I'm a native Spanish speaker, we're used to a heavy, strong r. The French r is such a tricky sound, specially for me, when it goes with a vowel. Thanks for the video 👍🏻
Same here.. I am Dutch but have strong r in front of the mouth. Dutch also have a lot of words borrowed from the french. For instance paraplu, plafond, capuchon, trotttoir, amuse, affaire, bureau and many more, but the pronouciation is so different it is hard to unlearn it.
Omg. You made me laugh when my mouth face and jaw was aching after rrrgrrrr ow a ing. Then that excersise guy popped up and I choked. 🤣🤣 it really works! I made the mysterious French sound with the pencil
I have been learning French for 3 years and I've always had problems in pronouncing r!!! I would get perfect scores on writing, reading, and listening, but I was always struggling with my speaking! Thank you soooo much! Now I know how my mouth works and feels like when I am pronouncing R correctly!!!
I've had the opposite problem. I'm a native English speaker, yet I have absolutely no problems with pronunciation (it has been about 4 months serious learning). Listening is my main crux. Je ne comprends rien!
Spanish seems to me to be more based in sound fluency with emotion and logic whereas French is also beautiful but has so many silent letters and sounds that are are to distinguish. I say that as an English speaker growing up around Spanish and being confused by French. I find French to be more difficult. I will say German is the hardest I've attempted because you can have a 14 letter 6 syllable word as a normal part of speaking the language
I quite like this 'pencil' trick to learn "R" sound in French as it brought great advantage for an east asian to learn at home as we can use chopstick instead and it works better😂
I am 45 years old, and never took a foreign language course before. I am currently learning French. I also am learning a little German, and Latin. I found some great instructors on here, but none as good as Alexa. I like how she explains things, and with humor too. I am learning a lot off these videos.
I tried practicing the pronunciation of the French R. Now I have a sore throat. It caused my throat to bleed and my voice to go hoarse. Now I have a question for you French speakers. Do you ever spit tonsil stones trying to pronounce words that have the French R?
I've never understood how to pronounce the R until watching this video, thank you! The pencil really gave me insight or sense of how to make this sound. I was making the sound too low. When the R is the first letter of the word it is still difficult for me but I'm going to practice.
With practice, you will get there don't worry! It was the same for us the French at the beginning, when we learn this language for the first time! And now we know saying this perfectly! So don't worry! I :D
Thank you for this! It is edifying for an American English speaker. I used to tease my French instructor in school that pronouncing French was like pretending I had a piece of gum sitting in the middle of my tongue that I was trying to keep motionless while speaking!
I actually finally got it right! I've been speaking French with a strong accent for thirty six years, rolling my r like we do in Irish - and in less than five minutes you actually got me pronouncing it like a French woman! Now for the vowels.
but how????? I tried and only succeed when there's saliva in my throat(and it sound like I'm clearing my throat super loud) then I swallowed the saliva and it resumed to airy "h" sound and now my throat hurts like hell
I tried the saliva again and it almost sounds right. maybe that's what separates "r" speaking ppl from other ppl, they all keep a small amount of saliva in their throats lol
@@notaverysmartcat that is because you are pronouncing it wrong still. Saliva makes the sound when you use the back of your mouth to create the sound, but the true r pronunciation should come from deeper down in your throat, not your mouth.
@@notaverysmartcat I feel that, if it's any help I used to have the same problem, I still struggle at times but one video specifically is what really made a huge difference for me because it shows the trick in how to pronounce it in your throat and without needing all the saliva, check it out if you haven't seen it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YCw_lEb1qXk.html I don't know if it will help but it really worked for me at least!
@@hunterwhite8772 oh thanks! That koala thing really cleared things up(now I know where I'm actually using lol),turns out after 3yrs I'm using it already?? the real problem is that I'm only able to produce a clean "h" sound from that deep part, which is really close to the correct r sound but still lack the throaty rolling effect? If that makes any sense? I can sometimes do it right but most of the time there's just the h sound😂
I started learning French on Duolingo this week and I have been doing well so far so I thought I would take it up a notch and learn pronunciation on RU-vid! I am glad I came across your videos! They are so helpful. Merci Beaucoup!
Something that worked for me: Try focusing more on the roof of your mouth and move your tongue slightly towards the back. When you hear the sound you imagine it's coming from far back on the roof of your mouth but it's actually on the hard palate and not the soft palate. Don't try to put too much pressure on your voice while practicing. In fact, put as little pressure as you can.
I struggled for the longest time with the Spanish "j" and have just now begun to perfect it. At first I thought the French r and the Spanish j were the same. I think I have figured out, however, that the Spanish j is more in the back of the throat, but the French r is more on the roof of the mouth.
lvl99ultrathug Depends on where you are from. The Spanish j/g can be as light as an English h, or can be as heavy a Hebrew ch. In some parts of the Spain the j/g can be especially throaty.
+Connor Simmons Yeah, you are right... But if you pronounce it as an english "h" there's no problem, they will understand anyway. I'm mexican with few spaniard friends... Not a single problem understanding each other.
Na man as a latino and spanish being my mother tongue I can tell you we all pronounce the letter "J" nothing like the french "R". Take for example "Juan" which is a common Spanish name. Everyone pronounces it "who-ann". There's no "R" there.
