Your Australian 'oo' in 'goose' is already more fronted than American English — you're halfway there. Push your tongue slightly more forward while keeping your lips tightly rounded. The Australian 'ew' quality in words like 'new' is very close — lean into that.
Drill sequence
new → nü → nugoose → bridge → douxyou → bridge → tu
Common errors
Diphthongising the sound (adding a glide)
Not rounding lips enough
Practice words
turueluneduplusmusiquenaturevoituresurvu
Your sound
ə (linking r absent)
"car (non-rhotic)"
→
Target sound
ʁ
Voiced uvular fricative
Coaching
Good news — you already drop your r's in words like 'car' and 'garden', so you won't be tempted to insert an American-style 'r'. Now you just need to add the French version. Make a soft gargling sound in the back of your throat — much gentler than clearing your throat. Think of it as a purring sound.
Australians nasalise vowels in casual speech more than they realise — say 'dancing' quickly and feel the buzz in your nose on the 'an'. French nasal vowels are this exact quality, but held as the main sound without closing off with 'n' or 'ng'. Say 'bon' by starting with 'boh', letting air flow through your nose, and stopping.
Drill sequence
dancing → isolate the nasal 'an' → danssong → drop the ng → sɔ̃bong → bon
Common errors
Pronouncing the final n
Using the Australian 'on' diphthong instead of pure 'ɔ̃'
Front rounded vowels — closed /ø/ in 'deux', open /œ/ in 'coeur'
Coaching
This is one of your biggest advantages as an Australian speaker. Your vowel in 'bird' and 'nurse' is already very close to the French 'eu' — some linguists note the Australian 'ir' is the closest English equivalent to French /ø/ of any major accent. Just add slightly more lip rounding and you're essentially there.
Under-rounding (relying too much on the natural similarity)
Not distinguishing between the closed /ø/ (deux) and open /œ/ (coeur)
Practice words
deuxbleujeupeucoeurpeurfleurheurejeuneseul
Your sound
wɒ
"wah (watch)"
→
Target sound
wa
The 'oi' diphthong — moi, trois, boire
Coaching
Free point. The French 'oi' is just 'wa'. Say 'mwa' — that's 'moi'. Your Australian 'wa' in 'watch' is actually slightly closer to the French vowel quality than the American version.
Drill sequence
wah → mwa → moiwatch → twah → trois
Common errors
Saying 'oy' instead of 'wa'
Practice words
moitoitroisboirenoirvoirsoirpourquoiroifroid
Your sound
nj
"onion"
→
Target sound
ɲ
Palatal nasal — champagne, montagne, oignon
Coaching
Same bridge as American English — your 'ny' in 'onion' is the starting point. Compress the 'n' and 'y' into a single sound by pressing the flat of your tongue against your palate. Australian speakers tend to do this naturally in fast speech.
Close-mid front unrounded vowel — café, été, parler
Coaching
Australian 'ay' in 'say' starts from a more open position than American 'ay' and has a wider diphthong. You need to aim higher and clip the glide. Think of a slightly more clipped version of your 'ay' — freeze just the beginning, raise it slightly, and hold it pure.
Drill sequence
say → raise starting point → clip glide → caféday → clip and raise → dé → idée
Common errors
Starting too open (the Aus 'ay' starts lower)
The diphthong glide is more pronounced in Australian English
Practice words
caféétéparlermangerallécléidéerésumébébétéléphone
Your sound
e / ɛ
"bed, dress"
→
Target sound
ɛ
Open-mid front unrounded vowel — mère, fête, lait, belle
Coaching
Australian 'e' in 'bed' has shifted higher than in most other English accents — it's closer to the 'e' in French 'é' than to 'è'. You need to open your jaw slightly more than feels natural. Think of the most relaxed, open version of your 'bed' vowel. That's the French 'è'.
