If you have taught primary French Immersion for a considerable length of time, you are painfully aware of the fact that teachers are not provided with a scope and sequence for French language code learning. This makes teaching basic sounds challenging because a systematic approach that targets high frequency French sounds is not clearly defined. As Wiley Blevins states in his book, A Fresh Look at Phonics, "not all letters and sounds are created equal. Quite simply, some are utilized more than others." He goes on to say that " a scope and sequence that spends more time on the letter x as it does on the letter m is not efficient." (Blevins, page 29).
SO WHAT IS AN EFFICENT SCOPE AND SEQUENCE IN FRENCH?
If one conducts a simple overview of the early readers contained within the GB+ series of readers or looks at the many comptines that are written to introduce students to French sounds, you will notice that sounds creating a simple CVC pattern (i.e.: consonant, vowel, consonant) are frequent. This is why ELR texts showcase words with simple French vowel sounds.
In addition to these vowels, each ELR sound unit introduces a select group of single consonants. Consonants may be grouped by place of articulation in the mouth, letter shape or similar sound patterns. These consonants can be found in words contained in all three of the sound unit texts. The groupings of single consonants contained within the Kira le grand boa sound unit are the following:
les occlusives voisées: b, d
les occlusives non-voisées: p, t (Léon et Bhatt, page 50)
In English, these consonants are known as STOP consonants that are either voiced or unvoiced. This means that as the sounds are produced in the mouth, air flow is blocked and then quickly released. This articulation is the same in both English and French. The consonants band d are "voisées"(or voiced) because the vocal chords are used to produce these sounds. The vocal chords are not used when the consonant sounds p and t are produced. (Léon et Bhatt, page 50). Much like I do for French vowel sounds, I have students pay attention to how the letter sound "feels" as it is being produced in the mouth. For example,
- Is the mouth wide open (bouche ouverte?), semi-open (bouche à lèvres écartées?) or rounded (bouche à lèvres arrondies?) as the sound is produced?
- If I place my fingers on my throat, do the vocal cords vibrate as the sound is being produced?
Given that most single French consonant letter sounds resemble their English counterparts, primary students will learn them quite quickly. This explains why the ELR sound units are built around vowel sounds as opposed to consonant sounds. French vowels are numerous. They may or may not have an English counterpart. Sometimes, a single vowel sound (ex.: "a") may be represented by a digraph (i.e.: un digramme vocalique) as in "at", "an" or "aim" Therefore more time is required for primary students to master these sounds.
WHEN ARE SINGLE CONSONANTS INTRODUCED IN AN ELR SOUND UNIT?
The select grouping of French consonants within any ELR sound unit are introduced following the presentation of the third unit text. Word tiles in a pocket chart are used to introduce the consonants individually to students and then in combination with the vowel showcased in the unit. As subsequent sound units are presented, previous vowels and new vowels are combined with previous/new consonants in series:
Kira le grand boa
ba, da, pa, ta
be, de, pe, te
Perceval le petit cheval :
ca, sa, za
ce, se, ze (et ainsi de suite)
HOW ARE CONSONANT BLENDS AND DIGRAPHS INTRODUCED?
A consonant blend (i.e.: une consonne mélangée) consists of two consonants pronounced together yet each consonant is audible when the word is pronounced (ex: une branche). A consonant digraph (i.e: un digramme consonnantique) are two consonants that, when pronounced, produce one sound (ex: du chocolat or un éléphant). By drawing upon vocabulary from all three texts contained within an ELR sound unit, words will be featured containing high frequency consonant blends and digraphs. When these sounds appear in a word, they are italicized and underlined (i.e.: crie) for easy identification.
Using the running series of word tiles displayed in the pocket chart, a teacher can easily introduce a blended sound to students by inserting an additional consonant word tile to an existing CV combination (ex: bla, dra, pla, tr etc.). The presentation of high frequency digraphs such as ch and ph can be presented in a similar fashion.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF A STRUCUTRED SCOPE AND SEQUENCE WHEN PRESENTING FRENCH SOUNDS?
Much like the scope and sequence in a math program, the structured presentation of sounds allows a teacher to cover the teaching of the French language code in an efficient, coherent way. Primary FI students learning a language that may be seldom used or seen in the public sphere build the necessary sound knowledge in order to be successful French second language learners. For primary students who struggle with language learning, an explicit systematic presentation of the French language code will facilitate a student's ability to identify and manipulate French letter sounds in order to read and write the language successfully.
Scope and sequence in language teaching also enables the teacher to extend the teaching of the language code to other reading material across subjects. Knowing in advance what letter sounds to teach allows a teacher to highlight those specific letter sounds in other texts thereby enriching the second language learning experience in the classroom.
INTERESTED IN LEARING MORE?
For more information regarding the ELR resource, contact us at fumoguerriero@gmail.com. We would love to arrange a virtual walk-through of our material with you!
IN OUR NEXT POST: Understanding sound segmentation and how to teach
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blevins, Wiley (2017).A Fresh Look at Phonics. California: Corwin Literacy
Léon, Pierre et Bhatt, Parth (2005). Structure du français moderne. Toronto:ON: Canadian Scholars' Press
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