Go to sites such as those hosted by eLanguage Schools and French-pub.com (see Resources). Each provides lessons on learning the French language and proper pronunciation. Audio files or pronunciation keys are part of each website so that a new learner can start understanding the language and an intermediate or advanced learner can perfect their grammar and accent.
Learn the basics first. Just like studying any language, it's important to start with the basics, meaning the alphabet. After going through each letter and either hearing or reading its sound, write the letter yourself as you say its sound. This is an effective way to reinforce proper pronunciation. With a language like French, do this exercise several times. The authors of the French website French-pub.com suggest, "You should try to study a few minutes every day." This way, your learning is consistent.
Read the pronunciation key. After learning the alphabet, study the different vowel combinations and rules. According to French Instructor Laura K. Lawless, "French, like English, can be very difficult in terms of pronunciation, due to intricacies like silent letters, multiple sounds for a single letter, and endless exceptions to whatever rules you find." Go through the pronunciations slowly. Don't just memorize the rules, understand them. For instance, one rule states that "c" is pronounced like "s" when followed by e, i or y, like in the name "Cezanne." "C" is pronounced with a "k" sound when followed by an a, o, u or consonant, as in the word "cafe."
Practice saying the words. Learning the different ways vowels and consonants can sound in various situations is helpful in correctly pronouncing French words. Check your pronunciation by using an audio file on the computer, CD or DVD of French speakers. Make certain to use resources that uses Parisian French as this is considered the standard dialect, according to Lawless and Rodney Ball, author of "The French Speaking World." If you are planning to go to Quebec, learning that form of French may be best as there are marked differences between the two forms.
Remember the accent marks. Unlike English, French uses various accent marks indicating how to say a word. Use these to your advantage by visualizing how a word looks in order to pronounce it correctly.
Use a French learning CD along with a book to learn the language such as "Just Listen 'n Learn French Plus" by Stephanie Rybak. Make sure that you already have a basic understanding of French and practice speaking. If need be, write out the English equivalent of a French sound so that you can phonetically sound out a word. For instance, if you have trouble saying the word "croissant," writing "quawsaw" next to the word may help you remember the right pronunciation. There is also the DVD "Musical Method of Learning French" by Jim Hawthorne, which may be helpful for those having trouble with traditional teaching methods.
Go to the library or bookstore to get French Language DVDs. Examples of these include "Learn French" with Victor Ebner and "Parlez-vous Français?," which has DVDs for beginning and advanced students.
Regardless of how you learn to speak the language, practice and keep in mind an important pronunciation maxim: "In French, there are rules about maintaining euphony; that is, agreeable or harmonious sound. French is a very musical language because it tends to flow from one word to the next with no hiatus (pause)," according to Lawless. Knowing when to leave off the ending sound of a word and change a word entirely makes the difference between an amateur and expert speaker.
Grasp the concept of euphony. There are various ways that words are changed to avoid the hiatus. As mentioned by Lawless, liaisons move the usually silent ending of a word to the beginning of the following word as in the case of "vous avez", which becomes [vu za vey] when spoken, rather than [vu a vey]. In circumstances in which a word has been inverted so a verb ends in a vowel, the letter "T" is placed between the verb and the next word.
Learn other ways that euphony in maintained in French. Some adjectives take on special forms to avoid a hiatus. For instance, "ce homme" [seu uhm] is changed to "cet homme" [seh tuhm]. Likewise placing an "L" plus an apostrophe, as in " l'," before "on" avoids a hiatus. Another important euphonic device is enchaînement, meaning the transfer of the sound at the end of one word onto the following word, such as in the phrase belle âme. Rather than saying [beh lahm], you say [bel ahm], therefore maintaining the flow of speech without pausing, according to Lawless.
Contractions are another way to prevent a hiatus. An example of a contraction in French is the phrase "le ami" [leu a mee] which becomes l'ami [la mee] when contracted, as stated by Lawless.