French is hard to pronounce for English first language users. This is because the French phonological system is so different to that of English (whatever version of English you speak). The nasal vowels, uvular 'r', vowels in general (use of cardinal vowels and little use of diphthongs), subtle differences in consononant pronuciation (e.g. the lack of aspiration in plosives such as 't' and 'p'. Then of course there is the intonation system which, while less vital for intelligibility, is significantly different with its lack of word stress and its different pitch patterns. No wonder many pupils find it hard.
I taught many higher-aptitude students who coped really well, largely just through input, reading aloud and communication, others who struggled more. I know of many adult learners who struggle a lot to produce individual sounds, especially that pesky 'r'. I know that I struggle myself with rolled/trilled 'r's, so I recognise the problem.
So what about a few tips for explicitly teaching awkward sounds. Here are some I used with some success.
The uvular 'r'
First I would explain what the uvula is and how students can see it in the mirror if they open their mouth wide. I would explain that the French 'r' (in many accents) is nothing like an English one (in most accents). So I might say;
The first job is to get the lips and teeth out of the way — open your muth wide.
Now say 'aa'. Then while saying 'aa' make your uvular brush against the back of your tongue and try to say 'acha'. Keep the mouth wide open. (This stops learners goinf for a trilled or English-style 'r'.)
I would demo this a few times and get the class to rty it multiple times. I would exaggerate for comic effect and get them to do the same.
Once students had mastered that and done it several times, I might try the 'r' between other vowel sounds, always with the lips well out of the way.
See if that works for you. I hope you're trying it now!
Nasal vowels
I used a phrase I was taught as a pupils at school: "Un bon vin blanc". This phrase contains the four French nasalised vowels as they are used in most dialects.
I would happily focus on the 'on' sound which has that very pinched nasal feel. Why not do a comical French version of it — the "ho, hi, ho" thing? We want students to have fun with sounds and to be unafraid of sounding daft.
You could then easily do a minimal pairs-style aural discrimination task. (A minimal pair is whentwo words sound identical except for one phoneme.) My favourite was "Are these two words the same or different?" - bon, bon..... bon, bon... bon, banc. If you keep saying two identical words this gets students anticipating when there might be a difference. This can have a comic effect. Try it. Good pairs might be: blanc, blond; vin, vent; brun, brin.
The 'ou' and 'u'
This is a third tricky problem since in English we have neither of these vowels so students may default to a 'oo' sound as in 'moon' or a 'u' sound, as in 'use'. Both of these are actually diphthongs, even the 'moon' example (just about). (It does depend on the dialect of course.)
So, what to do? This is about lip rounding and tongue position. For the 'ou' as in 'vous'. Get pupils to round their lips as if they are going to make a hooting sound like an owl. Tell them they must not move their lips while making the sound. Get them to hoot like an owl (pigeons also work). Then (after the din has settled), get them to make the sound normally, then after consonants (e.g. 'vous', 'nous', 'tout', 'toutou', 'chouchou').
Method 1: Next demo how you can make that 'ou' sound change to a 'u'. Explain that while making the 'ou' sound, they should move their tongue forward in their mouths so that the tip touches the top of the lower teeth. The lips must stay rounded with a small opening. The 'ou' becomes 'u'. Try it.
Method 2: get students to say 'eeeee'. Then tell them to make their lips small and round while still trying to say 'eeee'. The result should be 'uuuu'. Some will need practice at this as they may revert to an English 'u' (as in 'use'). Try it.
If the class seem to have made good progress, get them to say the two vowels one after the other 'ou. then 'u'. Keep alternating. Remind students that their rounded lips must not move. Then try words like 'voulu' or 'moulu'.
Maybe you have your own tricks of the trade. Feel free to share!
To conclude, accurate pronunciation is not just about authenticity or intelligibilty. Having an accurate phonological memory for words is vital for listening comprehension. Even apparently easy words will be misunderstood if students have not acquired accurate phonological representations of words in their memories. So a focus on accurate pronunciation and sound discrimination is really important in the early stages of learning a language.
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