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SavannahYear 8
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LanguagesListening in French25 min★★ difficulty

Transcribing what you hear

Writing down exactly what someone says trains your ear to spot sounds that look nothing like their spelling.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Listening: Transcribe words and short sentences that they hear with increasing accuracy

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Transcribe words and short sentences that they hear with increasing accuracy

Key learning points

  • • Silent letters
  • • Liaison
  • • Build accuracy with repetition

This lesson at a glance

  • 25 minutes
  • 13 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

transcribesentencesincreasingaccuracysilent

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 13 · Discover8%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 13

Watch first

Transcribing what you hear

An English teaching video on this topic from We Teach MFL. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Transcribe words and short sentences that they hear with increasing accuracy

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 13

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Silent letters

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 13

Learn

Silent letters

French often drops final consonants: 'petit' sounds like 'puh-tee', not 'petit' as spelled. When transcribing, listen for the sound, then check it matches a word you know, rather than guessing spelling from sound alone.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 13

Learn

Liaison

Words often join together: 'les amis' is pronounced 'lay-zamee', with an added 'z' sound linking the words. This can trick you into hearing one word where there are two — 'les' and 'amis'.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 13

Quick check

Why is 'petit' tricky to transcribe from sound alone?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 13

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 13

Quick check

What is 'liaison' in French pronunciation?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 13

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Build accuracy with repetition

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 13

Learn

Build accuracy with repetition

Listen to a short sentence several times: first for gist, then for structure, then to fill in exact words. 'Elle a deux frères et une sœur' (She has two brothers and one sister) becomes easier to write correctly each time.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 13

Quick check

'Elle a deux frères et une sœur' means she has...

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 13

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

12

Mastery quiz

Part 12 of 13

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Transcribing what you hear

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. You hear /me.zɔ̃/ in a sentence about a house. Which spelling is correct?

  2. 2. Why is 'petit' tricky to transcribe from sound alone?

  3. 3. What is 'liaison' in French pronunciation?

  4. 4. 'Elle a deux frères et une sœur' means she has...

13

Lesson round-up

Part 13 of 13

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

Une journée à Lyon

Samedi matin, je me lève à sept heures et demie. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec ma sœur — du pain, du beurre et un chocolat chaud. Ensuite, nous prenons le bus jusqu'au centre-ville.

J'aime beaucoup Lyon parce qu'il y a un grand marché près du fleuve. Ma sœur préfère les magasins, mais moi, je préfère le marché : c'est moins cher et c'est plus intéressant. À midi, nous mangeons un sandwich au parc.

L'après-midi, il commence à pleuvoir, alors nous rentrons à la maison en tram. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs et je regarde un film avec mes parents.

Original text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
  2. Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
  3. Write 8–10 sentences about your own Saturday, using at least three phrases from the text.

  • Written practice

    Writing

    Write the sentences out in the language, then translate them back into English.

    8–10 sentences

  • Vocabulary page

    Working out

    Copy the new words, cover them, and test yourself. Note the ones you keep missing.

    15 words

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 13 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Transcribe words and short sentences that they hear with increasing accuracy

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