I am an indigenous Pacific Islander who speaks 5 different native languages and I'm used to 3 different r sounds but the French r is something else. I wish I found this video sooner because I was struggling a lot on the French r and I've been learning French for 3 years now. My French work colleagues here in Australia have been very helpful but they didn't explain to me how exactly to pronounce the French r. This is very helpful. As I said, I wish I found this video sooner because how you pronounce the French r is very close to how the letter g is pronounced in one of my native tongues. Thank you. You're a great teacher.
Is it like a combination of a double 'R' and a 'KH' at the back of the throat? I can't seem to find a balance between the two, it either sounds like I'm trying to speak Spanish or like I'm trying to get rid of my phlegm.
I am practicing for my French fluency exam. And your video is super helpful! It's not perfect yet but there is improvement!! You motivated me to work harder and get it right! Thank you so much!
Merci beaucoup. I have been trying to learn the French R’s for a very long time and I have seen a lot of videos but either their techniques never helped or they were too difficult but I really learnt the French r’s using your way.
I'm only at 0:49 so far and 😂😂😂...the guy correcting her in the background...these two are hilarious! Very enjoyable and entertaining so far! I love that she's real...and didn't need to stop it so that it was perfect.
i'm learning how to pronounce it.. is it kinda like a snoring sound? I can say the r if it's in front of words but lose it when it's in the middle of words .. :(
I thought she was saying a thousand times a day but said just kidding. I obsess until I can walk into a room with confidence knowing each sound I use is with practice and intent. I learn slow so I have to be methodical and just motion through steps again and again. This was probably the best French lesson I've gotten and I'm guessing 100,000 attempts to get it right.
This totally works!! I used this method and practiced for 20min non-stop, and I am able to do it without the pen in mouth!! At least I sound better than before (I couldn't move my throat or tongue or whatever at all before)
TEACHERS: and that is how COVID 19 started ME: I thought it started by people putting pencils in their mouths to get there french R's eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrright
Wow, I thought it was more difficult than that! Not that I can do it already, but it feels attainable now, and already more close to what it sounds like, thank you so much!
I got an idea when I'll be going to France I will just take a pencil in my mouth and walk around yep and if someone will stare are I should care less hahahhahahhaa
Bonjour, I am french and I can tell you that you have several way to pronounce the R, it can be soft like Paris or more gutural after a d or a p : adresse, prendre or even very discret nearly not pronoucable like at the end of a name : amour, toujours, terre... Good luck les amis...
Bonjour Alexa! FYI, Since I've been drinking water with fresh lemon, it is a little easier to pronounce my French r!! Of course, I've also practiced with my pencil 1,000 times. :) Bisou Bisou!
OMG! I never thought about learning French is very difficult like that. So the way you teach it’s so funny. But it’s better than other for people understand
Actually no! That's the arabic R. French R originates from the throat but the air is merely pushed out from there it bounces back onto the middle of the palate, (aim for the front, you'll hit the middle) and that's what creates the R. Unless you're mad, which we sometimes do but once in a while. Otherwise you'll end up with a sore throat in no time. Hit the air in your center palate and you create the R there. Voila. :) Hope this helps you, Darren.
Thank you, I was struggling with this! EDIT: Another tip I found for English speakers learning French was to say Loch Ness, the "ch" part is apparently how the r is in French!
Thank you so much ! Excellent video. As a Spanish language speaker, French has a quite hard pronunciation for me. Learning these techniques helps a great deal.
Alexa Polidoro I have to admit yourr the bestr french teache ever on the internet to me. sorry to bother but I need a favour. I have to know what the hard french word to pronounce are please write them... Thanks in advance and greetings from fan number 1here in Peru
You are soooo amazing and so adorable the way you teach Alexa !!! 🥰 1:20 - the pencil in your mouth say the sound R 2:10 different words - rounge, organe, arrivera, rhododendron, reparera
English people speaking in french with their accent is the cutest thing ever, like in France people will find it cute and cool. Please keep your accent, don't think that it's ugly (except the french-trying-to-speak-english one, I feel ridiculous with it)
After 17 years of learning and speaking French. I gave up on that R but Alexa is still hilarious and her ideas actually make sense. The pencil does help but for me always had the R come out as a raspy English H. Is it possible those who have had epiglottis reduction would have this issue?
I'm a french native speaker and if you were able to pronounce the r just like in this video you would surely be understood but we don't exaggerate its pronounciation just like"rrrr" we pronounce in a more soft way ^^' if you wanna examples try to watch french youtubers and listen their r you will understand what i mean ! ^^'
You"re so nice and with a good sense of humor. I had fun learning how to produce the "R" I love your videos. You're also a great teacherrr! A million Thanks for your lovely videos
I don't think I have laughed so hard which was difficult with a pen in my mouth. I've been doing your beginner lessons from my phone and really enjoying them so far. Thinking about subscribing in the new year when I have a computer again. I really like that you explain the grammar and not just phrases. It's so interesting. I have been learning Japanese for 8 years now and French feels so fresh in comparison. Thanks so much for your videos and podcasts. I hope you continue to make more of the lessons.
So I seem to be able make the french r sound if I have some spit in my mouth... especially in the back near the uvula. But without spit it sounds like I'm choking. Am I doing something wrong or is some moisture back there necessary! (:
I love Alexa s way of teaching so perfect . I really want to sound like her . I love the French language .fingers crossed it will happen pour moi . Merci beaucoup Alexa xxxx
Growing up in British Columbia Canada we learned very bad French. Like the pronunciation was off and the teachers were from all over the French speaking countries. Due to this we had different dialects of French taught. Not like Quebec which speaks proper Canadian French. I needed this to speak French properly! Merci beaucoup!
