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French Phonics Collection�

SSC [th]

Artwork by: Chloé Motard

Date updated: 30/08/2022

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SSC [th]

phonétique

Introduction

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th

thé

Timing: 1 minute

Aim: To introduce SSC [th]

Procedure:�1. Present the letter(s) and say the [th] sound first, on its own. Students repeat it with you.�2. Bring up the word ”thé” on its own, say it, students repeat it, so that they have the opportunity to focus all of their attention on the connection between the written word and its sound.

3. A possible gesture for this would be to mime drinking tea.�4. Roll back the animations and work through 1-3 again, but this time, dropping your voice completely to listen carefully to the students saying the [th] sound, pronouncing ”thé” and, if using, doing the gesture.

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French):

thé [3517]

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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th

thé

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th

thé

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th

thé

théâtre

sympathique

méthode

bibliothèque

maths

[nice]

[method]

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

Timing: 2 minutes

Aim: To introduce SSC [th]

Procedure:

Introduce and elicit the pronunciation of the individual SSC [th] and then the source word again ‘thé’ (with gesture, if using).�Then present and elicit the pronunciation of the five cluster words.�The cluster words have been chosen for their high-frequency, from a range of word classes, with the SSC (where possible) positioned within a variety of syllables within the words (e.g. initial, 2^nd, final etc.). Additionally, we have tried to use words that build cumulatively on previously taught SSCs (see the Phonics Teaching Sequence document) and do not include new SSCs. Where new SSCs are used, they are often consonants which have a similar symbol-sound correspondence in English.�

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French): �thé [3517]; méthode [1149]; théâtre [1701]; bibliothèque [2511]; maths [3438]; sympathique [4164].�Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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th

théâtre

sympathique

méthode

bibliothèque

maths

thé

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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th

thé

théâtre

sympathique

méthode

bibliothèque

maths

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Comment dit-on… ?

parler

[th]is not a typical French SSC. All French words containing [th]come from other languages.

You will recognise a lot of the words from English. Be careful to pronounce them correctly!

	athlète
	mammouth
	éthique [ethic]
	menthe
	thon
	marathon [marathon]

	authentique [authentic]
	théorie
	télépathie [telepathy]
	catholique
	enthousiaste [enthusiastic]
	Mathieu

secondes

45

0

Début

Timing: 5 minutes for three slides.

NB: This is one of a set of three slides with different timer settings. The speed of the exercise can be chosen to match the ability level of the class, or the teacher may wish to start with the slowest speed and increase gradually.

Aim: oral production of unknown cognate words containing SSC [th]

Procedure:

1. Click début to start the timer

2. Student A reads the list of words out loud to student B. Student B listens carefully to their partner’s pronunciation and stops Student A if the [th] sound is pronounced the English way. They only stop their partner if the [th] is pronounced incorrectly. If an incorrect stress of other mispronunciation is noticed, the listening student should note this and correct it at the end of the round.

3. Students count how many words Student A managed to say correctly.

4. Students swap roles. The student with the most points at the end is the winner.

5. After two rounds, the teacher plays the correct pronunciation by clicking on the audio. Students repeat.

6. Optional extension: Teacher reminds students about stress patterns in French. Even though the words look like English, the stresses are in different places. Students repeat the exercise, being careful to stress all parts of the words equally (with a slight emphasis on the final syllable).

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French): �athlète [4722], mammouth [>5000], éthique [2747], menthe [>5000], thon [>5000], marathon [>5000], télépathie [>5000], authentique [3961], théorie [1773], mythe [2910], catholique [1578], enthousiaste [4287], Mathieu [n/a], rythme [1662]

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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Comment dit-on… ?

parler

[th]is not a typical French SSC. All French words containing [th]come from other languages.

You will recognise a lot of the words from English. Be careful to pronounce them correctly!

secondes

30

0

Début

	athlète
	mammouth
	éthique [ethic]
	menthe
	thon
	marathon [marathon]

	authentique [authentic]
	théorie
	télépathie [telepathy]
	catholique
	enthousiaste [enthusiastic]
	Mathieu

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Comment dit-on… ?

parler

[th]is not a typical French SSC. All French words containing [th]come from other languages.

