The /oo,(uː) / sound found in the words: sp oon, bl ue, scr ew and y ou. The /I,(aI) / sound found in the words: iron, fl y, p ie and l ight. The /ee,(іː) / sound found in the words: tr ee, p ea, m e, and pon y. The /ow,(aƱ) / sound found in the words: owl, h ouse, dr ought and hour. The /oi,(ɔI) / sound found in the words: b oy, c oin and b uoy. The /oa,(ǝƱ) / sound found in the words: b oat, h otel, t oe and b on e. The /ai,(eI) / sound found in the words: tr ain, tr ay, c ak e and br eak. The 7 ‘long’ vowel sounds areso calleddue to the length of their pronunciation these can often be held without distorting their sound. Here at Teach Phonics we split them in to two groups: 7 ‘long’ vowel sounds and 6 ‘long ‘R’ controlled’ vowel sounds.

This week we are taking a look at the remaining 13 ‘long’ vowel sounds. A couple of weeks ago we explained that there are 20 vowel sounds in the English (UK) sound system and last week we looked at the 7 ‘short’ vowel sounds.

What is a long vowel