All you need is our simple chart, created for the English speaker and perfect for the French language student who reads more French than they hear.
Getting Started
Download your Free Spell and Sound chart.
The chart with examples is recommended for beginners.
Read and download some easy pointers to help you use your Spell and Sound French Chart, if you need them.
Run with it…
Find French words you can never remember how to pronounce and work through your chart. Keep going with words you know and don’t know how to say in French.
You will soon notice how quickly your pronunciation improves and so will your friends.
Hi I’m Janet
If you’re anything like me, you find learning French in an English speaking country to be hard work. It’s easy to love the sounds of French but they can be difficult make. Like many of my classmates, I became frustrated with my clumsy French pronunciation and started to doubt my choice of language. I felt uncomfortable to speak up in class and self-conscious when pronouncing French words I hadn’t seen before.
This frustration inspired me to take matters into my own hands and create a solution… Spell and Sound French Charts
What are Spell and Sound French Charts?
FREE double-sided charts that contain a wealth of French phonetic and spelling information, easily mastered in three simple steps.
Charts contain French sounds and spellings, International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols and English words that most closely, represent each French sound. Difficult sounds are grouped together and problematic sound combinations are explained in easy to understand ways.
You simply look up each new word you come across on your chart, break it down, sound it out and learn. Use your Spell and Sound Chart and the How to Sound French in Three Steps instructions to start sounding French right now.
Here is an extract of the Spell and Sound French Chart with Examples.
Your Spell and Sound French chart highlights the differences between the French sounds making them easier to hear. You’ll be amazed at how much more spoken French you will be able to understand.
The BEST feature of Spell and Sound French Charts
In a short time, you won’t need the charts at all!
You learn a little bit about French pronunciation every time you look up a word in your chart, so after a while, you’ll be able to confidently pronounce French words you’ve never seen before without using it!
Spell and Sound charts take the guess work out of pronouncing French.
Why is French pronunciation so difficult for English speakers?
We do what we know!
French and English use the same Latin Alphabet, so what happens when we read a French word spelled the same as an English word…?
It sounds English!
Without realising, we project English sounds onto French letters. If you find yourself doing this, you’re not alone, many of us make this mistake because we don’t know any different, until now.
How do Spell and Sound charts work?
Spell and Sound Charts isolate the sounds of the French language and couple them with the various spellings these sounds can make. Just match up the letters with sounds.
You’ll sound French while learning French spelling!
When your not sure of a particular sound on your chart, refer to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol circled in red. This symbol represents a French sound and can be checked using the French Sounds Tables on this website.
French Charts have been designed with the English speaker in mind. The simple Alphabetical Order of the French spellings is easy to look up and perfect for the student who reads more French than they hear!
Test the Chart with a word you already know how to pronounce. Does it still sound the same?
I found that shortly after creating these Charts, my teacher and classmates noticed my improvement and French native speakers were telling me that my French pronunciation was years ahead of my level!
Spell and Sound works for ANY level
Anyone can improve their French pronunciation with Spell and Sound French Charts. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner, intermediate or an advanced French language learner.
Beginners learn correct pronunciation from the start. This reduces the amount of relearning you’ll need to do later.
Intermediates learn to correct mistakes and check their current pronunciation.
Advanced students tweak and adjust their skills.
For those who want to know more about the subtle sounds of the French language, there are many detailed pronunciation and spelling tutorials you can visit in this website.
How do I know the Charts are correct?
As a native English speaker, I feel its very important that French students hear authentic French sounds and receive correct information. With this in mind, all the French sounds you hear on this site and the information you read is produced in consultation with a real French Native.
Our French Consultant grew up in the North of France, has tutored many English speakers to learn French and most importantly, understands how difficult French pronunciation can be.
Any English Accent will work
Some English accents change every mile or so down the road, so how can one chart accommodate all of the different accents in English?
Each English word, used to demonstrate a French sound on your French Chart, has been chosen carefully to cross the many English accent boundaries.
Still not sure?
Put your mind at ease by testing the English equivalent sounds in your Spell and Sound French chart against real French sounds. If they don’t match up, the English Accents and French Exceptions page offers simple solutions.
Personalise your chart by adding any exceptions or additions you find and transform it into an evolving document.
Beyond French Charts
Easy-Learn Tutorials
Following the simple lines of Spell and Sound charts, each tutorial on this website has been created so that it’s;
- Easy to read
- Easy to understand
- Easy to put into practice.
Tutorials cover a wide variety of topics such as;
- The finer points of French pronunciation
- How to say difficult French sounds like R and Y
- Clear up the confusion about French liaisons
- Why silent H is important to sounding French
- and much more…
Printable resources include;
- French Phonetic and Spelling Charts
- A detailed List of H aspiré words
- French Accent codes to type French Accents and symbols
Consolidate your knowledge with the “Try it!” and “Test your knowledge” sections within certain tutorials. Some of our tutorials contain an interactive Quiz at the end. Or look to our Quiz Directory on the side of the page for a full list of Quizzes contained within tutorials.
French Audio Lounge
Don’t just listen to French sounds but interact with them in the Audio Lounge.
Record and playback your voice and compare it to those spoken by our French consultant. It’s a great way to dissect and improve your pronunciation.
Spell and Sound Up-dates
You are not alone in your efforts to sound French. Right now there are French students in French classes everywhere, all diverting their eyes whenever the teacher glances their way.
Lean on the support offered by me and your fellow students here at spellandsound.com. You will read interesting insights into;
- Learning a second language
- How to embrace a second language in an English speaking country
- Best ways to improve your language skills
Sign up for our up-dates, special offers and Top Tips. You’ll receive every new article as it is published plus loads more! All those handy little hints and pronunciation extras can be sent straight to your inbox. Or subscribe via our RSS feed.
You can also join the Spell and Sound conversation on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
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House Keeping
Audio Files
All of our audio files are in MP3 format. If you have any issues or difficulties accessing these files, please don’t hesitate to contact us, bear in mind that Mac devices (ipads and iphones etc.) cannot play the media players in the Audio Lounge. Just click the underlined word/s above or below the player to reveal the audio file within a different page on this site.
Here is an example;
Download PDFs
All documents that you can download from this site are in PDF format. You will need the Adobe Reader to access the materials in these files. You can download it for free, just follow the link.
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