7 Secret Pronunciation Rules Your Teachers Never Taught You (but You Should Teach Your ESL Students)
Teaching short and long vowel sounds is one of the first things most teachers introduce to their students after they learn the alphabet. A strong understanding of these sounds is an incredibly important part of any beginner's ESL journey, from open and closed syllables to the "magic e."
In most cases, teachers teach short vowels first because they're easier to comprehend. This is becaause long vowels have more rules, and there's always more than one way to create a long vowel sound. These 9 short/long vowel worksheets will serve as an excellent resource bank for teachers or parents who are teaching phonetics for the first time.
Short/Long Vowel Worksheets
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1
Minimal Pairs Bingo
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What student doesn't love a round of bingo? In this edition, beginners will focus on words with the short e and short i sounds. There is a word bank to fill in the bingo card with terms like disk, left, and lift, but teachers can use the card for other short and long vowel practice as well. After a student gets a bingo, it's helpful to have them read back the words outloud for extra pronunciation practice.
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This bundle of worksheets gives students practice with recognizing phrases with short vowels. There's a matching activity where students use a word bank and write the appropriate word underneath an image. Other actvities will have students connect the word with an image, or connect the letters and write down the words. By using this set of short vowel worksheets overtime, students will have a better understanding of pronunciation, reading, and writing at a basic level.
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If your students are learning to pronounce long vowels, this worksheet is a fun activity to get them warmed up for the day's lesson. The worksheet asks students to read the phrases and check the correct box. It features fun images and an opportunity to color, so young students are sure to be engaged. Once your students complete this activity, they will better understand syllables with the long vowel -a- sound.
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If you've just introduced vowel sounds to your students, this chart will be an excellent resource to have on hand in your classroom. You can use it for an all-class activity if learners are in the beginning stages of learning vowels, or you can have them fill it out individually for more of a challenge. They will fill in example words for each vowel, both long and short and can reference it throughout the different lessons and activities you teach surrounding vowel sounds.
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Students often confuse the long /ai/ and short /i/ vowel sounds - and understandably so. This vowels worksheet helps beginners to differentiate the two, as well as master common vowel patterns, like the magic e that makes a sound like "fin" end up being the word "fine." Students will be asked to circle the words that have the /ai/ and /i/ sounds in them. Teachers can also use the worksheet as a class activity and dive the chalkboard or whiteboard in two. Then, students can divide up the /ai/ and /i/ words in front of the class.
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These vowel flashcards feature the phonetic symbols for each vowel sound. This set is great for beginners who are just learning to indentify the long and short vowel sounds. You can use them for a variety of activities, or parents can print these off for students to have extra practice at home. A fun game for students to play as a group is to see who can name the highest number of words for each sound.
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Sometimes, skipping reading and writing is the best way to teach a new subject. With this picture game, students will look at a collage of objects that they will need to indentify. Then, they should name whether the word has the short u or short o sound. You can also have students cut out each image and sort them into two piles - one for short u sounds and one for short o.
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Memorizing phonics rules is the first hurdle for students learning about short and long vowel sounds, but actually putting into practive what they've learned can be a greater challenge. With this scrabble style phonics game, beginner ESL students will enjoy learning all about vowel sounds. Teachers can present a long or short vowel sound, and students will have the chance to get creative with the words they come up.
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If you have Japanese ESL students, this worksheet is for you. The activity presents long and short vowels at an introductory level - perhaps something you would teach after your students have learned the alphabet. After a quick lesson at the top of the worksheet, students will get to engage in an independent activity where they separate words on a word bank depending on whether they contain short or long vowels.
For more practice on short/long vowels, check out these pronunciation worksheets for ESL students!
