This French video introduces the pupils to the French phoneme a, which is pronounced in a short, clear way, just like the a in ‘apple’. The Year 3 and 4 pupils see that even when a appears with an accent, the sound remains the same, making this a simple and accessible starting point for phonics work. Example words such as salut, Marie and Paris help pupils recognise and practise the sound.

The pupils focus on mouth mechanics, learning to open their mouth slightly and drop their jaw to form the short a sound. They then tune their ears to listen for the phoneme in short phrases, checking whether they can spot it each time. The session ends by encouraging the pupils to recall other familiar French words with the a sound, reinforcing listening and pronunciation skills.

This is part of Kapow Primary’s French phonics videos, which enable teachers and pupils to develop language skills and communicate with confidence in French.

See more of our Key stage 2 French scheme of work.

• French, Year 3, Unit 1: French greetings with puppets, Lesson 1: French greetings.
• French, Y3/4 (A): Unit 1: French greetings with puppets, Lesson 1: French greetings.
• French, Year 3, Unit 1: French greetings with puppets.
• French, Y3/4 (A): Unit 1: French greetings with puppets.