ORAL ENGLISH TEST: HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON VOWEL SOUNDS

(Here’s an Audiovisual Lecture on Oral English Test And How To Answer Questions On Vowel Sounds: https://youtu.be/yBgGRrG1sF8).

To answer questions correctly in any oral English test, you should be able to pronounce English words correctly. There are three major things you have to know about English sounds that will be useful to you in answering questions correctly in an oral English test: 1. How to pronounce each sound, 2. How to identify each sound in written English words, and 3. How to identify each sound by its phonetic symbol. In addition to these, you need to know how to place stress correctly on English words.

ENGLISH VOWEL SOUNDS

A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any obstruction in the oral cavity. Vowels can be sub-classified into three: monophthongs, diphthongs, and triphthongs.

MONOPHTHONGS

There are 12 monophthongs, and they are known as pure vowels because they consist of only one vowel quality.  They are classified into short vowels and long vowels.

There are three major parameters for describing vowel sounds:

• 1. The part of the tongue used for the articulation: front, central, or back.
• 2. The position of the tongue in relation to the palate: high, mid or low.
• 3. The shape of the lips: rounded or unrounded (spread).

A close look at the English vowel chart will show you these positions:

English Vowel Chart

The following is a list of the 12 pure vowels and how they occur in written English words:

12 Pure Vowels with Examples

DIPHTHONGS

A diphthong is a combination of two vowel qualities. It is called a GLIDE because its articulation involves a movement from one vowel quality to another. For example, the vowel sound in play is a combination of /e/ and /i/, and it is articulated with a gliding movement from /e/ to /i/, thereby producing the sound /ei/. The following is a chart showing the 8 diphthongs:

English Diphthong Chart

The following is a list of the 8 diphthongs and how they occur in written English words:

TRIPHTHONGS

A triphthong is a combination of three vowel qualities pronounced in one syllable. The following is a list of the 5 triphthongs and how they occur is written English words:

For a more detailed audio-visual explanation of how to answer questions on vowel sounds, watch the following video lecture: https://youtu.be/yBgGRrG1sF8

For other important lessons that can help you gain proficiency in English, you can get these eBooks:

1. Good Success in English: A Study Package or Good Success in English: A Study Package for Effective English Learning
2. Good Success English Handbook

About the Author

Benjamin Abugu

Benjamin Abugu is a university graduate with a flair for content writing. He is an English teacher with over twelve years of experience, a published author of many books (both paperback and eBook editions), a blogger, and a Youtuber.