Long vs short vowel pairs
English distinguishes tense from lax vowels, and the difference carries meaning: ship and sheep are different words. Tense vowels are held longer with a more muscular tongue position; lax vowels are shorter and more central. Play the pairs back to back and listen for the length and the tension.
Accent
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The words
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Magic E words
A silent final E that changes the vowel before it: hat to hate, kit to kite. Hear the difference.
Long A sound words
The /eɪ/ sound in day, rain and eight, spelled six different ways. Train your ear to all of them.
Long E sound words
The long ee sound in see, meat and field. Hear the tense vowel across all its spellings.
Short I sound words
The relaxed short i in sit, big and busy. The single hardest vowel for most learners to place.
Schwa sound words
The most common sound in English, hiding in every unstressed syllable. Learn to hear the schwa.
Diphthong words
Vowels that glide from one sound to another: boy, house, coin, near. Hear all eight diphthongs.
Keep practising
Browse every practice list, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.