This study investigates the use of two parameters, fluency and use of segmental dialect features (accent) to rate the overall ability of speakers of French as a second language. A group of ten native English Canadians read a short text of 139 words in French (their second language). Their degree of fluency was established by a combination of the following measures: speech rate (words/min, syll/min, syll/s), number and duration of pauses, and hesitations. We also investigated their use of various segmental dialect features such as diphthonguization of long vowels, affrication of /t d/, and high vowel deletion. These results were then compared to those of a group of ten native French speakers of the same region (Montreal).