American English Pronunciation: Sound & Word Drills: VOWELS

Name: American English Pronunciation: Sound & Word Drills: VOWELS
Rating: 4.8 (20 reviews)

American English VOWELS: Get a solid foundation of pronunciation and spelling, and learn the IPA while you're at it.

Created byEric Thal

Last updated 10/2021

English

What you'll learn

Learn how to comprehend and pronounce the sounds of American English
Understand which sounds to use in written words
Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
Understand syllable stress in multi-syllable words
Understand the basic rules of spelling and the exceptions

Course content

14 sections • 103 lectures • 5h 28m total length

Introduction3:43
Master American English vowels through voiced drills, spelling rules, and IPA basics, building confidence to pronounce every vowel sound and tricky word.
Your Goals1:30
Join the Community! Let's Help Each Other!3:21
Introduction to Next Video1:01
My Journey into Teaching7:22
Follow a speaker's journey from childhood speech lessons to professional acting, learning vowel pronunciation, accent reduction, and repeated drills that shape clear, American English speech.

Introduction to Section 21:09
How to Use the Course - Part 17:13
Quiz Instructions0:17
How to Use the Course, Part 1 - Quick Quiz
Hints for the Next Video0:33
How to Use the Course, Part 28:08
Practice this course's sound drills by mastering one-syllable consonant–vowel combinations and three pitch tones—vowel peak, short flat, and long drop—to improve pronunciation and intelligibility.
Quick Quiz Instructions0:08
How to Use the Course, Part 2 - Quick Quiz
Recap of Section 2 and Closing Thoughts1:13

Introduction to Section 31:56
Drill - The Vowel EE as in MEET6:52
IPA Puzzle EE0:20
Drill - The Vowel IH as in BIT7:01
Master the vowel ih as in bit, a short front sound with the tongue behind the lower front teeth, positioned between ee and eh by slightly lowering from ee.
IPA Puzzle IH0:21
The Spelling Rule8:51
Spelling Quiz for the Vowels EE and IH
Introduction to IPA Quizzes1:02
IPA Quiz for EE and IH

Introduction to Section 41:15
Drill - The Vowel AY as in WAIT7:01
IPA Puzzle AY0:21
Drill - The Vowel EH as in LET6:29
IPA Puzzle EH0:21
Drill - The Vowel AE as in FAST6:27
IPA Puzzle AE0:20
The Spelling of AY as in WAIT3:24
The Spelling of EH as in LET3:37
Explore the spelling rule for the eh sound with let and other examples, and review exceptional patterns like a, ea, ai, and ie that produce eh.
The Spelling of AE as in FAST2:22
Spelling Quiz for the Vowels AY, EH, and AE
IPA Quiz for the Vowels AY, EH, and AE
Section 4 Recap and Getting Started with Your Project!2:15
Practice five front vowels with spelling and IPA symbols, confirm knowledge via quizzes, and begin the project by creating five words and sentences, then download the detailed PDF in resources.

Introduction to Section 52:19
Drill - The Vowel UU as in BOOT7:04
Master the uu vowel as in boot by arching the back of the tongue high behind the lower front teeth with forward pursed lips; after y it forms letter u.
IPA Puzzle UU0:21
Drill - The Vowel Uu as in BOOK6:17
IPA Puzzle Uu0:21
Drill - The Vowel OH as in BOAT6:55
IPA Puzzle OH0:21
The Spelling of UU as in BOOT4:15
Master spelling rule for uu sound, where two vowels cancel the second and yield a long first vowel, with patterns oo, ou, ew, eau as in suit, boot, you, beauty.
The Spelling of Uu as in BOOK4:36
The Spelling of OH as in BOAT3:34
Spelling Quiz for the Vowels UU, Uu, and OH
IPA Quiz for the Vowels UU, Uu, and OH
Section 5 Recap and Closing Thoughts0:50

