American English pronunciation practice for French speakers
Twenty words for stress, reduced vowels, and unfamiliar sound sequences.
Treat familiar spellings as listening questions
If French is a language you speak, words such as ballet, genre, and rendezvous may look especially familiar. Open the English video before predicting their vowels and stress. Compare the English dictionary transcription with what you hear, rather than using spelling as a promise of an identical pronunciation.
Give unstressed syllables less space
Interesting and camera have reduced versions in the American dictionary; chocolate also shows an optional middle vowel. Listen to the number of vowel beats in one speaker’s example, then repeat the same version. Start slowly and build up to a short phrase without forcing a vowel between every pair of consonants.
Contrast h and the two th sounds
Hotel begins with /h/, while hour and honest begin with a vowel in the listed entries. Through and thought begin with /θ/; though begins with voiced /ð/. Compare these specific words instead of applying one pronunciation to every h or th spelling. End with world to practice an American r followed by l and d.
Your listening list
20 wordsChoose a word to hear it in an APG video.
Test these pronunciations
Try 4 questions from this guide. Each answer includes an APG video, dictionary reference, and explanation.
Try this guide’s quiz →More words in this topic
8 wordsKeep listening with an APG video and a pronunciation tip for each word.
- camaraderie
Stress the third syllable.
- champagne
Stress PAIN at the end.
- connoisseur
In kah-nuh-SUR, stress the final syllable.
- poignant
Start with the vowel in “boy.”
- rapport
Stress POR at the end.
- reconnaissance
ree-KON-uh-suns: stress KON.
- ricochet
RIK-uh-shay: the ch sounds like sh.
- sachet
sa-SHAY: stress the ending.
Sources & classroom use
Each listening tip follows the IPA shown beside its word. Other dictionary pronunciations appear on the word page; individual speakers may vary.
Practice phrases were written for these exercises; quoted book passages remain in the separate, sourced book sections. These guides and practice notes are available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Credit American Pronunciation Guide and retain the linked dictionary attributions. Videos and other reference material keep their own terms.
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