Stage 0 · A1 découverte
Level A1
The sounds “u” and “ou”
Distinguish French u and ou using frequent word pairs and a simple articulation cue.
1. Objective
By the end, you will distinguish u and ou in writing and in frequent words.
2. I discover
Say slowly: rue/roue; tu/tout; sur/sous. The word changes when u becomes ou.
3. I understand
French u and ou are different sounds. For u, round your lips while keeping the tongue forward; for ou, the tongue is further back. Compare rue/roue, tu/tout, sur/sous.
rue / rouetu / toutsur / sousvu / vousjus / jouelune / loupe
Watch out
Do not replace u with ou just because the result is pronounceable: rue and roue are different words.
4. Guided practice
5. Independent practice
6. I write / I speak
Produce three new examples that follow the rule exactly, then read them aloud.
7. Check my learning
8. What I remember
u: rue, tu, sur, vu · ou: roue, tout, sous, vous. Hear the difference first, then write it.
9. Now I can…
- I can recognise the feature in new words or phrases.
- I can use it without copying the examples.