Introduction to Section 61:12
Drill the back vowel sounds aw and ah, focusing on tongue position, lip rounding, and mouth openness, while mastering spelling rules, IPA symbols, and pronunciation of all studied sounds.
Drill - The Vowel AW as in BOUGHT6:48
IPA Puzzle AW0:21
Drill - The Vowel AH as in FATHER6:26
Explore the ah vowel as in father, a back vowel with tongue tip behind the lower front teeth and the back of the tongue lowered, distinct from ae across languages.
IPA Puzzle AH0:21
The Spelling of AW as in BOUGHT3:45
The Spelling of AH as in FATHER2:36
Spelling Quiz for the Vowels AW and AH
IPA Quiz for the Vowels AW and AH
Pull Out Your Project!1:25
pull out your project and take three actions to advance vowel drills: create keyword phrases for the five back vowels, revise sentences, and annotate target sounds with ipa using charts.

Introduction to Section 80:34
Drill - The Vowel uh as in ABOUT6:34
Master the schwa, the vowel 'uh' as in about, the most frequent English sound. Learn its neutral, relaxed mouth position and how it differs from cup's 'uh' and father's 'ah'.
IPA Puzzle uh0:22
Drill - The Vowel UH as in CUP6:18
IPA Puzzle UH0:21
The Spelling of uh as in ABOUT5:01
The Spelling of UH as in CUP3:16
Spelling Quiz for the Middle Vowels "uh" and UH
IPA Quiz for the Middle Vowels "uh" and UH
Your Project and First Recordings1:53
Move back into your project to drill the last two middle vowels, craft keyword sentences with IPA, then record all 14 sentences and complete the self-assessment worksheet.
Section 8 Recap and Closing Thoughts0:39

Introduction to Section 100:23
Drill - The Vowel OW as in PROUD7:09
IPA Puzzle OW0:21
Drill - The Vowel OI as in BOY7:18
IPA Puzzle OI0:20
The Spelling of OW as in PROUD1:54
The Spelling of OI as in BOY2:08
Explore how the sound oi is spelled with oy and oi, with examples like joy, toy, boy, noise, choice, coin, oil, and the unusual uoy in buoyant, plus practice quizzes.
Spelling Quiz for the Diphthongs OW and OI
IPA Quiz for the Diphthongs OW and OI
Diphthongs into Your Project1:05

Requirements

An ability to speak at least some English is recommended.

Description

This is the course to take if you want a solid foundation of pronunciation in American English. This is the VOWELS course. (The CONSONANTS course is in development and will be offered separately).

This course is based on sound and word drills designed to efficiently guide you through saying and drilling every vowel and consonant combination, with a specific focus on the vowels, and an explanation of how the sounds are made.

The drilling material is supplemented with an in-depth examination of spelling rules and exceptions that indicate when these specific sounds should be used. Spelling in English can be challenging for many learners. The spelling videos, worksheets, and short quizzes that follow the drilling sections in the course are designed to solidify your understanding of the relationship between these English sounds and the written word.

The drills explore first the target sounds by themselves, and then in combination with consonant sounds before and then after them. This isolated approach builds an understanding of the sounds before they are introduced into words. Once the sounds are explored, words are introduced and drilled, as well as a few short sentences for each target sound.

No understanding of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) letters is required to take the course. All lessons are presented with the sounds written out with letters of the alphabet. However, the IPA is introduced and explored during the course, so that you will know all of the vowel IPA symbols by the time you finish the course. Understanding the IPA is valuable for advanced speech work.

Who this course is for:

Beginning speakers of English through advanced speakers who want to improve their pronunciation.

American English Pronunciation: Sound & Word Drills: VOWELS

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction5 lectures • 17min

How to Use the Course & The Basics of Speech Production7 lectures • 19min

Getting to know the Front Vowel Sounds EE and IH7 lectures • 26min

The Front Vowel Sounds AY, EH, and AE11 lectures • 34min

The Back Vowel Sounds UU, Uu, and OH11 lectures • 37min

The Back Vowel Sounds AW and AH8 lectures • 23min

The Middle Vowel Sounds ER and "er"8 lectures • 27min

The Middle Vowel Sounds "uh" and UH9 lectures • 25min

The Diphthong IY, and Spelling in Multi-Syllable Words7 lectures • 29min

The Diphthongs OW and OI8 lectures • 21min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: