Vowels – Diphthongs
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The Magic E: English Pronunciation Trick!
The Magic E, or Silent E rule, alters vowel pronunciation in English by turning short sounds into long ones. For instance, ‘not’ becomes ‘note’. This rule typically follows a vowel + consonant + silent E structure. Though exceptions exist, grasping the Magic E enhances spelling and pronunciation skills. Read more
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Diphthongs in English – An Introduction
This lesson introduces the 8 diphthong sounds in English, such as /eɪ/ and /aɪ/, which are a combination of two vowel sounds. Unlike single vowel sounds (monophthongs), diphthongs involve movement in the speaking apparatus. The video also uses a short story about cowboys and tourists to aid in remembering these sounds and their IPA symbols… Read more
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Diphthong Exercise – Better Pronunciation
This lesson focuses on practicing seven of the eight English diphthongs, which are double vowel sounds found in words like “house,” “phone,” “boy,” and “nice.” The video includes a quick revision using the “Diphthong Boy” activity and offers a test to identify words containing specific diphthongs, so you don’t confuse them with the monophthongs of… Read more
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The Diphthong /ʊə/ in English Pronunciation
This video teaches you all about the diphthong /ʊə/, a combination of the vowel sound /ʊ/, a near-close back rounded vowel and /ə/, the mid central vowel sound, also called ‘schwa’. These two come together and as we glide in one smooth movement from /ʊ/ to /ə/ a new sound is created: the long diphthong Read more
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The Diphthong /aʊ/ in English Pronunciation
This video teaches you all about the diphthong /aʊ/, a combination of the vowel sound /a/, open back unrounded vowel and /ʊ/, a near-close back rounded vowel. These two come together and as we glide in one smooth movement from /a/ to /ʊ/ a new sound is created: the long diphthong /aʊ/. Remember, while single Read more
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The Diphthong /eə/ in English Pronunciation
This video teaches you all about the diphthong /eə/, a combination of the vowel sound /e/, an open-mid front unrounded vowel and /ə/, the mid central vowel sound, also called ‘schwa’. These two come together and as we glide in one smooth movement from /e/ to /ə/ a new sound is created: the long diphthong Read more
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The Diphthong /ɪə/ in English Pronunciation
This video teaches you all about the diphthong /ɪə/. A diphthong is a double vowel sound, a combination of two individual vowel sounds that merge to become one new long vowel sound in its own right. You will learn how the sound /ɪə/ is formed and how you pronounce it. Then we are going to Read more
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The Diphthong /ɔɪ/ in English Pronunciation
This video teaches you the diphthong /ɔɪ/ – a double vowel sound that is a combination of the monophthongs /ɔ/ and /ɪ/. /ɔ/ Is an open-mid back rounded vowel sound, and /ɪ/ is a near-close front unrounded vowel sound. I know, this sounds a little technical and confusing … rounded, unrounded? The video will also Read more
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The Diphthong /aɪ/ in English Pronunciation
We continue our journey through all the sounds of English. This video teaches you how the diphthong /aɪ/ is formed and produced. A diphthong is a double vowel sound, a combination of two individual vowel sounds that form a new sound. In the diphthong /aɪ/ the open back unrounded vowel sound /a/ and the near Read more
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The Diphthong /eɪ/ in English Pronunciation
This video teaches you how to form and produce the diphthong /eɪ/. Diphthongs are also called double vowel sounds because they are a combination of two monophthongs (= two single vowel sounds). In the diphthong /eɪ/ the close-mid front unrounded vowel sound /e/ combines with the near-close front unrounded vowel /ɪ/. We glide from one Read more
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The Diphthong /əʊ/ in English Pronunciation
This video explains how the English diphthong /əʊ/ is formed by combining the central vowel sound /ə/ (= the schwa) with the near-close near-back rounded vowel /ʊ/ (funnily, this is also sometimes called the horseshoe vowel because of its symbol!). There is smooth transition between these two sounds to form a new sound – the Read more
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Triphthongs in English – diphthong & /ə/ combination in one syllable
This video explains what triphthongs are: a combination of three vowel sounds in one syllable. The usual pattern is: a diphthong + the central vowel sound /ə/ (= the schwa) all together forming one syllable, also called the nucleus of a syllable. We will go over some example words which contain triphthongs in English and Read more
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