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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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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

  1. The vowels [a] [e] [i] are pronounced differently in French and English.
  2. French vowels [a] [e] [i] can be practised with source words - ‘banane’, ‘cheval’ and ‘midi’ - which have these sounds.
  3. 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.


To help you plan your year 3 french lesson on: The vowels in French: [a] [e] [i], download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Don't hesitate to (over)exaggerate your mouth movements when pronouncing French sounds, especially the vowels, to emphasise how clearly they're articulated.
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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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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the official language spoken in France?
Spanish
Greek
Mandarin
English
Correct answer: French
Q2.
France is a ...
continent.
Correct answer: country.
city.
Q3.
Which of these is the French flag?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q4.
True or false? French is only spoken in France.
Correct Answer: false
Q5.
True or false? Vowels make an open sound; the sound is not blocked by your lips.
Correct Answer: true
Q6.
Which of the following shows the five vowels in alphabetical order?
a e y o u
a e o i u
Correct answer: a e i o 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

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? The vowels [a], [e] and [i] are pronounced differently in French and in English.
Correct Answer: true
Q2.
Which of these sounds can be found in the word 'midi'?
[a]
[e]
Correct answer: [i]
Q3.
Which of these sounds can be found in the word 'banane'?
Correct answer: [a]
[e]
[i]
Q4.
Which of these sounds can be found in the word 'cheval'?
Correct answer: [a]
Correct answer: [e]
[i]
Q5.
Match each of these French words to their English translations.
Correct Answer:banana,banane
tick

banane

Correct Answer:cheval,horse
tick

horse

Correct Answer:midi,midday
tick

midday

Q6.
Put these song lyrics in the correct order.
1 - [a], [a], [a] [a] [a], papa va à la cabane.
2 - [e], [e], [e] [e] [e], le cheval va aussi.
3 - [i], [i], [i] [i] [i], on y va à midi.
4 - [a], [e], [i], [a], [e] - [a], [e], [e] ,[e], [i], [a], [e].

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