It’s truly fascinating how French pronunciation is so distinct from English, despite their shared alphabet. The abundance of unique French sounds can certainly catch English native speakers off guard and feel overwhelmed at the challenge of perfecting their French pronunciation.
As a teacher, your guidance is pivotal in navigating students through their linguistic journey as developing French pronunciation is essential for students to become effective communicators. If students don’t receive the proper guidance, their poor pronunciation habits will cause confusion or their mistakes will become fossilized and harder to change later on. Therefore, in this blog post, we’ll explore effective strategies and techniques to help your students achieve proficiency and confidence in French pronunciation.
Understanding the Challenges of French Pronunciation
Before exploring teaching strategies, it’s important to understand the unique challenges of tackling French pronunciation.
- Phonetic Variability: French has many vowel and consonant sounds, some of which do not exist in English or other languages
- Silent Letters: French is notorious for its silent letters, which can drastically alter the pronunciation of words. This concept is foreign to many other languages, especially for Spanish speakers, as they usually pronounce every letter of a word in their language
- Variety of liaisons: French words often blend together in speech due to liaisons, making it challenging for learners to identify individual words
Establishing a Solid Foundation
So you’re a French teacher and you’re thinking, where do I start? French pronunciation is so complex and there are so many rules. The biggest advice is to start off slow and casually sprinkle in some French pronunciation strategies along the way. Students will be more likely to remember a variety of important French rules throughout a term rather than be bombarded with all the rules in one lesson. Here are a couple of strategies that I’ve done throughout the years to help my students improve their French pronunciation.
1. Analyze the French Alphabet Together
At the beginning of the year or semester, have students find a YouTube video that explores the French alphabet. After students have found a video, have them identify sounds that are similar and different to English sounds. I get my students to write their answers down on a piece of paper and share their findings with a partner. Afterwards, we will talk about these findings together as a class.
This is a great starting point for students to understand the similarities and differences between the two languages as they make connections with what is familiar to them and what is new. They will also be more cautious towards the different sounds when pronouncing words in French in the future.
2. Phonème de la semaine
One of my favorite routines in my intermediate classes is phonème de la semaine. Every week, our class focuses on mastering a new French sound, engaging students in targeted practice with a range of vocabulary words that include this new sound. I start off the routine by demonstrating the new sound and leading the class in repetition. Afterwards, I ensure that every student gets a chance to practice the new sound individually, allowing me to assess their grasp of the sound.
If you are looking for a resource to help you plan this routine in your classroom, these are the bellringers that I’ve created to help improve French pronunciation in my classroom. They’ve proven to be a transformative tool to enhance French pronunciation among my students.
3. Teach Students About the French Accents
One major difference between the English and French language is the variety of accents present in French. Each French accent exerts its own unique influence on pronunciation, adding a layer of complexity to the language. However, it’s essential for students to understand the role of these accents and the different distinct sounds that each of these accents make.
At the beginning of the term, I will go over the primary French accents, their specific sounds and examples of words containing these accents. Students will have opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge by practicing a variety of target words that contain these accents. This activity allows students to engage with these accents, solidifying their understanding and improving their French pronunciation skills at the same time.
Additionally, I display a French accent poster in my classroom, serving as a visual reference point for students to reinforce their learning. If students are struggling with their pronunciation I will remind them about the specific accent sound on the poster and this process helps guide their communication.
4. Model Correct French Pronunciation
It is also essential that as a teacher, you offer individual feedback to students, pinpointing specific pronunciation errors and guidance on how they can improve their French pronunciation.
I often make lists of French words that I notice students saying wrong throughout the week and then share my findings on Fridays with my students. We go over the correct pronunciation for these target words and then students will practice the correct pronunciation with a partner. The partner element is also useful because it allows students to participate in peer evaluation and provide constructive feedback to their classmates.
It’s also important to model correct pronunciation by speaking slowly and clearly, emphasizing proper articulation and intonation in your classroom. You will also need to decide if your students need a direct or indirect approach when correcting their pronunciation. I find that this preference greatly varies on the type of students you have as some students want to be stopped right away when they say something wrong and others want to be corrected in a less obvious way. Find out what works for you and your students and then implement it in your classroom.
5. Target Problematic Sounds
There are many difficult sounds in French for English speakers. For example, you will want to practice nasal vowel sounds (such as ɑ̃, ɛ̃, ɔ̃) and a variety of words that have these specific sounds in them. Through consistent practice, students will begin to notice patterns and gain confidence in their ability to articulate these sounds, thereby improving their oral fluency.
Furthermore, emphasizing the significance of silent letters in French pronunciation will help set students up for success. Provide students with the general rules, such as the “ent” in the third person plural of regular ER verbs is always silent and model the correct French pronunciation to them. By modeling correct French pronunciation and reinforcing these rules, students will develop a deep understanding of the language and enhance their proficiency.
6. Incorporate Authentic Materials
There are many wonderful authentic materials at our fingertips to help foster correct French pronunciation habits amongst our students online. Podcasts, songs, radio, and videos can all be used to help expose our students to natural French pronunciation and intonation in an authentic context.
By regularly incorporating these resources into classroom activities, teachers can expose students to a wide range of accents, speech patterns and conversational styles. Additionally, engaging with authentic materials will foster a sense of cultural appreciation, linguistic authenticity and encourage students to recognize and pronounce a variety of words correctly.
If you are looking for some amazing websites to help improve your students’ listening skills, check out this blog post to help enhance your students’ language proficiency and French pronunciation!
7. Highlight the French Phonetic Alphabet
If your students are more advanced, I would encourage you to introduce them to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA can help them understand all the French sounds and their corresponding symbols. This is also a fantastic reference for students trying to understand the pronunciation of new French words and is commonly used in university French courses.
Did you know that Word Reference has phonetic alphabet inscriptions for every French word? This is a fantastic tool for students if they are unsure of the pronunciation of a word, have never used it, or heard it before in conversation. Students can type the word into Word Reference and then the phonetic inscription will appear beside the word along with an audio button that they can tap on to hear the word’s correct pronunciation. This has been a literal game-changer in my classrooms!
8. Fostering a Positive Learning Environment
The last essential piece for teaching French pronunciation is to create a positive learning environment where students feel safe to learn and make mistakes. Students do not want to feel humiliated when they say something wrong and want to speak when they feel confident and knowledgeable.
Recognize that mastering French pronunciation takes time and patience. It is important to encourage students to persevere and celebrate their progress along the way. French tongue twister competitions and fluidity passages have been beneficial interactive activities in my French classes to make pronunciation practice enjoyable and engaging for students.
Furthermore, there are also some great TikTokers and Youtubeurs who highlight the insanity of French pronunciation. Loïc Suberville and ATFrenchies have some great videos that will provide some comic relief to your classroom and will help students understand some of these crazy phonetic rules in a way that will stick. Always remember to pre-watch the clips in advance to make sure that they are appropriate for your students!
Conclusion
In conclusion, teaching French pronunciation can seem like a daunting task for many French teachers but it’s achievable with dedication and the right strategies. By implementing the techniques and strategies discussed, along with your perseverance and patience, you can make significant strides in improving your students’ French pronunciation over time. Remember, consistent practice is key, and with each session, your students will grow more confident and proficient in their linguistic skills.
Bonne chance!
Emily
Another way to get kids to practice certain sounds – French tongue twisters! Learn French with Alexa on YouTube has an entire series with them. They are beneficial with difficult sounds. 🙂
Yes we do them every Friday! I will need to check out that Youtubeur!