Speech Work – Phonemic Awareness, Vowel Sounds /i/ /i:/, /Ɪ/, /I:/ Basic 2 English Studies Lesson Note

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

1. Produce vowel sounds as in cut, spot, court, sport
2. Pronounce the vowel sounds correctly
3. Match the sounds with words

Content

What are Vowel Sounds?

Vowel sounds are the sounds made by vowel letters: a, e, i, o, u. These sounds are very important because every word needs at least one vowel sound.

Focus vowel Sounds: /i/ and /i:/

SHORT /i/ SOUND (as in “sit”)

How to make this sound:

• Keep your mouth slightly open
• Keep your tongue in the middle
• Make a short, quick sound
• It sounds like “ih”

Words with Short /i/ Sound:

• sit – to be seated
• bit – a small piece
• hit – to strike
• pit – a hole in the ground
• fit – right size
• kit – set of tools
• lit – gave light to
• wit – cleverness
• big – large size
• dig – make a hole
• fig – type of fruit
• pig – farm animal
• wig – false hair
• win – be successful
• bin – container
• din – loud noise
• fin – fish’s body part
• pin – sharp fastener
• sin – wrong action
• tin – type of metal

More Short /i/ Words:

• ship – large boat
• chip – small piece
• trip – journey
• slip – fall accidentally
• clip – fasten together
• flip – turn over
• skip – hop along
• drip – fall in drops
• wish – hope for something
• fish – water animal
• dish – plate for food
• rich – having lots of money
• which – what one
• thick – not thin
• quick – fast
• stick – thin piece of wood
• trick – clever action
• brick – building block
• click – short sharp sound

LONG /i:/ SOUND (as in “see”)

How to make this sound:

• Stretch your mouth in a smile
• Keep your tongue high
• Make a long sound
• It sounds like “ee”

Words with Long /i:/ Sound:

• see – look with eyes
• bee – insect that makes honey
• tree – tall plant with trunk
• free – not costing money
• three – number after two
• knee – joint in leg
• flee – run away quickly
• agree – say yes
• degree – unit of measurement
• coffee – hot drink
• eat – put food in mouth
• beat – hit repeatedly
• heat – warmth
• meat – animal flesh for food
• neat – tidy and clean
• seat – place to sit
• treat – something special
• wheat – grain for bread
• feet – bottom part of legs
• meet – come together
• sweet – taste like sugar
• street – road in town
• greet – say hello

More Long /i:/ Words:

• team – group working together
• beam – ray of light
• cream – thick part of milk
• dream – pictures in sleep
• steam – hot water vapor
• stream – small river
• clean – not dirty
• lean – thin, not fat
• mean – not kind
• bean – type of vegetable
• lead – go in front
• read – look at words
• bead – small round object
• head – top part of body
• bread – food made from flour
• thread – thin string

Distinguishing Between Short /i/ and Long /i:/ Sounds

Practice Pairs:

• bit (short /i/) vs beat (long /i:/)
• sit (short /i/) vs seat (long /i:/)
• ship (short /i/) vs sheep (long /i:/)
• chip (short /i/) vs cheap (long /i:/)
• rich (short /i/) vs reach (long /i:/)
• fish (short /i/) vs feet (long /i:/)

Memory Trick:

• Short /i/: Quick sound, like you’re in a hurry
• Long /i:/: Stretch the sound, like you’re being careful

Additional Vowel Sounds Practice

/ʌ/ SOUND (as in “cut”)

How to make this sound:

• Open your mouth medium wide
• Keep your tongue low and back
• Make a short sound
• It sounds like “uh”

Words with /ʌ/ Sound:

• cut – slice with knife
• but – however
• hut – small house
• nut – hard-shelled fruit
• shut – close
• run – move fast on foot
• sun – bright star in sky
• fun – enjoyable activity
• gun – weapon
• bun – soft bread roll
• cup – drinking container
• pup – young dog
• up – toward higher place
• bus – large vehicle
• mud – wet earth
• hug – embrace with arms
• bug – small insect
• rug – floor covering
• tug – pull hard

/ɒ/ SOUND (as in “spot”)

How to make this sound:

• Open your mouth wide
• Keep your tongue low
• Round your lips slightly
• It sounds like “ah”

Words with /ɒ/ Sound:

• spot – small mark
• pot – cooking container
• hot – very warm
• got – received
• lot – many
• not – opposite of yes
• top – highest part
• stop – cease moving
• shop – store
• drop – let fall
• rock – hard stone
• sock – foot covering
• lock – fastening device
• clock – time-telling device
• block – solid piece
• knock – hit with fist
• dock – place for boats
• frog – jumping water animal
• dog – pet animal
• log – piece of wood

/ɔ:/ SOUND (as in “court”)

How to make this sound:

• Open your mouth wide
• Round your lips more
• Make a long sound
• It sounds like “aw”

Words with /ɔ:/ Sound:

• court – place for legal trials
• sport – physical game
• short – not long
• sort – arrange in order
• port – harbor for ships
• fort – strong building
• torn – ripped apart
• born – came into life
• corn – yellow grain
• horn – animal’s pointed growth
• storm – bad weather
• form – shape
• warm – comfortably hot
• harm – hurt or damage
• farm – place for growing crops
• arm – body part from shoulder
• call – shout or telephone
• fall – drop down
• ball – round object for games
• wall – side of building
• tall – high in height
• small – little in size

Sound Matching Activities

Activity 1: Sound Sorting Sort these words by their vowel sounds: Words: sit, see, cut, spot, court, hit, tree, but, hot, sport

Short /i/: sit, hit Long /i:/: see, tree
/ʌ/: cut, but /ɒ/: spot, hot /ɔ:/: court, sport

Activity 2: Rhyme Time Find words that rhyme with the same vowel sound:

• sit rhymes with: hit, bit, fit, kit
• see rhymes with: tree, bee, free, three
• cut rhymes with: but, hut, shut, nut
• spot rhymes with: hot, pot, got, lot

Activity 3: Sound Discrimination Listen and choose the word with the different vowel sound:

1. sit, hit, see, bit → see (different – long /i:/)
2. cut, but, seat, hut → seat (different – long /i:/)
3. spot, hot, court, pot → court (different – /ɔ:/)

Pronunciation Practice

Tongue Twisters:

1. Short /i/: “Six sick fish sit in a ship.”
2. Long /i:/: “Three free trees feed the bees.”
3. /ʌ/: “The sun shines on my fun run.”
4. /ɒ/: “The hot pot sits on top of the spot.”
5. /ɔ:/: “Four short sports stars stood in the court.”

Minimal Pairs Practice:

• ship / sheep: The ship sails while sheep sleep.
• bit / beat: He bit the meat and beat the drum.
• sit / seat: Please sit in your seat.
• rich / reach: The rich man can reach high shelves.