You will recognise a lot of the words from English. Be careful to pronounce them correctly!

secondes

15

0

Début

	athlète
	mammouth
	éthique [ethic]
	menthe
	thon
	marathon [marathon]

	authentique [authentic]
	théorie
	télépathie [telepathy]
	catholique
	enthousiaste [enthusiastic]
	Mathieu

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Phonétique

écouter / écrire

Écoute les mots. Trouve les paires et écris les mots complètes.

thé

éth

mam

mar

men

télé

th

[theory]

athon

ique

lète

mouth

on

orie

pathie

the

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

lète

ique

mouth

athon

the

pathie

on

orie

[athlete]

[ethical]

[mammoth]

[marathon]

[mint]

[telepathy]

[tuna]

ath

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Phonétique

t	th	t	th
politique		quantité
	sympathie	test
	ethnique		thème
hostile
	hypothèse		thérapie

esthétique

écouter

Écoute ! Écris les mots avec ‘t’ ou ‘th’.

6

3

5

8

10

7

2

1

9

4

esthétique

Use your knowledge of English to help you!

Timing: 3 minutes

Aim: To connect pronunciation of [th] with pronunciation of [t], and to differentiate between the two based on knowledge of English spelling.

Procedure:

Click numbers to play audio.
Ask students which English word the recording sounds like.
Students decide, based on their knowledge of English spelling, whether the word is spelled with [th] or just [t].
Answers appear on clicks.

Transcript:

politique
sympathie
ethnique
hostile
hypothèse
quantité
test
thème
esthétique
thérapie

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French): �politique [128], sympathie [3017], ethnique [3083], hostile [3091], hypothèse [1669], quantité [1680], test [1788], theme [1720], esthétique [4612], thérapie [4420].

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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SSC [th]

phonétique

Consolidation [1]

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th

thé

Timing: 1 minute [2 slides]

Aim: To consolidate SSC [th]

Procedure:�1. Present the letter(s) and say the [th] sound first, on its own. Students repeat it with you.�2. Bring up the word ”thé” on its own, say it, students repeat it, so that they have the opportunity to focus all of their attention on the connection between the written word and its sound.

3. A possible gesture for this would be to mime drinking tea.�4. Roll back the animations and work through 1-3 again, but this time, dropping your voice completely to listen carefully to the students saying the [th] sound, pronouncing ”thé” and, if using, doing the gesture.

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French):

thé [3517]

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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th

thé

théâtre

sympathique

méthode

bibliothèque

maths

[nice]

[method]

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

Aim: To consolidate SSC [th]

Procedure:

Introduce and elicit the pronunciation of the individual SSC [th] and then the source word again ‘thé’ (with gesture, if using).�Then present and elicit the pronunciation of the five cluster words.�The cluster words have been chosen for their high-frequency, from a range of word classes, with the SSC (where possible) positioned within a variety of syllables within the words (e.g. initial, 2^nd, final etc.). Additionally, we have tried to use words that build cumulatively on previously taught SSCs (see the Phonics Teaching Sequence document) and do not include new SSCs. Where new SSCs are used, they are often consonants which have a similar symbol-sound correspondence in English.�

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French): �thé [3517]; méthode [1149]; théâtre [1701]; bibliothèque [2511]; maths [3438]; sympathique [4164].�Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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Des groupes consonantiques

Coche chaque fois que tu entends une des SSCs [th], [ch] ou [qu].

th	ch	qu	phrase
			Mathieu est athlète.
			Il cherche des marathons au Québec…
			…parce qu’il est enthousiaste.
			Son chat, Thibaut, mâche du thon québécois.
			Son chien, Véronique, est chez Monique.

1

2

3

4

5

Ma__ieu est a__lète.

Il __er__e des mara__ons au __ébec…

…parce __’il est en__ousiaste.

Son __at, __ibaut, mâ__e du __on __ébecois.

Son __ien, Véroni__e, est __ez Moni__e.

écouter / écrire

Mathieu is an athlete.

He looks for/is looking for marathons in Quebec…

…because he is enthusiastic.

His cat, Thibaut, chews/is chewing tuna from Quebec.

His dog, Véronique, is at Monique’s place.

