German is an advantage when learning French. You know cases, subordinate clauses and the idea that a verb has to sit in a particular place. But exactly that head start produces a few very typical mistakes. Here are the seven I hear most often.
1. Pushing the verb to the end
In a German subordinate clause the verb moves to the back. In French it stays where it is. Je pense que tu as raison, not que tu raison as. It sounds trivial, but at speaking speed it happens constantly, because the German sentence plan keeps running in the background.
What helps: short sentences. Anyone who builds two short French sentences instead of one long one almost never makes this mistake.
2. The R
The French R is made at the back of the throat, the German one often too. Still it sounds different, because the French R is much softer and often almost disappears. German speakers roll or press.
What helps: gargling. Seriously. Once you feel the spot in the throat, you learn the R in a week.
3. Nasal vowels as vowel plus N
Vin, vent, vont: three nasals, three different words. German ears often hear "vang" and pronounce an N. But the N is not there at all, it is only a colouring of the vowel.
What helps: listening to minimal pairs, again and again. And keeping the mouth closed where it would open in German.
4. False friends
Gymnase is not a school but a sports hall. The German Gymnasium is le lycée. If you translate actuellement as "currently", you are right. If you translate éventuellement as "eventually", you are wrong: it means "possibly".
What helps: a personal list. Not the one from the internet, but the one with the words you have already fallen for yourself.
5. Too polite, too formal
German politeness is sometimes too much in French. Whoever starts an email with Sehr geehrte in mind and translates it sounds like a notary. At the same time there are formulas you have to know: Cordialement, for instance, sits under almost every email.
What helps: reading real emails. Best of all the ones French people write to you.
6. The subjunctive as the arch enemy
Almost all German speakers learn the subjunctive as a set of rules. In everyday life it is a handful of triggers: il faut que, je veux que, bien que. Whoever has these five or six phrases down uses the subjunctive correctly ninety percent of the time without knowing the rule.
What helps: learn triggers, not rules.
7. Too quiet
The most common mistake is not a linguistic one at all. German speakers often speak French too quietly and too cautiously because they do not want to be wrong. The result: nobody understands you, and you believe it is your French.
What helps: louder. Making mistakes out loud beats whispering correct sentences. That is why every lesson of mine starts with speaking.
If you want to know which of these mistakes you make: the gauge on the start page gives you a first idea. And in the introductory call we listen together.