R E A D I N G I N F R E N C H
Does this sound like you?
Your child has learned the sounds - or, at least, they've learned a lot of them. There are so many different French sounds and sometimes, it's hard to keep 'au' straight from 'an'. Sometimes your child recognizes sight words; other times, they guess based on the first 1-2 letters. They may rely heavily on pictures, patterns, or sight words to get them through, but they're reading! And that's great, right? Unfortunately, this can be a red flag for reading development. Let me walk you through why.
Here's a checklist to see where your child is at with their reading.
♢ Are they actively tracking the words on the page, or do they look to the pictures to help?
♢ Do they sometimes say the complete wrong word, taking a guess based on the first letter?
♢ Do they know French sounds on flashcards, but struggle to recognize them within words?
♢ Do they pronounce silent letters or skip sounds (like 'er' 'ez') at the end of words?
Next time you're reading, try this informal check:
Cover up all the pictures and start at the end of the book. Does this impact your child's reading or fluency? We're not talking about comprehension, but about their ability to break up (decode) words. Are their decoding skills affected?
Your child has learned the sounds - or, at least, they've learned a lot of them. There are so many different French sounds and sometimes, it's hard to keep 'au' straight from 'an'. Sometimes your child recognizes sight words; other times, they guess based on the first 1-2 letters. They may rely heavily on pictures, patterns, or sight words to get them through, but they're reading! And that's great, right? Unfortunately, this can be a red flag for reading development. Let me walk you through why.
Here's a checklist to see where your child is at with their reading.
♢ Are they actively tracking the words on the page, or do they look to the pictures to help?
♢ Do they sometimes say the complete wrong word, taking a guess based on the first letter?
♢ Do they know French sounds on flashcards, but struggle to recognize them within words?
♢ Do they pronounce silent letters or skip sounds (like 'er' 'ez') at the end of words?
Next time you're reading, try this informal check:
Cover up all the pictures and start at the end of the book. Does this impact your child's reading or fluency? We're not talking about comprehension, but about their ability to break up (decode) words. Are their decoding skills affected?
If so, they may be using 'coping' mechanisms to compensate for gaps in their reading foundation. Many students are very resourceful...using pictures, finding patterns, and knowing how words should sound, based on their oral language skills.
However, on a basic level...do we want our children to have advanced coping strategies, or to have a deep understanding of the French reading code so they can apply it to new words and new situations?"
That's where I come in.
I teach the French code clearly and directly. There's no guessing or learning from context. They get direct, targeted lessons that help them develop the skills to pull all words apart - and as such, understand them better.
Our alphabet-based language uses letters and letter combinations to make sounds. For us to read fluently, we need to have a solid grasp of the code. We need to go beyond memorizing specific words, and move to understanding how to put different parts together.
I could keep adding to this list, but the take-away here is that we need to understand well enough so that we can explain the rule to someone else. Why? Following this method, when students encounter new words later on, they've learned the rules, they've practiced skills in context, and they can apply their knowledge to new situations - even in challenging words.
I teach the French code clearly and directly. There's no guessing or learning from context. They get direct, targeted lessons that help them develop the skills to pull all words apart - and as such, understand them better.
Our alphabet-based language uses letters and letter combinations to make sounds. For us to read fluently, we need to have a solid grasp of the code. We need to go beyond memorizing specific words, and move to understanding how to put different parts together.
- Why do we say 'la fin', but completely change the sound for "j'ai fini"?
- How do we know what sound "s" will make? How do we apply that to poisson, poison, and astronaute?
- How do you pronounce letter sounds like om/am/em/im? What is the rule for using m?
I could keep adding to this list, but the take-away here is that we need to understand well enough so that we can explain the rule to someone else. Why? Following this method, when students encounter new words later on, they've learned the rules, they've practiced skills in context, and they can apply their knowledge to new situations - even in challenging words.
Instead of just teaching students 200+ sight words, we want them to understand the reading code. This gives them the tools to manipulate words for themselves.
When they know the code, they can access much more than 200 words."
Each student is at a different part of their French journey. This is why I do not divide students by grade, but instead, by language competency level. To get the best results, we meet students where they are, filling any gaps in their foundation. We offer individualized programs for all ability levels as all students benefit from better understanding the French reading code.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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Book a free student success session to see if our French support
would be a good fit for your child.
would be a good fit for your child.
