Today I am going to begin a series of posts looking at different vowel sounds.  Since the letter ‘a’ is the first letter of the alphabet it makes the most sense to begin with this letter.  Before we begin, it is important to remember that all vowels in English make two different types of sounds on their own: short and long vowel sounds.  Vowels can also make other sounds when combined with other vowels, these are called diphthongs.  For now we will just be focusing on the individual vowel sounds, the long and short sounds each vowel makes, along with example words and directions on positioning the mouth for producing these sounds.  Today we are looking at the letter ‘a’, here we go…

a (short vowel sound)

This sound is made with the jaw quite open, the lips slightly apart with the tongue relaxed, low in the mouth, and slightly pushed forward.

Example words:
apple
badge
dance
catch
crash
half
gallon
pat

a (long vowel sound)

This sound is made with the jaw slightly open and the lips pulled back toward the corners of the mouth.  The tongue starts out relaxed and low in the mouth, but then tenses and moves slightly higher in the mouth.  Note: All long vowel sounds “say their name.”  This means they make the sound of the letter as you would say it when saying your abc’s or naming the letters of the alphabet.Example words:
ace
ate
educate
gray
straight
say
way

Below is a quick grouping exercise.  Look at the six words listed below and divide them into two groups based on whether the word contains either a short or long ‘a’ sound.  Hint: There are three words with short ‘a’ sounds and three with long ‘a’ sounds.

Once you have finished deciding which group each word belongs to you can check your answers by clicking on this link and hear each word: http://www.abcfastphonics.com/vowel-letters/vowel-a.html.

lake
gate
apple
ape
axe
sack