/iᶕ/ & /ai/ Sound – JSS1 English Lesson Note (Third Term)

/ɪə/ and /aɪ/ are two English diphthongs. A diphthong is a vowel sound that glides from one vowel to another in one syllable. /ɪə/ is heard in “beer” and “near”. /aɪ/ is heard in “buy” and “night”. Spelling does not always show the sound, so students must listen to a word and say it aloud.

Behavioural objectives

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

• say the diphthongs /ɪə/ and /aɪ/ correctly;
• pick out words that contain each sound;
• list at least five words for each sound;
• recognise common spellings of each sound.

What is the /ɪə/ sound?

To make /ɪə/, start with a short “i” as in “sit”, then glide to a weak “uh” sound. The mouth is open slightly at the end. Say “ear”, “here” and “seer” slowly, then at normal speed.

Examples of /ɪə/ words

seer, beer, deer, dear, ear, fear, hear, here, near, year, clear, cheer, pier, appear

Common spellings of /ɪə/

Take care: “bear”, “pear” and “wear” have a different sound, /eə/, and do not belong in this group. “Union” does not belong in either group, because it begins with the consonant sound /j/ followed by /uː/.

What is the /aɪ/ sound?

To make /aɪ/, start with an open “a” sound as in “father”, then glide up towards a short “i”. The mouth closes a little as you finish. Say “buy”, “bye” and “my” slowly, then at normal speed.

Examples of /aɪ/ words

bye, buy, pies, bite, night, isle, file, tiles, my, sky, fly, high, light, time, kite, rice, child

Common spellings of /aɪ/

In “isle”, the letter “s” is silent. The word sounds like “aisle” and “I’ll”.

Can one word have both sounds?

Yes. The word “idea” has /aɪ/ at the beginning and /ɪə/ at the end. Its sounds are /aɪ/ followed by /dɪə/, and the last part sounds like the word “dear”. Say it slowly, then at normal speed, and listen for both glides.

Practice in class

• The teacher says each word and the class repeats it.
• Students read the two lists aloud in pairs and correct each other.
• The teacher calls a word and students say “one” for /ɪə/ or “two” for /aɪ/.
• Students think of more words for each sound and say them to the class.

Evaluation

1. Which word has the /ɪə/ sound? (a) night (b) deer (c) kite (d) sky
2. Which word has the /aɪ/ sound? (a) fear (b) near (c) tiles (d) clear
3. Which word rhymes with “high”? (a) sky (b) here (c) year (d) cheer
4. Which word has both /aɪ/ and /ɪə/? (a) idea (b) bite (c) near (d) night
5. Which word does NOT have the /ɪə/ sound? (a) hear (b) pier (c) bear (d) cheer

Answer key

1. (b) deer. 2. (c) tiles. 3. (a) sky. 4. (a) idea. 5. (c) bear (it has /eə/).

Assignment

Copy the words below. Write them in two lists, one for /ɪə/ and one for /aɪ/: kite, ear, my, cheer, ice, pier, time, hear, light.

Answer key

• /ɪə/: ear, cheer, pier, hear
• /aɪ/: kite, my, ice, time, light