This is the course to take if you want a solid foundation of pronunciation in American English. This is the VOWELS course. (The CONSONANTS course is in development and will be offered separately).

This course is based on sound and word drills designed to efficiently guide you through saying and drilling every vowel and consonant combination, with a specific focus on the vowels, and an explanation of how the sounds are made.

The drilling material is supplemented with an in-depth examination of spelling rules and exceptions that indicate when these specific sounds should be used. Spelling in English can be challenging for many learners. The spelling videos, worksheets, and short quizzes that follow the drilling sections in the course are designed to solidify your understanding of the relationship between these English sounds and the written word.

The drills explore first the target sounds by themselves, and then in combination with consonant sounds before and then after them. This isolated approach builds an understanding of the sounds before they are introduced into words. Once the sounds are explored, words are introduced and drilled, as well as a few short sentences for each target sound.

No understanding of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) letters is required to take the course. All lessons are presented with the sounds written out with letters of the alphabet. However, the IPA is introduced and explored during the course, so that you will know all of the vowel IPA symbols by the time you finish the course. Understanding the IPA is valuable for advanced speech work.