Diphthongs – JSS1 English Lesson Note (Third Term)

A diphthong is a vowel sound made of two vowel sounds, with a glide from the first vowel to the next. It is different from a pure vowel, which has one sound only. This note covers eight diphthongs: /ei/, /əu/, /ai/, /au/, /ɔi/, /iə/, /eə/ and /uə/, with example words for each.

Behavioural objectives

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

• explain what a diphthong is;
• say how a diphthong differs from a pure vowel (monophthong);
• list the eight diphthongs given in this lesson;
• give example words for each diphthong and identify the diphthong in a given word.

What is a diphthong?

The word ‘diphthong’ comes from a Greek word which means double sound. Diphthongs are also vowels. The difference is that a pure vowel contains only one sound (a monophthong), while a diphthong contains two vowel sounds with a glide from the first vowel to the next.

What are examples of diphthongs?

Evaluation

In the words below, identify the diphthongs:

bay, ago, huge, bone, choice, coy, high.