French pronunciation for non-natives

1:1 online coaching focused on the music of French

"Master the rhythms and sounds of French to express yourself more clearly
and be better understood"

Isabelle Cottenet

Interpreters

Interprètes, traductrices et traducteurs
  • Turn your French into a B language
  • Understand fast speakers better
  • Elevate your interpretation with natural-sounding delivery

Professionals

Professionnels
  • Follow conversations with ease
  • Chat with your colleagues
  • Negotiate on an equal footing
  • Boost your credibility

Individuals

Particulier en famille
  • Engage in meaningful discussions 
  • Connect with French people
  • Get ready to move to France
  • Interact with your in-laws

French grammar and vocabulary are not a problem but...

untelligible

And yet you dream of…

Réunion conviviale

You have tried to go it alone...

Congratulations! This is an excellent way to expand your vocabulary and discover new expressions.

🎯 Now you need to practice speaking and get into your ‘French persona’ to reach the next level!

There are plenty of free resources online, but it’s easy to feel lost and overwhelmed.

🎯 Get the help of a professional trainer with a good ear to help you stay motivated.
Your coach can:

  • identify and fix your challenges
  • draw up a customized plan and exercises
  • prioritize areas for improvement
  • adapt to your learning style
  • and give you a boost when you need it!

But they worry about hurting your feelings or just switch to English.

🎯 Targeted feedback will help you:

  • correct your mistakes,
  • progress with confidence,
  • and stay motivated.

Conversation classes are an excellent way to practice and enhance confidence.

However, conversation classes don’t focus on pronunciation!

🎯 If you treat pronunciation like a workout by focusing on sounds, rhythms and intonation, your accent will improve sooner.

Why is pronunciation so difficult?

Some French rhythms and sounds don’t exist in your language.

You can only correctly pronounce what you hear.

Traditional language courses focus on grammar and vocabulary, but rarely on phonetics or phonology.

They often overlook the musicality of the language and don’t provide pronunciation feedback.

What's the secret to improving your accent?

My approach to pronunciation teaching

My pronunciation coaching sessions focus on the musicality of the language.

In our 1-to-1 sessions, I’ll walk you through the elements of spoken French, helping you master its rhythms, intonations, and sounds to express yourself more clearly

This personalized approach makes learning fun and effective!

A safe and welcoming environment

My goal is to make each session enjoyable so you can explore and experiment without fear of judgment.

Prioritizing for efficiency

After an initial assessment, I prioritize key areas to focus on, helping you improve the clarity of your French pronunciation.

Customized learning journey

Each session addresses your needs and adapts to your learning style, taking into consideration your lifestyle, native language, level of French and schedule.

Articulation training

We work on strengthening your French speech muscles to help you pronounce and connect sounds clearly, smoothly, and comfortably. Get ready to smile (a lot), make faces, and stick your tongue out!

Honing your listening skills

It's essential to be able to hear the unique sounds of French for clear pronunciation. In our sessions we focus on developing and refining your listening skills to achieve this goal.

Practice resources

After each lesson a video recording, session materials, practical worksheets and audio files will be available in your private Pronunciation Folder for independent practice.

Empowering strategies

Each session is packed with actionable tips and strategies to help you start using new sounds in your daily life and make your independent practice highly effective.

And if you're up to it...

we could even use songs to support your learning journey in a fun and effective way. The songs we choose would help you develop your listening skills, memory and diction.

What my clients say

<i>She gave very clear examples on how to improve. The progress is astounding!</i>
She gave very clear examples on how to improve. The progress is astounding!
Charlie, Interprète de conférence (anglophone)

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Isabelle is invaluable to anybody learning French.

Within about 10 minutes of conversation, she had pinpointed exactly what I needed to work on, and then tailored every lesson towards this with very engaging and interesting content.

She would also point out things I was unaware I did incorrectly, and gave very clear examples on how to improve.

Considering the relatively few hours we've worked together, the progress is astounding and I would come away from every lesson with a very clear improvement - so I would absolutely recommend her to anybody learning the French language.
<i>She helped me reunderstand the specific aspects of French phonetics.</i>
She helped me reunderstand the specific aspects of French phonetics.
Stephen, Traducteur technique, médical et juridique (anglophone​)
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I contacted Isabelle after hearing her speak at an SFT* chapter meeting.

I was looking for someone who could help me with my French pronunciation following a health setback that affected my speech.

Over a series of sessions, she helped me reunderstand the specific aspects of French phonetics (oh, how easily one overlooks them!) and provided me with valuable breathing, pacing, posture and pronunciation exercises that I continue to use.

(*SFT: Société Française des Traducteurs)
<i>She is able to quickly adjust and adapt to her students' needs.</i>
She is able to quickly adjust and adapt to her students' needs.
SienaDune, Mindful Leadership Coach and Counselor (anglophone)
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Isabelle is a complete professional and has an immense breadth and depth of knowledge of her subject matter, which she is able to quickly adjust and adapt to her students' needs.

