Unit goals
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
- say /æ/ in family, planet, magic without using the Spanish a;
- glide into /eɪ/ in nation, nature, paper;
- say the American o as /ɑː/ in doctor, problem, hospital;
- hear which of the three vowels a cognate has.
About the audio
All the audio in this unit comes from the American English voice of your device (text-to-speech). There are no audio files, so every example, card and exercise can play.
- See what is playing. The button that is playing turns coral with moving bars. Tap it again to stop.
- Change the speed. Use Slow to hear each sound clearly and Normal for shadowing.
- One voice for each character. Laura has a female voice and Marco has a male voice.
- The speaking lab uses your microphone. Your browser asks for permission the first time. Nothing is recorded or saved. It works best in Chrome or Edge.
- The browser voice is a guide. In real speech, sounds are shorter and more connected than in single words.
No sound? Check the volume and the silent mode of your phone.
The letter A: /æ/ and /eɪ/COMPLETED
In Spanish, a is always the same sound. In English, a has two main sounds. Family, planet and magic have /æ/. Nation, nature and paper have /eɪ/.
PROFT · REFERENCE CHART
/æ/ and /eɪ/ short or gliding
Spanish speakers use the same a for every word, so planet sounds like plah-net and nation like na-see-on. In English, the sound changes: planet has a short /æ/ and nation glides to /eɪ/. A cognate does not mean the same pronunciation.
The Spanish a is in the middle of your mouth. For /æ/, drop your jaw a little more and spread your lips.
Words ending in -ation have /eɪ/ and the ending /ʃən/: nation, station, information.
A final e changes the vowel: plan has /æ/, plane has /eɪ/.
The same first letter, two vowels. Listen to the pair.
Hear them in sentences
Practice 1: Which word?COMPLETED
Train your ear first. Each pair has two different vowels: /æ/, /eɪ/ or /ɑː/. Many of the words are cognates.
Listen and choose
Listen and choose the word you hear. After you answer, play both words to compare them.
Practice 2: Odd one outCOMPLETED
Four words, one different sound. Listen to all four before you choose.
Find the different sound
Listen to the four words. Which one has a different sound?
Three faces of A: /æ/, /eɪ/ and /ɑː/COMPLETED
Now add /ɑː/. In American English, the letter o in doctor, problem and hospital sounds like an open a. It is the sound closest to the Spanish a.
PROFT · REFERENCE CHART
/æ/ · /eɪ/ · /ɑː/ three mouth positions
Spanish speakers say the o in doctor and hospital like the Spanish o, round and closed. In American English it is open: DAHK-ter, HAHS-pi-tal. And the Spanish a in animal is not the English /æ/. Open your jaw: it is a different vowel in each case.
Put a finger on your chin. It moves for each vowel: /eɪ/ glides, /æ/ is wide, /ɑː/ is open and still.
The English doctor has an open /ɑː/ and a soft ending.
Two common words, two vowels. Say both slowly.
The first vowel of hospital is /ɑː/. The first vowel of capital is /æ/.
Hear them in sentences
Practice 3: In contextCOMPLETED
Listen to the sentence. Which of the two words did the speaker say?
Which word did you hear?
Listen to each sentence and choose the word you heard.
Lab: pronunciation pairsCOMPLETED
Now it is your turn to speak. Practice /æ/, /eɪ/ and /ɑː/ in three modes. Complete one round of 10 in any mode, and finish with Say it.
How to play: choose the sounds and a mode. Which word? trains your ear. Same or different? trains your attention. Say it checks your pronunciation with the microphone.
Pairs in contextCOMPLETED
Each sentence needs one word from a pair. Listen carefully: the sound tells you which one.
Listen and fill in the blanks
Play each sentence and fill in the blank. The box has similar words, so choose carefully. Tap a word to hear it and put it in the blank, or type it.
Vocabulary box
Words from this unit. Half of the words are extra.
Dialogue: the animal hospitalCOMPLETED
Laura takes her cat to the animal hospital. Listen for /æ/, /eɪ/ and /ɑː/, then hide the marks and shadow the dialogue.
Personalize
Complete the sentences about you. Choose an option or write your own.
Vocabulary ideas
Choose one option for each blank, or write your own.
GamesCOMPLETED
Play to fix the sounds in your memory. Finish one game to complete this section.
Sound order
How to play: tap Listen. Then tap the sounds in the right order. Each word has one extra sound that does not belong. Tap a sound in the box to send it back.
Memory: word pairs
How to play: find each word and its partner, like planet and plane. Every card says its word when you turn it, so listen to the difference.
Speed gamesCOMPLETED
Two fast games to make the difference automatic. Play one round of each.
SPEED ROUND · 45 SECONDS
Which word?
Tap Start. Listen to each word and tap it as fast as you can. Every correct answer adds to your streak.
SOUND SORTER · /æ/ · /eɪ/ · /ɑː/
Put each word in its sound
Listen to the word and tap the sound it has. Sort all 12 words.
Record and compareCOMPLETED
Record each sentence, then play the model and your voice back to back. Listen for the vowel: is your family a bright /æ/, your nation a glide, your doctor open?
Consolidation: read and pronounceCOMPLETED
Consolidate what you practiced. Listen to the model, tap Say it and say each item out loud. The app checks your pronunciation and marks any word it did not hear clearly. If it hears a homophone, like son for sun, it counts as correct, because both words sound the same.
Unit quizCOMPLETED
Ten questions about Unit 1. You need 8 out of 10 to complete the unit.
Check your progress
Tap the audio button, listen and choose your answer. You will see the explanation right away.
Unit 1 complete
Before you move on, check what you can do now:
If you cannot check a box yet, go back to that section and practice a little more.
COGNATES · 8 UNITS