Vowel Sounds
Short Vowels
1. /ɪ/ – bit, hit, sit
o Tip: This sound is short and relaxed, as in sit.
2. /e/ – pen, bed, red
o Tip: The mouth opens a bit wider than for /ɪ/.
3. /æ/ – cat, bat, man
o Tip: Open the mouth widely, like smiling, to make this sound.
4. /ʌ/ – cup, fun, sun
o Tip: This sound is made with the tongue in the middle of the mouth.
5. /ʊ/ – book, look, put
o Tip: This sound is short with a relaxed, rounded mouth.
6. /ɒ/ – hot, cot, pot (British English)
o Tip: Open your mouth wide and keep your tongue low for this British
English sound.
7. /ə/ – sofa, about, banana (schwa sound)
o Tip: The schwa is always unstressed and very short; it appears often in
unstressed syllables.
Long Vowels
8. /iː/ – see, tree, be
o Tip: This is a long, high sound where your lips are slightly spread, as in a
smile.
9. /ɑː/ – car, heart, father
o Tip: Open the mouth and keep the tongue low and back.
10./ɔː/ – saw, law, thought
o Tip: Rounded lips and a low tongue make this sound distinct.
11./ɜː/ – bird, word, her
o Tip: Keep the tongue in the middle of the mouth, and don’t round your
lips.
12./uː/ – blue, two, food
o Tip: This is a long, rounded sound made by pushing the lips forward.
Diphthongs
13./eɪ/ – day, say, pay
o Tip: Start with an /e/ sound and glide up to an /ɪ/ sound.
14./aɪ/ – my, cry, time
o Tip: Start with an open mouth and move to the /ɪ/ sound.
15./ɔɪ/ – boy, toy, enjoy
o Tip: Start with rounded lips and glide to the /ɪ/ sound.
16./aʊ/ – now, cow, how
o Tip: Start with an open mouth and glide to the /ʊ/ sound.
17./oʊ/ – go, no, slow (British English)
o Tip: Start with the /ə/ sound and move to a rounded /ʊ/.
18./ɪə/ – here, near, fear
o Tip: Move from /ɪ/ to /ə/, with a slight glide.
19./eə/ – there, care, bear
o Tip: Start with the /e/ sound and relax into /ə/.
20./ʊə/ – tour, sure, pure
o Tip: Begin with /ʊ/ and glide to /ə/.
Consonant Sounds
Plosives
1. /p/ – pen, tap, map
o Tip: Close your lips and release the air.
2. /b/ – bat, rub, job
o Tip: Same as /p/, but voiced by using the vocal cords.
3. /t/ – top, cat, hat
o Tip: Place the tongue behind the upper teeth, and release the air quickly.
4. /d/ – dog, mad, bad
o Tip: Similar to /t/, but use your voice.
5. /k/ – cat, kite, back
o Tip: Touch the back of the tongue to the roof of the mouth.
6. /ɡ/ – go, bag, big
o Tip: Similar to /k/, but voiced with vocal cords.
Fricatives
7. /f/ – fish, fun, safe
o Tip: Put the top teeth on the bottom lip and blow air out.
8. /v/ – van, save, love
o Tip: Similar to /f/, but use your voice.
9. /θ/ – think, bath, path
o Tip: Stick the tip of your tongue between your teeth and blow air.
10./ð/ – this, that, mother
o Tip: Same as /θ/, but with voice.
11./s/ – sun, see, face
o Tip: Place the tongue close to the roof of your mouth and blow air.
12./z/ – zoo, buzz, please
o Tip: Similar to /s/, but use your voice.
13./ʃ/ – she, ship, push
o Tip: Place the tongue near the roof of the mouth, like in /s/, but with
rounded lips.
14./ʒ/ – vision, measure, pleasure
o Tip: Like /ʃ/, but use your voice.
15./h/ – hat, happy, hope
o Tip: Breathe out through an open mouth.
Affricates
16./tʃ/ – chin, match, church
o Tip: Start with /t/ and blend into /ʃ/.
17./dʒ/ – jump, judge, edge
o Tip: Start with /d/ and blend into /ʒ/.
Nasals
18./m/ – man, map, come
o Tip: Close your lips and let the air escape through the nose.
19./n/ – no, net, pan
o Tip: Place the tongue behind the upper teeth and release air through the
nose.
20./ŋ/ – sing, long, ring
o Tip: Similar to /n/, but with the back of the tongue touching the roof of
the mouth.
Approximants
21./l/ – leg, love, ball
o Tip: Place the tongue against the upper teeth.
22./r/ – red, right, car
o Tip: Curl the tongue slightly but don’t touch the roof of the mouth.
23./j/ – yes, you, yellow
o Tip: Glide the sound with the tongue close to the roof of the mouth.
24./w/ – we, wet, win
o Tip: Round your lips slightly and glide forward.