She is supportive and encouraging always. My motivation to speak French fluently has been greatly enhanced and I look forward to each session.

This is a delightful experience for me and I can wholeheartedly recommend Isabelle.
<i>I always appreciated the way Isabelle was providing feedback.</i>
I always appreciated the way Isabelle was providing feedback.
Olga, Secteur Marketing & Tech (roumanophone)
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Every session was captivating and enriching.

This helped me not only improve my French pronunciation, but also build confidence when speaking French and immerse into French culture, history, and art.

I always appreciated the way Isabelle was providing feedback and her ability to mix traditional teaching methods with innovative and interactive techniques and tools [...] Merci Isabelle for your guidance during the past months!
<i>Elle m’a aidée à [...] progresser en travaillant des points précis.</i>
Elle m’a aidée à [...] progresser en travaillant des points précis.
Andrea, Traductrice indépendante (germanophone)
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Pour toutes celles et tous ceux, qui veulent améliorer leur français à l’oral, je recommande vivement le coaching d’Isabelle.

Elle m’a aidée à comprendre mes erreurs de prononciation et d’intonation et à progresser en travaillant des points précis.

Plus question de confondre voyelles fermées / ouvertes et les différentes nasales !

J’ai adoré sa méthode qui utilise le chant pour rendre la phrasé plus léger – maintenant, les Français:es m’écoutent et me comprennent plus facilement 😉
<i>My pronunciation has radically improved and it’s been noted (and complimented).</i>
My pronunciation has radically improved and it’s been noted (and complimented).
Margarita, Business Development - Apple (hispanophone)
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Isabelle did the impossible: teach me how to properly pronounce in French!

I’ve been actively learning French for 2 years and while I knew my accent and pronunciation weren’t great, I didn’t really know how to go about improving in an impactful way.

Enter Isabelle! In only a couple of months, my pronunciation has radically improved and it’s been noted (and complimented) by my French co-workers.

Isabelle made the classes and the practise sessions super fun and really helped unlock some areas where I was totally stuck (nasal sounds).
<i>Her approach is playful, targeted and tailored to be as effective as possible.</i>
Her approach is playful, targeted and tailored to be as effective as possible.
Gwenan, Traductrice et interprète (anglophone)
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I wholeheartedly recommend Isabelle's coaching sessions.

I first saw her giving a presentation for the Société Française des Traducteurs and was struck by her enthusiasm and evident in-depth knowledge of the French language.

I have already noticed an improvement in my understanding of certain aspects of pronunciation that I have struggled with, even after years of learning French.

Her approach is playful, targeted and tailored to be as effective as possible. I hope to continue working with her so that I can make as much progress as she clearly has with her impeccable American accent!
<i>Not only is she an expert in the subject, she is an incredible teacher!!!</i>
Not only is she an expert in the subject, she is an incredible teacher!!!
Katherine, Finance (anglophone)

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Isabelle is an outstanding pronunciation coach! We worked together for multiple months on many different points of French pronunciation, and I had so much fun in every call that we had together!

She has an amazing level of expertise in pronunciation and was able to identify and clearly explain the differences in how I speak in my native language (English), versus how to create new sounds in French.

Not only is she an expert in the subject, she is an incredible teacher!!! She has a variety of methods to coach her students to exercise and understand different sounds, and is very clear in her communication style.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Isabelle and strongly recommend her to anyone looking to improve their pronunciation!
<i>Ses exercices sont vraiment utiles et ont même amélioré ma compréhension orale</i>
Ses exercices sont vraiment utiles et ont même amélioré ma compréhension orale
Arturo, Dr. en physique, Co-fondateur d'une startup (hispanophone)
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J'ai eu la chance d'avoir Isabelle Cottenet comme professeure de prononciation française.

Elle est très patiente et a su m'aider à découvrir de nouvelles facettes de la langue française, ce qui a même amélioré mon orthographe.

En tant qu'hispanophone, j'ai trouvé fascinant de comparer la position de la langue pour certaines consonnes entre les deux langues. Son matériel et ses exercices sont vraiment utiles et ont même amélioré ma compréhension orale.

Je recommande vivement ses cours !
<i>She easily picks up on everything that needs to be improved.</i>
She easily picks up on everything that needs to be improved.
Flemming, Ecrivain, philosophe et développeur (langue : danois)
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Isabelle is an excellent pronunciation coach.

She easily picks up on everything that needs to be improved, and has a program readily available to improve it.

I've enjoyed my lessons with her, and will ask for more in the future. In the meantime, I'll practice my homework suggestions.
<i> She has helped me gain confidence in my spoken French.</i>
She has helped me gain confidence in my spoken French.
Angela, Interprète de conférence et traductrice (hispanophone)
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Merci Isabelle pour ton aide.

