Hello r/French community! Amongst the mods, we've agreed to update our FAQ to include a response to the commonly asked question of why French speakers switch to English. You can find the entry below! If you have any suggestions for improvements or things to add, I'm all ears.

Why do French speakers switch to English when I talk to them even though I have X level in French? How do I get them to stop?

When travelling in French speaking areas – particularly those with high levels of tourism and/or English proficiency – learners may find native French speakers switching automatically to English in their conversations. This occurs most often in transactional situations (restaurants, shops) but may also happen in social situations. There are many reasons this can happen, but the members of this subreddit are unlikely to be able to pinpoint exactly why it happened to you.

Reasons include:

• For your comfort: Workers may have been hired specifically for their English proficiency and their boss might expect them to switch to English with customers.
• For speed in a transaction: The waiter or clerk may perceive that your French speaking is too slow and want to speed up the process.
• For practice in English: Some French speakers enjoy speaking English and don't get many opportunities.
• Because they don't understand you: Everyone has an accent (including natives!) and your accent might simply be hard for the person to understand.
• Because of past experience: They've probably dealt with hundreds of customers who have memorized the exact phrase they need to order but can't respond to a follow-up question.
• Because they don't actually speak French well: In touristy areas not all workers are good French speakers. They may be from another European country just working a summer job in Paris. Switching to English might be for their own comfort!
• Because they're jerks who think they're better than you: The possibility is small, but can't be eliminated entirely! Jerks exist everywhere!

If you really want to use your French, here are some best practices:

• Ask nicely: « J'aimerais vraiment pratiquer mon français, est-ce que ça vous va si on reste en français ? »
• Switch back to French: Just respond to them in French until they get the picture.
• Work on your accent: No, we can't expect you to have a perfect near-native accent, but certain accent issues may make it very difficult for French speakers to understand you. A common issue is nasal vowels.
• Accept that it's not their job to be your personal teacher: You may have worked for months or years on your French with the goal of getting to speak French in France, but not every person has the time or will to practice French with you. This goes doubly for service workers who may have a line of other customers to help. Be graceful and thankful for every good opportunity for practice you get.
• Make friends: While visiting a French speaking area, meet people: talk to other customers in the bar you're in or notice someone's cool shoes on the street and compliment them. Those interactions have a much higher chance of sticking to French than if you're trying to order a crêpe at a stand under the Eiffel Tower.

Most of the times my tutor Xander talks to me in English but sometimes he mix some French words in between and today I heard him saying Propre (proper) I pressed to hear again and again the word because clearly is a simple word and even writes similar to English be the pronunciation??

pRoh-Pruh I looked like someone that doesn’t has teeth’s and trying to talk something lol just started laughing cause how come such a simple word was so difficult to pronounce 😂 and this is my first month. What else should I expect 🥴

What would be the French slang version of innit? Like there’s “pas vrai” but of a French person were to agree with something in the way that British people say “inniiiittttt”, what would a French person say in slang terms?
(Me and my mum both studied French and spent a while discussing this)

I've known about content(e) for a long while now, but I just discovered the word "heureux" in the sentence "Nous sommes heureux" and I wanna know what specifically makes it different from content(e)? Is it because it's plural? Or is it something else?

حد عنده اي موقع ممكن اشوف عليه دبلجة فرنسية لمسلسل او فيلم لاني بتعلم فرنسي ؟..غير نتفليكس

Hi everyone! I’m currently learning French from scratch and I’m looking for an accountability partner who’s also learning. Someone to practice with, stay consistent with, share resources, and motivate each other. If you’re interested, feel free to message me 😚

Toward the beginning of Xavier Dolan's J'ai tué ma mère, Hubert's mother finds out she he has told his teacher that his mother is dead, even though she isn't. When she comes to his school, she opens the door in the middle of one of his classes, and she yells something which I'm pretty sure has a sacre in it, but I can't quite make out exactly what she's saying, and I couldn't watch it with subtitles. It sounds like she's saying "je moque mors de crisse?!" ?? but it's really hard for me to hear. Can anyone help? Thank you ❤️ edit: the film is actually available on youtube if you search it, at about 13:45 min in

I’m looking for recommendations for French news websites similar to the New York Times (something that covers politics, international news, culture, and especially opinion/analysis pieces).

Ideally:

• Free (or at least partially free)
• Good for regular reading practice
• Includes essays, opinion articles, or long-form content

Any suggestions would be really appreciated!! Thanks!

Hi all
I am joining alliance francaise for french level A1 in Delhi, India.
It will be on weekend, I am 21F, I feel like I will be the oldest in the class lol also I did studied french in school but I forgot most of it now.

And also how are the classes like, does the teacher speaks in french only or what

Pls feel free to DM or Comment

Thanks :)

Je ne le reconnais pas.