Drill sequence
bed → open jaw slightly → belledress → open → très
Common errors
Vowel too close/high (the Australian vowel shift)
Not opening the jaw enough
Practice words
mèrepèrefêtelaitbelletreizeneigeforêttrèsmême
Your sound
ə
"the, about"
→
Target sound
ə
Mid central vowel — le, de, petit, samedi
Coaching
Your schwa in 'about' is the starting point. The French version needs a touch more lip rounding — purse your lips slightly while making the same neutral vowel. The Australian schwa is already quite central, so the adjustment is small.
Drill sequence
about → round lips → lethe → round → de
Common errors
Not rounding enough
Dropping it when French requires it (or vice versa)
This sound is the French 'u' spoken as a quick glide. Since your fronted 'oo' vowel gives you a head start on French 'u', the semi-vowel version should also be easier. Say French 'u' quickly into an 'ee' — compress 'ü-ee' into one beat. That's 'huit'.
Open /ɔ/ in 'bonne', closed /o/ in 'beau' — a vowel distinction English blurs
Coaching
Your open 'o' in 'hot' is already a good match for French open 'ɔ'. For the closed 'o', your Australian 'go' starts more central — aim for a rounder, more backed starting point and freeze it there. No glide. Pure 'o' held steady.
Drill sequence
hot → bonnego → round + freeze → beau
Common errors
Australian 'go' diphthong sliding too far
Open 'o' being too fronted
Practice words
bonnepommeportefortbeaueaufauxtôtrosechose
Your sound
l / ɫ
"light vs full"
→
Target sound
l (dental)
Dental/alveolar 'l' — always 'light', never 'dark'
Coaching
Like American English, Australian English has a dark 'l' at the end of words — and yours may be even darker than the American version. For French, every 'l' must be 'light'. Tongue tip behind your upper front teeth, back of tongue stays DOWN. Say 'la-la-la' and keep that bright quality even at the end of 'belle' and 'facile'.
Australian dark 'l' can be very dark (almost 'oo'-like)
Vocalising the 'l' entirely (dropping it to a vowel)
Practice words
lelabellevillefaciletableallerfoliesoleilmille
Your sound
æ / aː
"cat (front), car (back)"
→
Target sound
a / ɑ
Front /a/ in 'patte', back /ɑ/ in 'pâte' — a distinction disappearing in modern French but still present in careful speech
Coaching
Your Australian 'car' vowel (the long 'ah') is very close to the French back 'a' in 'pâte'. Your 'cat' vowel is raised and fronted — for French front 'a', you need to open your jaw more and relax the tension. Think of a more open, relaxed version of 'cat'.
Drill sequence
car → pâtecat → open + relax → ladance → relax → classe
Common errors
Australian 'cat' vowel is quite raised — needs more opening
Diphthongising the back 'a'
Practice words
pattepâtelabasgrasclasseâgeâmefemmechat
Your sound
ɐn
"under, fun"
→
Target sound
œ̃
Rounded nasal vowel — un, brun, lundi, parfum (merging with /ɛ̃/ in many dialects)
Coaching
Since your 'bird' vowel already bridges to French 'eu', the nasal version is one step further. Take that rounded central vowel and add nasal airflow — hum while holding it. Drop any final 'n' consonant. Many native French speakers merge this with /ɛ̃/ (the 'in' nasal), so even an approximation is acceptable.
H is always silent in pronunciation — but 'h aspiré' blocks liaison and elision
Coaching
Australian English sometimes drops 'h' in casual speech ('e went to 'is 'ouse'), which actually helps here. In French, take that casual h-dropping and make it permanent and universal. Never pronounce 'h'. 'Hôtel' = 'ôtel'. The liaison rules (which h-words allow linking) need memorisation.
Drill sequence
Drop every h → hôtel = ôtelhomme = ommeMemorise: h aspiré words (haricot, héros, hibou)
Common errors
Over-correcting by adding h's (hypercorrection from awareness of h-dropping)
Direct transfer — your 'y' in 'yes' is the French /j/. The challenge is purely spelling-based: recognising that '-ille' in French is pronounced 'ee-y', not 'ill'. Once you internalise the spelling patterns, the sound itself is free.