Timing: 8 minutes

Aim: Aural recognition of SSCs [th], [ch], [qu] in longer contexts. Raising awareness of cross-linguistic differences in the pronunciation of these consonant clusters through use of cognate words.

Procedure:

1. Click on the buttons to play the audio.

2. Students listen and tick or transcribe the target SSCs.

3. Click to reveal answers (with more advanced classes, skip this step and move to step 4 to challenge students to translate the sentences through listening alone).

4. Students use the answers to try to translate the sentences into English, noticing the cognate words that they have transcribed.

5. Click to reveal answers.

6. Ask students to identify other SSCs in the sentence that sound identical to [th] and [qu] ([t] and hard [c] in enthousiaste and Québec).

Transcript:

1. Mathieu est athlète.

2. Il cherche des marathons au Québec…

3. …parce qu’il est enthousiaste.

4. Son chat, Thibault, mâche du thon québécois.

5. Son chien, Véronique, est chez Monique.

Word frequency of cognates used (1 is the most frequent word in French):

athlète [4722], marathon [>5000], enthousiaste [4287], groupe [187], consonantique [<5000]

Word frequency of unknown words used (1 is the most frequent word in French):

mâcher [>5000], thon [>5000]

Source: Lonsdale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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Phonétique

Charles va chez Thérèse chaque dimanche.

Personne A lit la phrase. �Personne B coche chaque fois qu’il/elle entend [th, [ch] ou [qu].

	th	ch	qu	en anglais
1				Charles goes to Thérèse’s place every Sunday.
2
3
4

écouter / écrire

1

2

3

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

Timing: 8 minutes. This is slide 1/7.

Aim: Oral production and aural recognition of SSCs [th], [ch], [qu].

Procedure:

1. Students prepare for the activity by sketching the grid pictured on this slide. Use the sentence on this slide as an example to model steps 2-6 below.

2. Students work in pairs. Student A faces the board. Student B turns away.

3. Student A reads the sentence from the board. Student B has their back to the board and ticks the SSCs they hear.

4. Student B turns back to the board to check the answer, revealed on clicks.

5. Students use their knowledge of cognates to guess the English meaning of the sentence, revealed on a further click. At more advanced levels, the listening student could try to do this as part of step 3.

6. Both students practice saying the sentences at increasing speeds to increase fluency of production. Click on the numbers 1-3 to hear the sentences read aloud at different speeds. Students listen and repeat.

7. Repeat steps 2-7 for the remaining sentences.

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Phonétique

Michel le mammouth explique qu’il vient de Belgique.

écouter / écrire

Michel the mammoth explains that he comes from Belgium.

1

2

3

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Phonétique

Frédérique choisit la musique catholique.

écouter / écrire

Frédérique chooses Catholic music.

1

2

3

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Phonétique

Les quatre chats sympathiques cherchent quatre chaises chaudes.

écouter / écrire

The four nice cats are looking for four warm chairs.

1

2

3

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Phonétique

Les dimanches, Agathe va au théâtre, aux champs, et à la bibliothèque.

écouter / écrire

On Sundays, Agathe goes to the theatre, to the fields, and to the library.

1

2

3

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Phonétique

Le chef fait des recherches sur le thé à la menthe.

écouter / écrire

The boss is doing research on mint tea.

1

2

3

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Phonétique

Dominique a des questions sur les méthodes chinoises de maths.

écouter / écrire

Dominique has some questions about Chinese maths methods.

1

2

3

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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SSC [th]

phonétique

Consolidation [2]

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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th

thé

Timing: 1 minute

Aim: To consolidate SSC [th]

Procedure:�1. Present the letter(s) and say the [th] sound first, on its own. Students repeat it with you.�2. Bring up the word ”thé” on its own, say it, students repeat it, so that they have the opportunity to focus all of their attention on the connection between the written word and its sound.

3. A possible gesture for this would be to mime drinking tea.�4. Roll back the animations and work through 1-3 again, but this time, dropping your voice completely to listen carefully to the students saying the [th] sound, pronouncing ”thé” and, if using, doing the gesture.

