>>>Bonjour,
>>>
>>>I the words "je crois" the 'r' is clearly not pronounced (to my ears). Is this a rule that the 'r' in this position of a word is never pronounced? Or an exception?
>>
>>It's pronounced, but not as "r"; in French, that "cr" combination is more like "kw." I'd pronounce "je crois" as:
>>
>>zhuh kwah
>>
>>Tamar
>
>I do hear "kw" but I don't consider that "it is pronounced." French "r" is very distinct so it is either there or not. Michel of course is a native french speaker although it could be that Canadian pronunciation is different. I am learning by listening to the course read by native french speaker from France. I also listen to the a youtube courses produced by a Spanish guy for Spaniards learning french. I suspect that this Spanish guy learned french in France.

In French, the 'R' is formed at the back of the throat instead of glottal like the english 'R', its a very different sound. Its almost a swallowed sound, but it is there...the hard consonant of the 'c' is masking it...