Please note this is the last post for now, but I'll be back in September 2010. Look up my previous posts there are resources that could help with French.
The diaeresis (in French: le tréma) can be put on the vowels e, i, and u to indicate that the vowel is detached from the preceding or following vowel and pronounced as a separate syllable.
In French there are vowel combinations that produce one sound, for example the vowels ai: they can be pronounced like an é or an è. But with the word naïve (naive in English) because there is a tréma it is pronounced na-i-ve, as opposed to nai-ve.
The tréma is also found in unusual vowel combination such as Gaël, Israël, and Noël (pronounced Ga-el, Is-ra-el, and No-el), which are often proper names.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Dictation – more about syllables
When you want to help your child to write in French, you probably give him/her dictations, e.g. few vocabulary words or simple sentences.
Here are few tips to help you help them. First, read the words or text. Better, let your child read it, now the dictation is more a visual memory exercise. Then, go over the words or text to point out difficulties: silent letters, liaison, s between two vowels, etc.
Next, give the dictation. For single words, read one word at a time. The first time you read it, pronounce it like it is supposed to be pronounced, and then read it again by breaking it down into syllables. For example:
• la maison, you say the two words, then you sound them out: “la, espace (space), mai-son”; you say mai-zon although it is written with an s (the s between two vowels rule), which you should have discuss with your child before the exercise;
• la pomme: you say the two words, then you sound them out: “la, espace, pom-me. In this example the m seems extended because the first m belongs with the first syllable and the second one with the final syllable; you do pronounce the silent e because the syllable is me (not m on its own).
With words ending with a silent consonant, for example the words grand (tall, big) and petit (small), you do not pronounce the d of grand or the t of petit when you pronounce or sound them out. What you can do is discuss with your child that these words are masculine words, but when they are feminine the last consonant is sounded: grande and petite (gran-de, pe-ti-te). The feminine word becomes the clue to remember the silent consonant.
For full sentences, read a full sentence first, for example: Le chat mange la souris. (The cat eats the mouse.) Then break it down in chunk: Le chat / mange / la souris. Use the same strategy as the single words for each chunk; pronounce all the syllables, the spaces and punctuation marks.
Finally, with your help let the child corrects its own dictation discussing why mistakes were made.
Here are few tips to help you help them. First, read the words or text. Better, let your child read it, now the dictation is more a visual memory exercise. Then, go over the words or text to point out difficulties: silent letters, liaison, s between two vowels, etc.
Next, give the dictation. For single words, read one word at a time. The first time you read it, pronounce it like it is supposed to be pronounced, and then read it again by breaking it down into syllables. For example:
• la maison, you say the two words, then you sound them out: “la, espace (space), mai-son”; you say mai-zon although it is written with an s (the s between two vowels rule), which you should have discuss with your child before the exercise;
• la pomme: you say the two words, then you sound them out: “la, espace, pom-me. In this example the m seems extended because the first m belongs with the first syllable and the second one with the final syllable; you do pronounce the silent e because the syllable is me (not m on its own).
With words ending with a silent consonant, for example the words grand (tall, big) and petit (small), you do not pronounce the d of grand or the t of petit when you pronounce or sound them out. What you can do is discuss with your child that these words are masculine words, but when they are feminine the last consonant is sounded: grande and petite (gran-de, pe-ti-te). The feminine word becomes the clue to remember the silent consonant.
For full sentences, read a full sentence first, for example: Le chat mange la souris. (The cat eats the mouse.) Then break it down in chunk: Le chat / mange / la souris. Use the same strategy as the single words for each chunk; pronounce all the syllables, the spaces and punctuation marks.
Finally, with your help let the child corrects its own dictation discussing why mistakes were made.
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