Pronunciation of the R sound in children: speech therapy tips and exercises

Another of the most difficult French sounds to pronounce

The "R" sound is also one of the most difficult French phonemes to learn to pronounce. Very often, young children will simply omit it or replace it with a sound that resembles a "Y."

For example, we generally don't worry when we hear a little one say that their daycare teacher is named Ka-ine or Kayine, and we quickly understand that they mean Karine.

However, over time, a child's vocabulary expands, and the substitution of "R" can become more problematic when the child wants to express a sentence.

Indeed, when our 4-and-a-half-year-old little princess tells us "Yook, I fownd my yose pyincess yobe in my byother Yemy’s dwaer," we would prefer the "R" to be present for the sentence to be clearer.

According to certain studies on the development of sound acquisition in Quebec French[1], the pronunciation of the "R" sound seems to occur in 3 stages. Indeed, a child may begin to use this sound first at the end of words around the age of 2.

Then, a full year can pass before this phoneme is added to the beginning of words. Finally, most children only master this sound by the age of 4 and a half. In clinical practice, this means that a 5-year-old child who does not yet use this sound correctly in all words is not necessarily delayed.

Also, it is important to know that the "R" is often used in combination with other consonants, which often makes the articulation of these sound groups more arduous and thus takes longer to master. These consonant clusters are:

• FR and VR as in fraise (strawberry) and vrai (true)

• KR and GR as in crabe (crab) and grand (big)

• TR and DR as in train (train) and drôle (funny)

• PR and BR as in prune (plum) and brun (brown)

When to worry?

Although it is necessary and prudent to allow the child time to develop the maturity needed to master the pronunciation of the "R" sound, it might be advisable to consult a speech therapist in these situations:

• If your child is over 5 years old and does not pronounce the "R" in any word.

• If your child is 4 years old and replaces the "R" with another sound other than "Y," such as "V" or "L" ("rose" would then become "vose" or "lose"). Your child might also be very difficult for strangers to understand.

• If they are between 5 and 6 years old and still have difficulty with consonant clusters that include an "R," as in train, grenouille (frog), citrouille (pumpkin), etc.

How to practice it?

Before consulting a professional and to help you better understand how to pronounce the "R" sound correctly, the Symbolicone team has prepared a free sheet that simply explains 3 important elements to know:

1. The phonetic characteristics of the "R" sound (mouth, lip, and teeth placement, vocal cord vibration, etc.)

2. A sound that can be associated with it

3. A gestural reminder

… Plus a bonus list of illustrated words containing the "R" sound!

Exercises to practice it:

Now that you know everything (or almost everything) about the "R" sound, you can do this little activity we offer for free. Take the opportunity to notice how your child pronounces the "R," and if they do it correctly, don't hesitate to praise them!

Have fun!

To go further, discover our magnetic book today

[1] Development grid for oral and written language by Audette Sylvestre, Andrea A.N. MacLeod, Vincent Martel-Sauvageau, Stefano Rezzonico and Natacha Trudeau, 2019 version.