VIVA LA VI DA. VOWELS /iː/ /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /uː/ /e/ /ɜː/ /ɔː/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /ɑː/ /ɒ/

This post has been designed principally for Spanish speakers, but it can also be useful for other nationalities by skipping the first activity and doing the rest.

 There are 46 sounds in the English sound system, 22 of which are vowel sounds. Compare this with Spanish, which has 5 vowel sounds, none of which are equivalent to any vowel sound in English. English vowels are difficult to identify and produce in most latin based languages.

• First of all, note where the vowel chart is placed in the mouth cavity (Fig B) and then observe where each vowel is produced (Fig A) . Click on the chart on the right to hear and repeat the following vowel sounds /iː/ /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /uː/ /e/ /ɜː/ /ɔː/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /ɑː/ /ɒ/ as many times as you need to.

The British band Cold Play will help to introduce some of the most confusing vowels /iː/ /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /uː/ /e/ /ɜː/ /ɔː/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /ɑː/ /ɒ/ with their song Viva la vida.

• Listen to the song and do the matching exercise by dragging the words taken from the song on the right to the corresponding vowel sound they contain, on the left. Only one answer can be correct.

• For more practice with vowel sounds.

MORNING SUN. LONG VOWELS /ɑ:/ /ɜ:/ /ɪ:/ /ɔ:/ /u:/

• Listen to British singer Robbie William's song Morning sun. As you are listening, try to locate the words containing long vowel sounds /ɑ:/ /ɜ:/ /i:/ /ɔ:/ /u:/

• Then do the crossword exercise with the transcribed words given. The words are taken from the song lyrics. To see the words, scroll down the crossword bar.
  

• Listen now to this version with lyrics.
  

• More on long vowel sounds.
  

IF YOU WERE A SAILBOAT. CONDITIONAL SONG. Vowels and diphthongs

The song If you were a sailboat composed and interpreted by the  Georgian-British singer, songwriter and musician  Katie Melua, will help us this time to sail through vowels /ɪ/  /ɪː/  /ʌ/  /ɑː/  /ɒ/  /ɔ:/  /ʊ/  /uː/, diphthongs  /aɪ/  /eɪ/  /aʊ/ and conditional sentences.

This post has been inspired by the work of the English teacher  José Álvaro Álvaro, who participated in the course  Phonetics Through Songs and the programme PhoTransEdit, used for the transcriptions in the matching activity.

 

There are two activities. Elementary and intermediate students should only do the first one, the gap-fill activity.  Upper-intermediate and advanced students can do both activities:

• A gap-fill activity designed for elementary and intermediate students. Listen to the song and fill in the gaps using the "Clue" button, where the missing word is transcribed.  

• A matching activity directed at upper-intermediate and advanced students. Once you've listened to the song and completed the gap-fill activity, try to remember the lyrics and  match the transcribed main clauses on the left with the conditional clauses on the right.

• Listen now to the official version of he same song and an alternative version with different lyrics. Can you spot the differences?
• For practice on conditional sentences, click here. 

PURE AND SIMPLE

Listen to Pure by Liverpool band, The Lightning Seeds,  to help you identify some vowel and diphthong sounds  /ɑː/  /e/  /ɪː/  /ɪ/  /əʊ/   /aɪ/  and /uː/ and  also to celebrate the birth of a new pure and growing webpage  Habla Idiomas EOI intended to gather and share information and material for teachers and students at the State  School of Languages in Spain, EOIs (Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas).


As you listen to the song,  fill in the gaps by clicking on the clue buttons which help you identify the vowel or diphthong sounds the missing words contain.

VOWELS - SPLITTER

Hi there. Be ready to sooth your ears and read some phonetic transcription to identify the vowel sounds   /ɑː/  /æ/  /ʌ/  /e/  /ɜː/  /ɪ/  /iː/  /ɒ/  /ɔː/ /ʊ/  /uː/   through the lyrics of the song Splitter by Calexico   transcribed phonetically with the programme PhoTransEdit.

Listen to the song  and do the gap-fill exercise while listening and reading the phonetically transcribed lyrics. Click on the clue button to get a vowel phoneme  /ɑː/  /æ/  /ʌ/  /e/  /ɜː/  /ɪ/  /iː/  /ɒ/  /ɔː/ /ʊ/  /uː/ the missing word contains. Write the word in ordinary English spelling.

COMMUNICATION. Linking consonants to vowels

 

 

Not understanding can be  a good reason to disconnect, both in daily communication and in life.

The clues in the gap- fill exercise for this song, Communication by the Cardigans, can help you  recognise linking features of connecting consonants to vowels and identify flap or tap t, /ɾ/, in order to understand  speech better, so that you don't have to disconnect!

