well as cultural significance and etymology.
An example of a French idiom is “avoir le coup de foudre” which literally means “To have a thunderbolt,” but actually means “To fall in love at first sight.”
Locutions are phrases without a hidden meaning, but that are known by almost everyone. Some English locutions are “To be honest,” “In my humble opinion,” and “With all due respect.”
One locution in French is “crème de la crème,” which is known to mean “the best of the best.”
Modern Way of Speaking (Vernacular)
Furthermore, there is a huge difference between the French you’ll learn in books and the real French that people actually speak. Once again, you can take a look at English to understand the concept.
The way English is written for certain formats (like this blog post) is a certain way. It conveys information with specific language that, while understandable, is not like how people would actually be speaking in real life about this subject. Most anything that’s written down is not written the way it would be said or how it would sound out loud.
There are so many different groups of speech in any language. In the US, we have different regional accents and dialects plus different generational ways of speaking. Think of all the slang that had varied wildly between the 80’s (gnarly), 90’s (booyah), 00’s (chillax), 10’s (yeet), and the new stuff coming out today with Gen Z and Gen Alpha (bet, cap). You can’t expect any of that to be in a textbook English learners would use! The same goes for French. If you're in the United States and prefer in-person help, search for french tutors near me to find local instructors.
It comes with time and exposure to be able to understand at least a few of these types of modern ways of speaking and to be able to catch on to what new words mean when you hear them in context.
In this article, we will discuss 7 methods for improving your fluency to an advanced level.
Listening and Comprehension
One of the biggest differences between French level C1 and C2 and lower levels is the ability to completely understand what they are hearing with almost 100% accuracy.
Every now and then, in any language, you’re bound to come across some words you may not know, even in casual dialogue. You might be chatting with a friend when they suddenly catch you off-guard by admitting they have clinomania, where they like to stay supine in bed for long hours, basking in euphoria from the scent of petrichor, since they are also a pluviophile.
Even if you don’t exactly know the meanings of all of those words, it doesn’t mean you’re not a native speaker fluent in English. With context clues and micro-understandings of culture, etymology, and more, you can piece the meaning of the sentiment together with minimal trouble.
Alternatively, you could adequately express your confusion and be able to voice what exactly you need clarity on.
This is the level of listening comprehension you need to strive for in French.
How to Listen to More French
If you don’t have easy access to French speakers in your life to have practice conversations with, you can utilize other methods of tuning your ear to the language.
Use audio resources to practice listening to different accents, speeds of speech, styles of talking, jargon, lexicon, argot, slang, and more. Try listening to:
- Movies
- TV
- Songs
- Podcasts
- Audiobooks
Speaking
French is a language with many sounds that are difficult for many people to master.
You can pair speaking practice with listening exercises by reciting back your favorite lines or imitating your favorite voice actor.
Need more inspiration for ideas to practice speaking French?
Record yourself speaking
No matter what it is, you can record yourself speaking to watch and listen back later to get a better understanding of how you are being perceived by others.
Simply act natural; you’re the only person who will ever see your videos. Over time, when you rewatch old recordings, you’ll likely be able to spot your progress.
Recite your favorite lines from movies/tv/songs
Practice your pronunciation by matching how you sound with how an actor or actress in a program sounds.
Write your own script
Sit down and write something, whether it’s fact or fiction, about a topic of your choosing. Then, practice reading it out loud and looking up for help if you aren’t sure.
Explain things around you
Similar to writing a script, write (or simply think about) a list of things going on around you. It can be what you see on your walk in the park, what you thought about on your drive to work, or a home task; anything that catches your fancy! Using as correct grammar and vocabulary as possible, explain what’s going on to someone else in a way they can completely understand. Write the script or simply speak it out loud to practice.
Study & practice buddies
With apps like Tandom or HelloTalk, you can pair up with native speakers and exchange language information. You both learn and teach at the same time! Send voice notes to your study partners so they can provide constructive feedback.
Talk to yourself a lot
You don’t need a structured activity to practice your French. Simply speak to yourself in your mind and out loud in French often. You’ll develop your mouth movements as well as your ear for hearing what it sounds like when you speak French!
Articulating, Enunciating, Pronouncing
Proper articulation, pronunciation, and enunciation are key to being able to conversate fluently with other French speakers.
Enunciation refers to the way you pronounce words and sounds, regardless of if it is understandable or correct. Strong enunciation means your words are easily understandable by others.
How your speech organs behave in order to achieve a sound is articulation. With proper articulation, your mouth and lips and larynx, etc all work together to make the perfect word sound.
Pronunciation is the generally agreed-upon sound that certain letters and words should have. With proper pronunciation, you can talk about anything with a stranger, and even if your enunciation is a little off, they may still be able to understand you.
The way to improve these skills?
Practice, practice, practice!
How to Improve These Skills
You can find tons of videos about these skills on YouTube, where you can copy the methods found there and get used to speaking French. Observe how they explain the movements of the lips, tongue, and more, to create the exact sounds they want to channel out to others.
Studying
You’ve come a long way in your French by studying it over time! Even if you don’t formally study classes in French with notes and books and such, the practice of thinking about French and aiming to improve it is a study.
Simply persist with your aim to improve, practice as often as possible, and dedicate yourself to the pursuit over a long period of time in order to see results.
Fluency isn’t achieved quickly! Always be open to learning new things and tweaking the way you listen, speak, write, and read.
Learning
Seek out new knowledge and integrate it into your French database in your mind.
Whether it’s technical, like articulation, or supplementary, like an obscure historical-cultural influence, try to absorb as much information as you can to give yourself a well-rounded knowledge of the language.
Language and culture go hand-in-hand. They influence each other simultaneously. That’s why it’s important to be open to learning things about the history of France, the different regions, and events that impacted the over psyche of the French people.
With an understanding of background contexts, you become more literate in everything you need to develop more holistic fluency.
Tutorship
Advanced french language lessons with a tutor can provide that little bit of added accountability and guidance you may need in order to make progress in your fluency.
A private tutor can help make a syllabus for you to work on over a period of time of your choosing. They’ll help ensure you meet your goals and directly address the things that may be keeping you stuck.
With your private native-speaking or fluent French tutor, you’ll receive immediate and detailed feedback about how to improve in any area you need help with.
Immersion
The most extreme way to learn a language? Travel to a place where you need it to survive! If you end up in a U.S. city and want local instruction, try searching for french tutors near me to connect with nearby instructors.
You’ll learn a lot very quickly if you submerge yourself in a French-speaking country or area and force yourself to learn French or fail.
If you want to be able to communicate with people there, you’ll need to have the confidence to listen and speak, and you’ll need to have the fluency to make yourself understood as well as understand others!
It’s the ultimate test you can give to yourself!
When it comes to improving your French fluency in speaking and listening, you have many different options to exercise your fluency and make it stronger.
Ready to learn more? Find effective French courses online taught by professional private tutors on Superprof!
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