New
New
Year 3
The vowels in French: [a] [e] [i]
I can recognise and pronounce the French vowel sounds [a] [e] [i].
New
New
Year 3
The vowels in French: [a] [e] [i]
I can recognise and pronounce the French vowel sounds [a] [e] [i].
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Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The vowels [a] [e] [i] are pronounced differently in French and English.
- French vowels [a] [e] [i] can be practised with source words - ‘banane’, ‘cheval’ and ‘midi’ - which have these sounds.
- Knowledge of French sound-spelling correspondences can be strengthened by joining in with a song.
Keywords
[a] - Pronounced as in 'banane'
[e] - Pronounced as in 'cheval'
[i] - Pronounced as in 'midi'
SSC - (Sound-symbol correspondence) the relationship between letters and their sounds
Common misconception
Vowels are pronounced the same in French and in English.
The vowels [a] [e] [i] are pronounced differently in French and English.
Don't hesitate to (over)exaggerate your mouth movements when pronouncing French sounds, especially the vowels, to emphasise how clearly they're articulated.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
What is the official language spoken in France?
Spanish
Greek
Mandarin
English
Q2.
France is a ...
continent.
city.
Q3.
Which of these is the French flag?
Q4.
True or false? French is only spoken in France.
Q5.
True or false? Vowels make an open sound; the sound is not blocked by your lips.
Q6.
Which of the following shows the five vowels in alphabetical order?
a e y o u
a e o i u
a e i o y
Q3 image 3 "Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931)" by HansenBCN, designs from SanchoPanzaXXI is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
True or false? The vowels [a], [e] and [i] are pronounced differently in French and in English.
Q2.
Which of these sounds can be found in the word 'midi'?
[a]
[e]
Q3.
Which of these sounds can be found in the word 'banane'?
[e]
[i]
Q4.
Which of these sounds can be found in the word 'cheval'?
[i]
Q5.
Match each of these French words to their English translations.
banane
horse
midday
Q6.
Put these song lyrics in the correct order.
Additional material
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