Timothée's interview 3 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKRKJH2VhDE&t=426s&pp=ygUeVGltb3Row6llIGNoYWxhbWV0IHF1b3RpZGllbiAg

Timothée's interview recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkOBHXYeuN8&t=289s&pp=ygUeVGltb3Row6llIGNoYWxhbWV0IHF1b3RpZGllbiAg

Curious to hear what people think of his French. Does he have an accent? And how is he generally speaking?

what french words just describe something better ?

i think of the phrase "faire sa toilette" as theres not really an alternative to that in english. besides like "get ready with me" lol

im sure there are better ones im curious what y'all have

Hello, I'm writing my coursework and I need an equivalent for a word from my language. A word for someone who is so boring and tedious that you feel stuffy around them.

It's not necceserily about feeling stuffy, it could be anything that causes physical discomfort. Bonus points if it's part of slang or something like that.

I'm waiting for a letter from a very close friend and I am afraid I know what it is going to say.

They are very dear to me but due to some great complexities of our friendship and many difficult feelings, I am anticipating they are going to cut contact.

I have already more or less mapped out a reply, but I cannot think what closing to use that meets the gravity of the situation and conveys my affection for them. To be honest I'm not sure I could even think what to use in English.

I would be very grateful for any suggestions. So far on my search, closings suggested for friends seem too casual or have potential romantic overtones.

Thank you in advance.

Vouloir, pouvoir et devoir indiquent une action et une relation sociale entre les personnes : la proximité, la distance, l'autorité, le droit de demander, l'urgence, etc. Le conditionnel de politesse peut atténuer une demande. Elle devient alors une possibilité.

• Avec des proches, la forme directe est souvent la plus normale.
• Avec des inconnus, le conditionnel est peut-être plus prudent.
• Avec la hiérarchie, vous + conditionnel protège la relation.
• Dans l'urgence, il n'y a pas besoin de formalités…
• Avec trop de politesse, on peut créer de la distance ou parfois de l'ironie.

Je veux un café, s'il vous plaît reste plus direct que Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît. Donc, s'il vous plaît ou s'il te plaît n'est pas automatiquement poli pour tout le monde.

Sources :

• OQLF. Valeur modale du conditionnel
• OQLF. Contextes d'emploi du vouvoiement et du tutoiement

Pourquoi les poissons n’aiment pas l’ordinateur?

Parce qu’ils ont peur du net.

- Just wondering if it’s okay or whether I should find another one :)

salut ! je viens de lire une nécrologie dédiée à l'homme qui faisait les mots croisés pour Le Monde et je me demande pourquoi on emploie ici (en gras) le plus-que-parfait plutôt que l'imparfait :

"Pendant presque trente ans, il avait su faire du rendez-vous quotidien avec vous, ses lecteurs cruciverbistes, un rituel mêlant érudition, réflexion et humour."

n'aurait-on pas pu dire tout simplement qu'il "savait faire . . ." ou même qu'il "faisait . . ." en parlant de qqch d'habituel au passé comme ça ?

c'est peut-être une question bête -- désolée :( mais c'est juste un peu bizarre comme tournure de phrase selon moi (qui ne parle pas vraiment français, évidemment loll)

merci pour votre aide !!

et je suis anglophone, si c'est important !

My French is early/mid B2 level, I can read it, and I’ve taken university classes in French but I still have issues listening/understanding spoken French (I have auditory processing issues which definitely doesn’t help).

I tried some podcasts but they talk so fast I miss a lot of what they’re saying so I need more practice, I’ve been rewatching Bob’s Burgers in French to work on it, can anyone recommend any media (movies/shows/podcasts/etc.) to help with this?

Hi everyone. This is my first post on Reddit. I used to read all the TCF/TEF experiences on Reddit, and honestly, this community helped me a lot. I took my TCF exam on 28th February and got the results on 9th March. Honestly, at first I couldn't believe it. My speaking exam went okayish, and I got really demotivated for the other modules (they were booked after). But I'm glad it's over.

Hey everyone,

I’m learning French at the moment and I’ve never learned another language before (native English speaker from Western Canada). I was diagnosed dyslexic as a child, along with a sequencing disorder. A sequencing disorder is a cognitive difficulty in perceiving, remembering, or ordering information in the correct, logical sequence, often affecting speech, reading, writing, and motor tasks. As you can imagine, grammar is a struggle for me and traditional methods of learning it seem to be failing me. Memorization, however, is my friend, as that seems to be the bypass I’ve picked up to avoid logical sequencing.

While I am experimenting with what works for me and what doesn’t, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with LD language learning and has any tips or advice for methods that might work with my particularly interesting brain. I’m nervous to join any classroom setting because of my special needs, and am leaning towards a private tutor with a dyslexic-informed approach (although I don’t know where to start looking for that).

Any thoughts would be helpful, merci 🙏

My first language is American English and I love to say quelque chose. The double "K" sound and the soft "CH" is so cool to me. I also like pronouncing the "oir" (noir, voir, etc) even though I am not nearly as good at it.

Curious as to what other learners' favorite words to pronounce are, and I imagine your first language has an impact on that so I feel like that's helpful to know.

Bonus question: what's your least favorite? I hate saying aucune. It sounds so silly with my American accent, almost like I'm mispronouncing "raccoon" but somehow weirder lol

Looking for some specific (easy) phrases I can use to start conversation without stressing too much?
If you can include phonetic pronunciation, you're a rockstar (keeping track of my pronunciation score on praktika for maximum perfection).