What the learner trains
- All five accent marks: é (acute), è (grave), ê (circumflex), ç (cedilla), à/â/î/ô/û.
- Minimal pairs where the accent changes meaning: ou/où, a/à, du/dû.
- Words that look identical without the accent but are spelled incorrectly.
- High-frequency verbs and adjectives with accent alternations (répéter, espérer).
The dictation method
Instead of visual recognition drills (which the brain can shortcut), Petit Béret uses dictation: you hear the word and type it with correct accents. This forces the connection between sound and spelling — the same connection you need when writing in French, not just reading.
What can be configured
- Focus on a single accent type or train all 300 traps together.
- Word-only mode or sentence-in-context mode for more natural exposure.
- Difficulty: isolated words (harder) vs. sentence dictation (more realistic).
Session flow
- A word or sentence plays — type it with the correct accent marks.
- Correct spellings advance in the spaced repetition queue.
- Errors highlight the specific accent and show the rule or memory hook.
- Session ends with accuracy stats and a list of persistent traps.
Ready to practice?
Download Petit Béret and stop second-guessing your French accents.
