After helping dozens of French-speaking students prep for their English exams, I keep seeing the same 3 patterns that cost people 10-15 points.

Mistake 1: Translating in your head before speaking

French sentence structure is different from English. When you mentally translate "Je pense que c'est important" → "I think that it is important," you add a half-second delay that kills your fluency score. The fix? Practice thinking in English by narrating your daily routine out loud. Even 5 minutes while making breakfast.

Mistake 2: Ignoring the "faux amis" trap in reading

Words like "actually" (≠ actuellement), "library" (≠ librairie), and "eventually" (≠ éventuellement) show up constantly in TOEFL reading passages. Make a flashcard deck of the top 50 false cognates and review them weekly.

Mistake 3: Writing essays like a French dissertation

French academic writing loves long introductions and building to a thesis. TOEFL/IELTS wants the opposite — thesis first, support after. Practice writing your position in the first sentence, then defend it. American and British examiners want clarity, not suspense.

If you're a French speaker prepping for TOEFL or IELTS, I built SpeakGlobal Academy specifically for you — structured courses, a practice community, and strategies designed around the mistakes francophones actually make.