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French):

thé [3517]

Source: Lonsdale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

27 of 35

th

thé

théâtre

sympathique

méthode

bibliothèque

maths

[nice]

[method]

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

Timing: 2 minutes

Aim: To consolidate SSC [th]

Procedure:

Consolidate and elicit the pronunciation of the individual SSC [th] and then the source word again ‘thé’ (with gesture, if using).�Then present and elicit the pronunciation of the five cluster words.�The cluster words have been chosen for their high-frequency, from a range of word classes, with the SSC (where possible) positioned within a variety of syllables within the words (e.g. initial, 2^nd, final etc.). Additionally, we have tried to use words that build cumulatively on previously taught SSCs (see the Phonics Teaching Sequence document) and do not include new SSCs. Where new SSCs are used, they are often consonants which have a similar symbol-sound correspondence in English.�

Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in French): �thé [3517]; méthode [1149]; théâtre [1701]; bibliothèque [2511]; maths [3438]; sympathique [4164].�Source: Lonsdale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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Phonétique: SSC [th]

parler

Catherine

Elizabeth

Mathéo

Nathalie

Nathan

Théophile

…trouve les

maths difficiles.

…a besoin

de thérapie.

…adore les

pythons.

…veut être

athlète.

…est enthousiaste

pour la météo.

…mange de la menthe avec sa mandarine.

Qui va avec chaque phrase?

Catherine

Mathéo

Nathalie

Théophile

Elizabeth

Nathan

1

2

3

4

5

6

*menthe = mint, météo = weather forecast

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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Des virelangues

	[th]	[ch]
Cinq chiens chassent six chats.		\|\|\|
Charlène cherche une chemise sans manches.		\|\|\|\|\|
Édith est sympathique mais son chapeau est moche.	\|\|	\|\|
Thierry marche sur chaque chemin sans changer de chaussures.	\|	\|\|\|\|\|
L'athénien charmant aime les bonbons à la menthe.	\|\|	\|
Sacha le professeur de chimie aime les maths et l'éthique.	\|\|	\|\|

écouter/parler

1

2

3

4

5

6

#

Écoute. Combien de fois entends-tu les SSCs [th] et [ch] ?

[th] and [t] sound the same, but in this task, if you hear a ‘t’ sound, it is written [th].

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

Timing: 6 minutes

Aim: Consolidation of recognition of SSCs [th] and [ch]

Procedure:

Click the buttons to play audio.
Students tally how many times they hear [th] and [ch].
Click to reveal answers and sentences.

Transcript:

Cinq chiens chassent six chats.
Charlène cherche une chemise sans manches.
Édith est sympathique mais son chapeau est moche.
Thierry marche sur chaque chemin sans changer de chaussures.
L’athénien charmant aime les bonbons à la menthe.
Sacha le professeur de chimie aime les maths et l’éthique.

Word frequency of unknown words used (1 is the most frequent word in French): �chaser [2364], manche [3437], moche [>5000], chaussure [3638], athénien [>5000], charmant [4030], bonbon [>5000], menthe [>5000], chimie [4073], éthique [2747]

Source: Lonsdale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

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Des virelangues avec [ch] et [th]

lire / parler

Parle aussi vite que possible!

A

B

C

Cinq chiens chassent six chats.

[Five dogs chase six cats]

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Des virelangues avec [ch] et [th]

lire / parler

Parle aussi vite que possible!

A

B

C

Charlène cherche une chemise sans manches.

[Charlène is looking for a blouse with no sleeves.]

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Des virelangues avec [ch] et [th]

lire / parler

Parle aussi vite que possible!

A

B

C

Édith est sympathique mais son chapeau est moche.

[Édith is nice but her hat is ugly.]

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Des virelangues avec [ch] et [th]

lire / parler

Parle aussi vite que possible!

A

B

C

Thierry marche sur chaque chemin sans changer de chaussures.

[Thierry walks on every path without changing shoes.]

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Des virelangues avec [ch] et [th]

lire / parler

Parle aussi vite que possible!

A

B

C

L’athénien charmant aime les bonbons à la menthe.

[The charming man from Athens likes mint sweets.]

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Des virelangues avec [ch] et [th]

lire / parler

Parle aussi vite que possible!

A

B

C

Sacha le professeur de chimie aime les maths et l’éthique.

[Sacha the chemistry teacher likes maths and ethics.]