Part of learning vocabulary involves learning the sound of a word, but learners of English are often confused by English spelling and are not sure how words sound.

We have chosen some common sound/spelling combinations to help you.

We give the phonemic symbol, the letters which can make that sound, and some common examples.

You can also hear the words then pause the video to practise saying them.

Finally, we suggest that you create your own groups using words that are important for you.

Here is a second set of some vowel sounds.

Sound	Spelling	Examples
/ʌ/	u	fun sun husband
	o	some mother month
	ou	cousin double young
	oo	blood
/ɒ/	o	hot pocket top
	a	watch what want
/ɔ:/	or	short sport store
	our	your four course
	ough	bought
	augh	daughter taught
	al	ball tall always walk talk
	aw	draw saw raw
	ar	warden warm
	oor	floor door
/ɑɪ/	i	like time island
	y	dry shy cycle
	ie	fries die tie
	igh	light high right
	ei	height
	ey	eyes
	uy	buy

Watch the video and practise saying the words.

See Sound and spelling – Vowels 1

Come back to the website next week for Sound and spelling – Vowels 3.

By Louise and Barney

 

If you have any questions about this, leave a comment below.

If you are interested in learning with Stratford Teachers, send us a message.