Isabelle is a wonderful teacher who can tailor her lessons and teaching to your needs. She has lots of fun material and is able to adapt and change quickly.

I found she has helped me gain confidence in my spoken French and I look forward to continue working with her.
<i>A true professional, she listened to my goals and helped me achieve them.</i>
A true professional, she listened to my goals and helped me achieve them.
William, Interprète et traducteur (hispanophone et anglophone)
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Isabelle is a masterful teacher!

I sought out her support to work on the finer, more advanced nuances of French pronunciation and prosody and her observations and feedback were indispensable.

A true professional, she listened to my goals and helped me achieve them.
<i>Ce changement a vraiment amélioré ma vie et m'a donné envie de parler plus souvent.</i>
Ce changement a vraiment amélioré ma vie et m'a donné envie de parler plus souvent.
Moussa, Etudiant en alternance
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J'ai eu madame Isabelle Cottenet, ma professeure de prononciation, qui m'a aidé à découvrir une méthode de communication en français.

Elle est attentive, patiente, optimiste et comprend les difficultés de ses élèves.

Avant, je n'avais pas confiance pour parler en français, mes camarades de classe et même mes collègues du travail ne me comprenaient pas bien, il fallait que je répète ce que je disais. Mais maintenant, je me sens beaucoup plus à l'aise.

Ce changement a vraiment amélioré ma vie et m'a donné envie de parler plus souvent.
<i>I definitely feel more confident about speaking French.</i>
I definitely feel more confident about speaking French.
Charlotte,Traductrice anglophone

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I recently completed Isabelle's French conversation course for translators.

In each session, we covered a different topic related to the professional lives of translators (e.g. telephone conversations, negotiations etc.) and they were all very relevant and useful.

My spoken French was very rusty, but Isabelle provided helpful and encouraging feedback, and the fact that it was such a small, friendly group helped me to not feel self-conscious.

Since the course, I definitely feel more confident about speaking French.
<i>Constructive feedback, interesting group conversations and helpful resources.</i>
Constructive feedback, interesting group conversations and helpful resources.
Laura,Traductrice anglophone

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I have just completed an eight-week online French conversation course run by Isabelle for translators.

I felt a little bit nervous beforehand but Isabelle quickly put me at my ease. She is a very friendly and encouraging tutor, giving constructive feedback, facilitating interesting group conversations about relevant topics and supplying helpful resources.

I ended the course feeling more confident about my spoken French and would recommend the course to other translators who feel their French may be getting a bit rusty!
<i>Her expertise and guidance were truly invaluable.</i>
Her expertise and guidance were truly invaluable.
Xiaochuan,Interprète

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I had the privilege of participating in an online workshop on French pronunciation, specifically focusing on nasal vowels, led by Isabelle. Her expertise and guidance were truly invaluable.

Through helpful exercises, practical tips, and clear explanations, Isabelle helped me grasp the nuances of nasal vowels. Additionally, she provided useful resources and materials to support my learning journey.

I am immensely grateful for Isabelle's great help and highly recommend her to anyone looking to improve their pronunciation skills in French. 🇫🇷💫

Merci beaucoup, Isabelle! Je suis reconnaissant!
<i>Je l'ai contactée pour m'aider avec ma diction française dans le chant lyrique. </i>
Je l'ai contactée pour m'aider avec ma diction française dans le chant lyrique.
Veronique, Chanteuse lyrique américaine

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J'ai contacté Isabelle pour m'aider avec ma diction française dans le chant lyrique.

Ayant de l'expérience avec la musique et le chant, elle comprenait que je devais trouver le bon équilibre dans la diction et la technique vocale. Avant nos séances, je lui ai envoyé mes partitions pour qu'elle puisse les lire.

On a travaillé ensemble avec le texte parlé, et ensuite chanté. Elle était patiente et elle m'encourageait tout au long des séances.

Je la recommande très fortement aux autres chanteurs qui souhaitent améliorer leur diction !
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Private online coaching sessions prices

Découverte

One
30
-Minute Call

Free

A la carte

One
1-Hour Session

68

Or

Or

En douceur

4-Session Pack
(45 min each)

195

Equilibré

4-Session Pack
(1 hour each)

265

Intensif

4-Session Pack
(1 hour each)

320

Freelance interpreters and translators in France

If you’d like to claim pronunciation sessions as a professional expense and are subject to VAT in France, 20% VAT will be added to the rates listed.

Please contact me before booking your session or package online.

If you are NOT subject to VAT, you can book the sessions at the prices above!

Commit to consistent progress with a 12-session program

If you’re ready to engage in a focused 3-month journey to improve your pronunciation with regular sessions and independent practice, let’s talk!

Book your free 30-minute call to discuss your goals, how we can achieve them, and determine if we’re the right fit.

After our meeting, I’ll send you a detailed quote and you can then decide if you’d like to move forward with me.

Looking forward to meeting you soon!

(Psssst, booking a 12-session program is also better value for money 😊.)