TEF CANADA · FREE LESSON · ABOUT 20 MIN
Hear French as sound groups
Connect spelling to sound without trying to pronounce every written letter.
Step 1 of 3 · About 20 minutes in total
Learn the idea
01
Understand the pattern
French spelling and pronunciation do not match letter by letter. The verb ending -ent is silent in ils parlent. Many final consonants are silent, but there are exceptions: do not turn this into a rule that every final consonant disappears. In vous avez, a liaison links the final s as a z sound to avez. Practise with actual French audio. Nasal vowels, such as the vowel in sans, are not simply a vowel followed by a fully pronounced n.
02
See it in context
Read the French first. Identify the structure that carries the meaning, then use the explanation to check your interpretation.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Vous avez une réservation ? / Ils parlent français. / Tu veux tout ?
Listen for the link in vous avez. Parle and parlent sound alike in ordinary speech. The vowels in tu and tout are different: for tu, keep the tongue forward and round the lips; for tout, the tongue sits farther back.
03
Make it useful
Use the beginner audio resource in your study plan. Listen to a short phrase, pause, repeat, then compare with the recording. Repeat a meaningful group rather than isolated syllables. Prioritise intelligibility: clear vowel contrasts, audible sentence boundaries and a pace a listener can follow. Reading this page alone is not listening or pronunciation practice.
Original lesson and examples by TEF Practice. Exam format checked September 11, 2026 against CCI preparation materials.