• In General American, International English and colloquial British English,  /t/ can be pronounced as the so-called flap or tap t, /ɾ/,  which sounds like a short d or, more precisely, like the quick, hard r sound heard  in Spanish pero. So letter  can be heard as /leɾə/.

Within words,  /ɾ/ must be followed by a weak unstressed vowel, i.e.  /ə, i /. The /t/ is tapped    in átom  /ˈæɾəm/ ,  but not in atómic /əˈtɒmɪk/.

In connected speech, across words, this stress-sensitivity ceases to exist, and  /t/ followed by any vowel undergoes this t- to- r process; not only do we find tapping in get alóng  /ˈɡeɾəˈlɒŋ/ , where the next vowel is unstressed, but in get úp /ˈgeɾʌp/ too.

• Listen to the song and do the gap-fill exercise while listening. Click on the clue button to get a phonetic transcription of the missing letters. Be aware that in the gap you have to write the ending of a word, a space and the  next word or beginning of  it.

DECEMBER /ɪ/ /iː/ /ʌ/ /əʊ/

Inspiring month for a rainy song, December by Norah Jones. The front vowels /ɪ/ /iː/and central vowel and diphthong /ʌ/ /əʊ/ mix harmonically in this almost syllabic song sung with nearly every syllable distinctly pronounced.

• Listen to the song and complete the gap fill activity using the words in the box and the clues given in the ? buttons.

• Here's a version with lyrics and a live version. Can you spot any differences between the lyrics of the two versions?

THINK OF ME /θɪŋkˈəvˌmi:/

• A long awaited post for those who asked for a song rich in the contrasting front-close vowels /i:/ and /ɪ/ and the diphthong /aɪ/. Andrew LLoyd Webber's Think of me can serve as an example.

• Listen to the song and complete the gap fill activity using the clues given in the '?' buttons.

• Here's an amateur version and a version with lyrics.
• For more practice with minimal pairs /i:/ and /ɪ/.

PHONETIC ALPHABET /fəʊˈnetɪkˈælfəbɪt/

The outstanding existing differences between the English phonological system and the Spanish one, among other problems, make Spanish learners find it really difficult to pronounce properly. I'm convinced that phonetics can help overcome those difficulties as well as provide more autonomy in the learning of a language. So... let's get started!

Las notables diferencias existentes entre el sistema fonológico de la lengua inglesa y el de la lengua española , entre otros problemas, hacen que nuestros alumnos encuentren especial dificultad en pronunciar correctamente. Estoy convencida que la fonética puede ayudar a superar esas dificultades además de proporcionar más autonomía en el aprendizaje del idioma. Así que... manos a la obra!

How about starting from the beginning?

¿Qué tal si empezamos desde el principio?

Here's a link to a very simple test activity consisting of identifying some vowel phonemes in the English alphabet. The vowel chart, figure A, can help you identify where each vowel is produce in the vocal tract. Click here to start and ENJOY YOURSELF!

Aquí tenemos un enlace a una actividad en forma de test muy simple que consiste en identificar algunos fonemas vocálicos en el alfabeto inglés. El recuadro de las vocales, figure A, te puede ayudar a identificar el lugar donde se realizan cada una de las vocales . Pincha aquí para empezar y DIVIERTETE!

AM I TOO BLUE? /ʌ/ /æ/ /ɑ:/

Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, and country music singer and songwriter. A three-time Grammy Award winner, she was named "America's best songwriter" by TIME magazine in 2002.

Her song Am I too blue is hopefully going to help us hear the difference between the vowel sounds /ʌ/ /æ/ /ɑ:/

1. Listen to this song and fill in the blanks. Once you've finished, try to classify the words under the right column according to the vowel sound they contain.

Am I too blue

Lucinda Williams

Am I too blue for you? Am I too blue?

When I cry like the sky Like the sky (1)_________­­­­­­____ Am I too blue?

Is the night too (2)______________? Is the wind too (3)______________?

Is it at your (4)_______________? Have you had (5)______________?

Do you miss my (6)_____________? Do you wanna stay?
Do you have so (7)____________ Still left to say?

[Refrain]

When you're in the (8)______________ , Do you call my name?

Is there still a (9)_______________? Does it feel the same?

The sun beats down, It burns your skin

When you run into my (10)______________ again.

2. Once you've finished, write the words under the right column, /ʌ/, /æ/ or /ɑ:/, according to the vowel sound they contain. /ʌ/ /æ/ /ɑ:/

Answer key:
1. sometime /ˈsʌmtaim/ 2. black /blæk/ 3. rough /rʌf/ 4. back /bæk/ 5. enough /ɪˈnʌf/ 6. touch /tʌtʃ/ 7. much /mʌtʃ/ 8. dark /dɑ:k/ 9. spark /spɑ:k/ 10. arms /ɑ:ms/

Am I Too Blue Lyrics