Vowel Contrast: /a/ vs. /ʌ/

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English learners often confuse the vowel sounds /a/ and /ʌ/. In this brief tutorial, we give you practice listening to the differences and tips on how to make these two similar sounds.

Vowel Contrast: /i/ vs. /ɪ/

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Many ESL students have trouble distinguishing these two vowel sounds: /i/ and /ɪ/. Here we give you practice in hearing the difference.

Vowel Contrast: /ɛ/ vs. /æ/

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Today, we continue to unveil the difference among the 15 vowel sounds of English. Here we focus on vowels #4 and #5, contrasting the differences and giving listening practice with pairs of words to distinguish /ɛ/ from /æ/.

Vowel #1

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Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #1 in American English: /i/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.

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Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.