English Highway Podcast

Pronunciation: Short /a/ & short /e/ (#0279)

Use words to distinguish between the short /a/ and /e/ vowel
sounds.
Announcer:

Youre about to listen to an audio lesson from OpenEnglish.com.

Welcome. Im Andres Moreno, your coach for this audio lesson.
Today, were going to be working on recognizing small differences
between vowel sounds. For instance, lets look at the very slight
difference in pronunciation between the short a vowel sound as in the
word, bat compared to the short e vowel sound as in the word, bet.
Listen and repeat after me:
bat
bet
Can you hear the difference? Lets keep working on it. Listen to this
sentence and repeat after me:
It was a very large bed.
Thats it. It would have been a very different sentence if I had said, It was
a very large bad. Bad and bed are the same word but with different
vowel sounds. So repeat after me:
bed
bad
Thats it. Lets continue to practice. Repeat after me:
bat
bet
Thats it. Two completely different words, very similar though. Heres
another example. Repeat after me:
fan
fell
Can you hear the difference in the vowel sounds? Repeat after me again:
fan
fell

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Way to go. Now, lets practice with some sentences. Repeat after me:
My bat is under the bed.
bat
bed
Once again, repeat after me:
My bat is under the bed.
Thats it. Lets keep practicing. Repeat after me:
It was a bad bet.
bad
bet
It was a bad bet.
Thats a tough one. Repeat it once again:
It was a bad bet.
You got it. Heres another example. Repeat after me:
I am a sports fan.
fan
I am a sports fan.
Way to go. Lets keep practicing. Repeat after me:
had
head
Pay close attention to the difference. Listen and repeat after me once
again:
had
head
Thats it. Heres another one. Repeat after me:
get
back

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And again, come on:

get
back
Two very different sounds. Lets keep working at it. Repeat after me:
sent
Dan
And again:
sent
Dan
Okay, heres a sentence. Listen and repeat after me:
I had a headache.
had
head
headache
Now the whole sentence, repeat after me:
I had a headache.
One more time, you can do it:
I had a headache.
You got it. Lets keep at it. Heres another example. Repeat after me:
When does Dan get back?
when
Dan
get
back
Okay, now the whole sentence. Put some energy into it, and repeat after
me:
When does Dan get back?

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Copyright FoxyP2 Inc. and Rainbow Heights International LLC

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Thats it. Lets keep practicing. Repeat after me:

men
can
Again, come on:
men
can
Thats it. Heres another pair of words. Repeat after me:
channel
rest
Hear that a sound:
channel
And now the short e:
rest
You got it. Heres another pair of words. Repeat after me:
that
incredible
Lets stretch those sounds. Repeat after me:
that
incredible
Good job. Now lets practice some sentences. Repeat after me, and put
some energy into it. I want to hear you:
The men can now watch TV.
men
can
Now the whole sentence:
The men can now watch TV.
Thats it. Repeat after me:
men
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Copyright FoxyP2 Inc. and Rainbow Heights International LLC

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can
The men can now watch TV.
Way to go. Heres another sentence. Repeat after me:
Dont change the channel.
channel
change
Dont change the channel.
Thats it. Heres another example. Repeat after me:
Lets watch the rest of the game.
And again:
Lets watch the rest of the game.
There you go. Two more sentences, lets do it. Repeat after me:
Did you see that?
that
Did you see that?
Good job. Last sentence, repeat after me:
That was incredible.
that
incredible
That was incredible.
Way to go. You did great this lesson. We worked on a hard concept
today. My recommendation is for you to listen to this audio lesson again
and again until you feel confident with the differences between the short
a vowel sound and the short e vowel sound. Until next time and
remember, practice makes perfect!
For additional practice, turn on your computer and go to
OpenEnglish.com. At OpenEnglish, youll find hundreds of interactive
lessons and videos to help you perfect your English.
Accelerate your English today. See you soon.

An original Open English production in association with Cl@se.

Copyright FoxyP2 Inc. and Rainbow Heights International LLC

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Additional practice: Emphasizing key words

Words:
bat
bed
bad
bet
fan
had
head
get
back
sent
Dan
When
men
can
channel
change
that
incredible
Word pairs:
bat - bet
bad - bed
fan - fell
can - men
channel - rest
that - incredible
Sentences:
My bat is under the bed.
It was a bad bet.
I am a sports fan.
I had a headache.
When does Dan get back?
The men can now watch TV.
Dont change the channel.
Lets watch the rest of the game.
Did you see that?
That was incredible.

An original Open English production in association with Cl@se.

Copyright FoxyP2 Inc. and Rainbow Heights International LLC

Page 6 of 6