The next two vowel sounds are // as in 'so' and // as in 'hot'
There's a clear difference between these
two vowel sounds. I'm sure you noticed it.
The first one is two vowels
pushed together as we've seen before. The
second sound is very very short and very
brief. So the first sound // // it's just
like saying the letter 'o' in the alphabet. // so this is two vowels squeezed
together and as we've seen before, when
we have this kind of vowel the shape of
the mouth changes when you utter the
sound. So first the mouth is relaxed and
then it's rounded. Notice the shape of my
mouth // //
It starts relaxed just like this.
And then it turns into a rounded shape
like // // so so. The second vowel,
the short one, // // the shape of the
mouth is slightly rounded. Not very
rounded but slightly rounded // //
hot. Very good. So the second one is very
very short, very brief. It's just a burst
of air. As we've heard before in some
other sounds, the air bursts out and
stops. // OK, now let's start with the
target sound practice for // the two
sounds squeezed together. Remember the shape of the mouth: start relaxed
and then move your mouth to a rounded
shape. //
As always notice the spelling and focus on the target sound. So listen and
repeat each word after me. Go. Boat. Follow. Told. Most. Suppose. Hello. October. Window.
OK, very very good. Now the second target sound. Remember,
very very short // as in 'hot'. Notice the
spelling as well. These two sounds
very very often have the 'o' spelling in
the words, so you have to be careful
which one to use. After a while you'll
start to notice which words have the //
sound and which ones have the // sound, the shorter vowel. But notice the spelling as
always. Look at this list and repeat each
word after me. Remember to keep your lips
not very round, slightly round. // // Very good.
Now repeat each word after me. Not. Box.
Want.
Sorry. Popular. Washington. Cough. Horrible. Doctor. Just look at the spellings.
I want to point out one thing. Usually
the spelling for this sound is 'o' as you
can see in examples like 'not' and 'box'. But sometimes the spelling, for example want,
really doesn't match the sound. So
English, as we've seen many many times,
doesn't really have many fixed rules
when it comes to spelling and sound
relationship. You need to be very very
careful which sounds you use for some
spellings. So 'want' some people might be
tempted to use the pronunciation
/want/ which is wrong. Obviously we know it's an // sound /wnt/ So just keep this
in mind: the relationship between
spelling and sound in English is not so
fixed. There are no rules actually. So very
very good. Now let's look at the minimal
pairs for this group of vowel sounds. On
the left we have the //sounds and on the
right we have the // sounds. So listen to
each pair and repeat after me. Notice the
difference between the two sounds. Coat,
cut. Shown, shone.
Soak, sock. Phoned, fond. Note, not. Road, rod.
OK excellent, well done. Now make sure
you take it slowly, don't rush these
lectures and rush through every single
sound in English. Take your time.
That's why I broke down each lecture
into two or three sounds so that you can
keep focused on a small number and
master these before you move on. So take
your time, don't rush through to the next
lecture. Try to master each sound first
and then move on. Now let's look at the
target sounds in use, in a real context
with a sentence. The first sentence is
targeting the // sound. Remember to move
your lips. Start in a neutral position
and finish with rounded lips // //
So listen and repeat after me.
Joe, let's go and see a show tomorrow.
Sentence two. Let's focus on the //sound, the very short vowel sound. The lips
remember are very slightly rounded. Do
not put my teapot in the box.
OK, now sentence three is a mix. Listen and repeat.
John, please lock the safe box before you
go home, OK?
OK, fantastic. As always, check out the extra resources that I've provided for you.
Download them and use them to master these two vowel sounds.