Pronunciation and intelligibility
What you must understand
Intelligibility, not accent elimination, is the target. Focus on nasal vowels (on, an, in, un), front rounded vowels (u versus ou: tu versus tout), silent final consonants (petit, grand - pronounced only before a vowel), liaison (obligatory, optional, forbidden), and rhythm and stress (French stresses the final syllable of a group, not individual words).
Traps that appear
- Confusing u and ou: dessus/dessous, rue/roue. This changes meaning and is heavily penalised.
- Pronouncing silent letters: ils parlent - the -ent is silent; beaucoup - no p sound.
- Forbidden liaison: after et, and before h aspiré (les héros).
- English stress patterns: stressing the first syllable of each word distorts the French rhythm group.
- Over-articulating liaisons where they are optional, which sounds stilted.
Rule of thumb
Group words into rhythm units and stress the last syllable of each unit: je voudrais‿aller au cinéma. This single habit improves perceived fluency and intelligibility more than any individual sound fix.
Worked example
Say « tout » with rounded, back lips; say « tu » with spread, forward lips. Practise minimal pairs aloud: tu/tout, rue/roue, dessus/dessous.