English Speech Sounds Part 3

 

In last week’s blog English Speech Sounds Part 2 I talked about the short vowel sounds:

a says /a/ as in cat

i says /i/ as in sit.

o says /o/ as in hot.

u says /u/ as in cup.

e says /e/ as in pet.

This week I’ll talk English Speech Sounds Part 3, and about the long vowel sounds. The long vowel sounds say their names. For example:

a says ā as in make

e says ē as in theme

i says ī as in fine

o says ō as in hope

u says ū as in cute

The problem with the long vowel sounds is there are many ways to spell these sounds. In this blog English Speech Sounds Part 3, and about the different ways to spell the long vowel sounds.

Below are the different spellings for the long ā sound:

a	a-consonant-e	ai	ay	eigh
apron	cake	trail	pay	neighbor
acorn	tape	pain	day	eight

The spelling ai is used in the middle of a word and is usually followed by an n or an l.

The spellling ay is the first choice for the long ā sound at the end of a word.

The spelling eigh is usually at the end of a word or syllable or followed by a t.

Remember: 80% of the English words follow the sound spelling rules.

Below are the different spellings for the long ē sound:

ee	ea	e-consonant-e	y	ie/ei
seed	peach	theme	happy	field
green	read	athlete	empty	receive

The spelling ee is the first choice for the long ē sound in the middle of a word.

At the end of a long word (two syllables or more), the long ē sound is spelled with a y.

For the ie/ei spelling, use i before e except after the letter c.

Below are the different spellings for the long ī sound:

i-consonante-e	igh	y	i	ie
time	high	my	pilot	pie
hide	night	shy	ivy	tie

The spelling igh is usually found at the end of a word or syllable or followed by a t.

When y comes at the end of a short word it makes the long ī sound.

Below are the different spellings for the long ō sound:

o-consonante-e	oa	ow	oe	o
home	soap	slow	toe	focus
bone	coach	show	hoe	yoga

The spelling oa is usually found in the middle of short words.

The spelling ow is the first choice for spelling the long ō sound at the end of a word. When the ow spelling is not at the end of a word, it is often followed by n or l.

Below are the different spelling for the long ū sound:

u-consonate-e	ue	ew	oo	u
cute	cue	new	food	music
tube	argue	few	soon	cupid

The long ū sound is one of the trickiest vowel sounds to spell.

All the vowel sounds are covered in our series English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker. Book 1 of English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker is the first book to use and complete in our English Literacy Program. It is important to complete English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker Book 1 before using English Reading Comprehension for the Spanish Speaker Book 1, English Writing Composition for the Spanish Speaker Book 1 and English Vocabulary for the Spanish Speaker Book 1. After completing English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker Book 1, then you can use the other Book 1s from the literacy program to practice the skills, sounds and words learned in English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker Book 1.

Visit us on the web at www.Fisher-Hill.com to learn more about our English Literacy Program for Spanish speakers.

In next week’s blog, I will talk about the “other” vowel sounds.