Week 5: Introducing pronunciation – what does French sound like?

Introduction

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Figure 1 What does French sound like?

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This decorative image shows the words ‘What does French sound like?’ surrounded by words: speaking, listening, pronunciation, accent, sounds, rhythm, conversation, silence, as well as sound-related symbols like musical notes, speech marks and IPA phonetic notation.

Figure 1 What does French sound like?

Welcome to Week 5! Earlier in this course, you found out about several key dimensions to learning French. While Week 4 focused on understanding written French, this week the spotlight will turn to speech. As a learner of beginners’ French, you will come to recognise new sounds, you will practise pronouncing them, and you will develop listening and speaking skills. This week’s content and activities aim to give you a taste of what it’ll all be like. You will also hear tips from students about developing pronunciation skills, listening strategies and, very importantly, about developing confidence to speak!