(Infused Reading for French)
Who is La Lecture Infuse intended for?
La Lecture Infuse is a rigorous, step-by-step programme for learning the basics of reading.
The CD-Rom can be used by any French-speaking person wishing to learn to read:
- students or adults who have had problems in this field,
- immigrants who have a sufficient grounding in oral French but who have never learnt to read, or have never mastered, the skill.
La Lecture Infuse (along with the equivalent programmes for English and Spanish) was created by Caleb Gattegno in the early 80s. At that time, the software had neither colour nor sound. The 2. 0 version is an update of Caleb Gattegno's software with the addition of sound and colour.
Though the contents may appear very simple, the CD-Rom presents a programme of work which enables non-readers to become readers. Everything necessary to master this skill is included in the programme. However, people who have not learned to read in spite of several years of schooling may have acquired bad habits and may be clumsy in their use of the CD-Rom at first. They may need assistance.
Why use colour?
The French language has 20 vowel sounds though the alphabet used to write French only has six. There is therefore a great difference between what is said and what is written. (This is true for English, too, of course.)
In this programme, each sound of the French language, the vowel sounds and the consonant sounds, has been colour coded so that each colour corresponds to a different sound. The colour white will always be pronounced /a/ however it is spelt. Red will always be pronounced /i/ however it is spelt, and so on
How the programme is organised
The programme is designed for learners to become aware of all the skills they need to be able to read.
The programme is designed for learners to become aware of all the skills they need to be able to read.
Here is a brief introduction to what is on the CD-Rom
After a few menus proposing a guided visit, a choice of level and of practice exercises, the first screen appears.
It contains a short story:
This text is the basis for the first part of the programme.
When the non-reader clicks on a button on the screen, the text disappears and a letter "u", coloured beige as in La Lecture en Couleurs (Words in Colour for French), appears on the screen. A voice gives the sound of this vowel and asks the learner to say it each time the letter appears. All the "u" letters corresponding to the sound /y/ appear exactly in the same place on the screen as they have in the text. They appear in the order of reading, that is, from left to right and from top to bottom.
The screen finally looks like this:
(Note: In what follows the colors are only indicative.)
The whole text is shown again but this time the "u"s blink in their place in the text, one by one, following the normal reading order from left to right and from top to bottom.
The learner looks and says them again:
The next vowel "e" (coloured yellow) is presented in the same way and a further step is introduced; the letters "u" and "e" are presented together which gives the following screen:
All the following vowels of the text are presented and worked upon in the same way, each vowel being pronounced by the voice on the CD-Rom only once.
The consonants
The nature of the work changes as the consonants fill in the spaces between the vowels already presented.
The first consonant which is added to the text is /l/. The first word in which an "l" is found is the word "il" (he) and this is the word which is used to indicate what to say when this letter is seen. The letter "l" is placed beside the "i", which the learner now knows how to read, and the voice articulates /il/. The learner is invited to construct words as each /l/ is shown in its place on the screen. As the learner knows the vowels, they are able to add the sound /l/ to the vowel next to which it appears.
The /l/ screen
And then:
The 9 other consonants in the text are integrated in the same way.
Thus, the text appears gradually on the screen, each element enabling the learners to construct their reading skills step by step.
A test and several supplementary texts give the learners practice to fully integrate the content of this first level.
Two new texts present the other vowels and consonants.
What this CD-Rom can do
This CD-Rom can enable non-readers to start reading and to bring them to the point where they understand all the mechanics of reading, that is:
- The French language is read from left to right and from top to bottom.
- It is what is written on the page which determines what is said – the nature of reading is such that it is the writer alone who decides what is read.
- The sounds of the language are represented by letters or groups of letters. These may be quite varied but there is a definite coherence,
- The number of these combinations is large, but can be mastered.
- T he sounds can be known from the letters.
It is a programme which enables learners to know what they do inside their minds when they read.
What this CD-Rom does not do
This CD-Rom does not intend to bring non-readers to the level where they can read quickly and easily any document they might come across. Once they have become readers, that is, they know what reading involves and only need to expand their knowledge and to increase speed and become more at ease, they need to work on other texts. Speed and ease come with practice, but this practice will take place elsewhere becausethis practice has to be adapted to the needs of each individual.
© 2011 Une Education Pour Demain
Compatible Windows 7 – Mac OS X et suivantes
(L’édition 2002, pour les versions antérieures de Windows et Mac, est encore disponible – nous consulter)
After working with this CD-Rom
The CD-Rom Dictées en Couleurs is a logical follow-up.
Dictées en Couleurs aims at learning to spell in French, but also improves reading skills. These "dictations" are designed for learners to acquire the necessary skills through using their mental capacities: evocation, creating images, deduction, extrapolation, etc.