Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago

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Find out more about our membership: school.commeunefrancaise.com/comme-une-francaise-all-inclusive/join-now?utm_campaign=20260321&utm_medium=description&utm_source=youtube

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You're smart. You've studied French for years.... so why do you still freeze mid-sentence, apologize for your accent before you've said a single word, or spend three minutes trying to remember the word for "hardware store"? It's not a knowledge problem. It's a behavior problem. And in this lesson, Géraldine breaks down the 5 sneaky speaking traps that catch even the most dedicated French learners off guard — the ones school accidentally taught you, and the ones silently sabotaging your fluency right now.

From the Grammar Freeze to the Over-Articulation Spiral, these habits feel protective but actually make your French sound less confident and harder to connect with. The good news? Each one has a simple, practical fix you can start using today — no more word-by-word English translations, no more apology speeches, no more fishing expeditions for the perfect vocabulary word. Just real, flowing French the way French people actually speak it. Pick your one trap and start there. À très vite !

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0:00 - Intro
1:30 - Trap 1, The Grammar Freeze
4:57 - Trap 2, The Accent Apology
9:02 - Trap 3, The Vocabulary Fishing Expedition
11:40 - Trap 4, The English Translation Trap
14:17 - Trap 5, The Over-Articulation Spiral

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⭐ DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF THIS LESSON
* Read, save and/or print the full written lesson here (free) - commeunefrancaise.com/blog/french-speaking-mistakes-fluency&source=youtube

🇫🇷 LEARN FRENCH WITH GÉRALDINE
* Ready to see faster progress in your spoken French fluency through consistent practice? Sign up for our next 30-Day French Challenge: school.commeunefrancaise.com/challenge

🥐 EXPLORE THE COMME UNE FRANÇAISE WEBSITE
* Actual spoken French is almost a completely different language than technical written French, which is what you were taught in schools. We specialize in everyday spoken French: speaking and understanding it, at all ages and levels. - commeunefrancaise.com

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At Comme une Française, we specialize in everyday spoken French. We focus on three unique aspects that are different from school French, self-study books, Duolingo, etc:
1. We focus only on the specifics of speaking/understanding/being understood in everyday French and have unique ways to help you learn it properly & faster.
2. We focus on shortcuts to help you make progress faster, which also means we tell you exactly what you can stop learning to prioritize what’s really important.
3. We use French culture as the subject to make it fun and interesting for adults.

Take care and stay safe.
😘 from Grenoble, France.

Géraldine