Day 2 - The Monophthong Vowels · Smooth English (IELTS Fluency)

Smooth English (IELTS Fluency)

Matthew Fabling

Matthew Fabling

Sep 8 in Pronunciation 5 day Challenge

Day 2 - The Monophthong Vowels

Monophthongs are single, pure vowel sounds, and we can assess them by testing pronunciation in isolation, in different word positions, and in sentences.

Monophthong Vowels in English:

/iː/ (as in "see")
/ɪ/ (as in "sit")
/e/ (as in "bed")
/æ/ (as in "cat")
/ʌ/ (as in "cup")
/ɑː/ (as in "car")
/ɒ/ (as in "hot")
/ɔː/ (as in "door")
/ʊ/ (as in "put")
/uː/ (as in "blue")
/ɜː/ (as in "bird")
/ə/ (as in "sofa") — the schwa sound

Here’s the assessment plan for each vowel sound:

Level 1: Isolated Sound Pronunciation

Task: Students will pronounce each vowel sound individually, focusing on producing a clear and accurate sound. They should repeat each sound multiple times:For example:/iː/: "ee... ee... ee..."/ɪ/: "ih... ih... ih..."/æ/: "ah... ah... ah..."(Repeat for all vowel sounds listed)

Level 2: Word-Level Pronunciation

/iː/ (as in "see") — long "ee" sound

Start: See, Feel, Eat, East, Each
Middle: Meeting, Keep, Teacher, Please, Dream
End: Bee, Key, Tea, Free, Tree

/ɪ/ (as in "sit") — short "ih" sound

Start: Sit, Six, Big, Fill, Pig
Middle: Dinner, Chicken, Milk, Visit, Simple
End: Ship, Fish, Lip, Trip, Sick

/e/ (as in "bed") — short "eh" sound

Start: Bed, Pen, End, Red, Met
Middle: Letter, Seven, Head, Better, Tennis
End: Bet, Get, Set, Net, Wet

/æ/ (as in "cat") — short "a" sound

Start: Cat, Back, Man, Apple, Hat
Middle: Magic, Happy, Battle, Pattern, Basket
End: Back, Track, Snack, Crack, Attack

/ʌ/ (as in "cup") — short "uh" sound

Start: Cup, Up, Under, Cut, Bus
Middle: Lunch, Butter, Funny, Mother, Hundred
End: Cup, Shut, Enough, Rough, Stuff

/ɑː/ (as in "car") — long "ah" sound

Start: Car, Park, Father, Farm, Hard
Middle: Garden, Market, Party, Smart, Sharp
End: Car, Far, Star, Jar, Scar

/ɒ/ (as in "hot") — short "o" sound

Start: Hot, Stop, Dog, Top, Odd
Middle: Bottle, Coffee, Doctor, Office, Pocket
End: Stop, Shop, Drop, Top, Cop

/ɔː/ (as in "door") — long "aw" sound

Start: Door, More, Four, Caught, Law
Middle: Morning, Order, Sport, Boring, Before
End: Law, More, Four, Saw, Raw

/ʊ/ (as in "put") — short "u" sound

Start: Put, Book, Cook, Foot, Wood
Middle: Sugar, Bullet, Cookie, Bush, Cushion
End: Foot, Good, Wood, Could, Should

/uː/ (as in "blue") — long "oo" sound

Start: Blue, True, Food, Two, Boot
Middle: Moon, Soon, School, Room, Choose
End: True, Glue, Too, New, Do

/ɜː/ (as in "bird") — long "er" sound

Start: Bird, Turn, Burn, Earth, Her
Middle: Perfect, Nurse, Church, Birthday, Curly
End: Her, After, Order, Mother, Teacher

/ə/ (as in "sofa") — schwa sound

Start: Unstressed position, uncommon at start
Middle: Banana, About, Family, Police, Support
End: Sofa, Data, Extra, China, Pizza

Level 3: Phrase-Level Pronunciation

Students will pronounce short phrases using the target vowel sounds in different positions.

Example Phrases:

/iː/: "She sees the green tree."
/ɪ/: "The big ship is fast."
/e/: "The red pen fell."
/æ/: "The cat sat on the mat."
/ʌ/: "The cup is under the desk."
/ɑː/: "The car is parked far away."
/ɒ/: "The dog is hot."
/ɔː/: "The door is open."
/ʊ/: "Put the book on the shelf."
/uː/: "The moon is blue tonight."
/ɜː/: "The bird turns early."
/ə/: "The sofa is comfortable."

Level 4: Sentence-Level Pronunciation

Students will pronounce full sentences with the target vowel sounds for more accurate assessment.

Example Sentences:

/iː/: "He sees three green trees near the street."
/ɪ/: "She is sitting in the big kitchen with six kids."
/e/: "The red bedspread was better than expected."
/æ/: "The man with the black hat ran fast."
/ʌ/: "My brother's cup is full of nuts."
/ɑː/: "Father parked the car at the farm before dark."
/ɒ/: "The hot dog dropped off the top of the pot."
/ɔː/: "The door was open when the lawyer arrived."
/ʊ/: "Look at the book on the wooden shelf."
/uː/: "The blue moon will rise soon over the school."
/ɜː/: "The bird’s chirping can be heard from the church."
/ə/: "The banana was left on the sofa in the office."

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