French Dictation for English Speakers — Avoid the Traps of English
Practise real French dictation and get an instant, rule-by-rule correction — so every mistake teaches you something you remember.
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3 minutes · free, no account · the test is in French.
How it works
1. Listen
A natural French voice reads a sentence aloud, at a pace you control. Replay it as often as you need.
2. Write
You type the full sentence yourself. Writing — not multiple choice — is what trains real spelling and grammar.
3. Understand
You get an instant correction showing each mistake, the right form and the rule behind it — in clear language.
English and French share a long and complex linguistic history. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, French deeply influenced English, bringing it thousands of words of Latin and French origin. This kinship is both an advantage and a trap for English speakers learning French. An advantage, because many words are recognisable (important, restaurant, communication); a trap, because this closeness creates false friends and specific spelling mistakes. English speakers tend to "anglicise" French words, forgetting the accents, double consonants and silent endings that give French its distinctive character.
The most common spelling mistakes made by English speakers are well documented. Accents are the first obstacle: English does not use them, and English speakers tend to leave them out systematically (cafe instead of café, hotel instead of hôtel). Spelling-based false friends are numerous: "address" is spelled "adresse" in French, "apartment" is spelled "appartement", "language" is spelled "langage" or "langue". Agreements in gender and number confuse English speakers because English has almost no grammatical gender. Conjugations, with their silent endings (je mange, tu manges, ils mangent are all pronounced the same), are a spelling nightmare. Finally, adjective order, prepositions and articles differ between the two languages.
DictéePro targets exactly the typical mistakes of English speakers with progressive dictations and tailored corrections. Each exercise focuses on the false friends, accents, agreements and conjugations that cause the most trouble for English speakers. The correction systematically compares the correct French form with the English form to help you unlearn bad habits. Whether you are an American student, a British expat or an English-speaking Canadian professional, these dictations will help you write correct and natural French.