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French · Grade 1

French Sounds, Accents and Spelling

French spelling follows patterns once you can hear them. Learners match vowel sounds to their spellings (u and ou, o/au/eau, é/è/ai, oi, eu), hear the nasal vowels and spot the letters French writes but does not say, learn what each accent and the cedilla does (including à/a and où/ou), and link words with elision and liaison. They also meet French punctuation: « » and the space before ? and !. Every item is heard, tapped or typed; no microphone is needed.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 100 minutes
  • Sounds, accents and spelling check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, sort into groups and arrange tiles
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What learners will discover

  • Match French vowel sounds to their spellings when listening and reading: u and ou (tu/tout, rue/roue), o/au/eau, é/-er/-ez, è/ê/ai, oi and eu.
  • Recognise the nasal vowels (an/en, on, in/ain/un) and the letters French writes but does not say: most final consonants (but often c, r, f, l), final -e, h, and the verb ending -ent (ils parlent).
  • Read and write the accents and the cedilla (é è ê à ù â î ô û ç ë ï), including accents that change meaning (a/à, ou/où, la/là, sur/sûr, du/dû) and ç before a, o, u.
  • Use elision (l'ami, j'aime, c'est, n'est), recognise liaison (les‿amis, vous‿avez, un‿enfant; ils ont / ils sont), and punctuate French with « » and a space before ? ! : ;.

Lessons

  1. Vowel sounds and vowel teams 7 steps5 practiceabout 22 min
  2. Nasal vowels and silent letters 8 steps5 practiceabout 23 min
  3. Accents and the cedilla 8 steps5 practiceabout 23 min
  4. Linking words and French punctuation 8 steps5 practiceabout 22 min
  5. Sounds, accents and spelling check 9 questions at the end

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Games to practice with

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  • Arabic AdventureMarhaban! Learn first words in Modern Standard Arabic, from letter shapes to little stories.

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Guide for grown-ups