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Learning a new language can be quite a challenge, and learning it well enough to be understood by native speakers is an altogether different experience. As you may have found out for yourself, just knowing the English words may not be enough if your French accent makes it difficult for people to understand you.

When native French speakers are speaking English, they often find that the pronunciation rules that work for French don't work as well in English. Many French speakers have trouble with the groups of English sounds known as affricates and fricatives.

Affricates are the sounds like:

* ch, as in child or chicken * j , as in judge or jelly

Commonly confused fricatives include sounds like :

* sh, as in shoe or ship * voiced th, as in these or those * unvoiced th, as in think or thank you

Many French speakers do not make the distinction between each of these sounds that is necessary for understandable English. So, the French speaker may substitute any of these sounds for any of the others, leading to confusion for the listener.

A simple request in English, like :

Jane, put these shoes in the chair .

could easily come out sounding like this:

Shane, put zeese choose in the share.

So, what should you do if you are a native French speaker and want to reduce your accent? Practice, practice, practice. But, you must practice the right sounds. Ask yourself if you substitute any of the sounds listed above for other ones on the list. Be observant in your conversations for words that have these sounds in them, and be sure you are choosing the correct one. Practice the words listed above until you can say each one correctly. Perhaps you could ask an English speaking friend to listen to you.

If you are still not sure how to clarify your speech and you want some personalized help, then you may want to contact a speech pathologist who specializes in accent reduction.

Why don't you take the free online speech and accent screening at www.losemyaccent.com It only takes a few minutes and you will get great tips on improving your communication. Lisa Scott is a nationally certified speech pathologist who specializes in accent reduction training. Great communication is vital to a productive life, and Lisa is passionate about helping you increase your productivity by removing communication barriers. She offers a free online speech screening and follow-up phone call to determine if her classes will benefit you. If you are tired of being misunderstood and are ready for a change, please visit www.losemyaccent.com

[Edited by Administrator (admin) Mon, 27 Jun 2011, 05:43 AM]