What French People Think When Tourists Speak French (And Why You Should Try Anyway!)

Picture yourself on a sunny street in the South of France. You have just left the bakery, croissants in one hand and a baguette under the arm. You’re about to ask for directions in French. Your heart rate spikes. Nerves kick in. What if you mess up? Mispronounce words? Or the locals answer in English? It feels like failure, doesn’t it?

Most adults feel that embarrassment when it’s time to put those language lessons to the test abroad.

You’re not alone; we’ve all practised French phrases before a trip, revised conversation books, maybe even asked AI for help by generating key phrases, only to freeze when it counts.

Then we get there. We enter the first shop. And we freeze. We mumble a few French words, and the shop assistant… casually responds to us in… English.

But honestly, French people are far more welcoming than their reputation or the internet suggests.

If you arrive in France and make the effort of trying to speak French, most locals genuinely appreciate it. Your accent does not need to be perfect, and your grammar does not need to be flawless. What matters is the intention. Speaking even imperfect French is widely perceived as a sign of respect for the culture. And that effort rarely goes unnoticed.

What you will be met with is most likely a soft smile and probably a gentle correction. Those will not be signs of mockery or pedantry. Just a gentle way of saying “I hear you, here is the correct way of saying what you wanted to say, so you nail it next time”. What you will find out is that speaking French, even with imperfect syntax, may be opening doors or allowing you to create meaningful connections.

You just need to remember. We all start somewhere, and we all make mistakes. No one expects you to be flawless! I used to always tell my students in class, “If you were perfect, you would not be here learning with me. And let’s be honest. Even the French make mistakes when speaking French, just like the English make mistakes when speaking English!”

The fact that you come to France and are willing to try to speak in French is actually perceived as a genuine interest in the culture. Maybe you will stumble. Maybe you will use the wrong word (trust me, me too… been there, done that!). What you need to remember is that the person you are speaking to will recognise how much courage it takes to speak in a language that isn’t yours. They will appreciate the effort you are making. The French, they fully know how daunting it is to speak a second language. Their response will be full of empathy and gentle encouragement. It will not be judgement. The prime example is Macron’s (now world-famous) “for sure!”.

You might be worried about speaking French and about getting it wrong. But you must always remember: embarrassment will always fade. The friendships and memories you may make out of this? They will last.

And let’s be honest. Sometimes you learn something because you make a mistake and are corrected on it. It remains ingrained in your brain forever. Like the time I told my friend I ate a “chocolate and pier (pear) brownie at the weekend”. A lovely smile, a gentle correction (“yes, ‘ea’ is pronounced ‘ee’, but a pier is something that goes into water, in that instead it is pronounced ‘eh’ rather than ‘ee’”), a few seconds of embarrassment that felt like they lasted minutes, and yet. I never made that mistake ever again. I actually use it every time I talk about trying to speak the language when going abroad.

So go for it! Embrace the opportunity! Do you know a few French words? Place them in! Even if you are hesitating. You will build vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, but most importantly, CONFIDENCE! Your attempt will be celebrated. You will then be welcomed into the conversation, one charming mistake at a time.

The only mistake you do not want to make? Forgetting to say “Bonjour!”. But this is for another blog post.

Are you ready to share your language journey? Post your stories, tag us on Insta (@french.withfred). Let’s encourage each other to speak up, laugh together, and make French connections that matter!

And if you or someone you know would like to work on this with a tutor who tailors lessons to your life and trips in France, I'd love to hear from you.