Mastering pronunciation – French

Mastering pronunciation – French offers research- and evidence-based approaches to teaching phonics and pronunciation skills at key stage 2, key stage 3 and key stage 4.

This engaging pack includes PowerPoints of pronunciation advice and phonics games, with embedded audio files of words, sentences and longer texts spoken by native speakers. There is also a Word document containing printable phonics posters and photocopiable pronunciation games.

The resources draw on:

• research into best practice by NCELP and the Teaching Schools Council
• a visual-auditory-kinaesthetic (VAK) approach, associating each sound with a word, an image and a gesture
• examiner reports from GCSE listening papers
• French primary school phonics textbooks.

The sound–spelling correspondences (SSCs) covered are those listed in the 2024 GCSE curriculum as presenting the greatest challenge for students of French.

No assumptions are made about vocabulary knowledge, and English translations are provided throughout to maximise understanding and assist with vocabulary acquisition.

The pack is very useful for non-specialists to support their own pronunciation when teaching French in primary schools. 

What’s included?

• Phonics activities and games, with audio recordings of native speakers
• Pronunciation practice in complete sentences and longer texts
• Suitable for use across KS2, KS3 and KS4, and with any exam board

What’s inside?

This teaching pack consists of four PowerPoint presentations and an 88-page Word document.

Introduction

10 tips for mastering pronunciation

Simple vowels (PowerPoint 1)

1. [a/â/à]
2. silent final [e]
3. [e] [é/er/ez] [è/ê/ai]
4. [i/y]
5. [open o] [closed o/ô] [au/eau]
6. [u] [ou]
7. [closed eu] [open eu/œ/œu]

Consonants (PowerPoint 2)

1. silent final consonant (SFC)
2. CaReFuL consonants
3. words ending with -ent
4. [h muet] [h aspiré]
5. liaisons
6. [hard c/k] [ç / soft c]
7. [j / soft g] [hard g] [gn]
8. [ss / soft s] [hard s/z]
9. [r]
10. [ch] [qu] [th]

Diphthongs, nasals and blends (PowerPoint 3)

1. [oi] [oy]
2. [ain/in/aim/im]
3. [en/an/em/am]
4. [on/om]
5. [un/um]
6. [ien]
7. [tion]
8. [-aill-/-ail]
9. [-ill-/-ille]
10. [-eill-/-eil]
11. [-euill-/-euil/-ueill-/-ueil/-œill-/-œil]
12. [-ouill-/-ouil]

Additional activities (PowerPoint 4)

1. les ‘mots invariables’
2. longer words and cognates challenge
3. cognate sentence challenge
4. virelangues (tongue-twisters)
5. longer texts
6. vocabulary cards for bingo, snap, dominoes and further games