About the audio
All the audio on this page comes from the American English voice of your device (text-to-speech). There are no audio files, so every word, chart card and exercise can play.
- Listen as many times as you want. Play one card, one word, or one sentence.
- 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.
- Single words. The browser voice says single words very clearly. In real speech, sounds are shorter and more connected.
- The chart is a guide. If a sound is not clear, compare the two words of the pair and follow the symbols on the page.
Works best in Chrome, Edge or Safari. The voice can be different on each device. No sound? Check the volume and the silent mode of your phone.
Vowel sounds: tense or relaxed?
Spanish has five vowel sounds. American English has many more, and the letters do not always tell you the sound. The biggest difference is between tense, long vowels and relaxed, short vowels.
Tense and long
More muscle tension. You hold the sound longer.
- sheep, food, car, walk
Relaxed and short
Less tension. The sound is shorter.
- ship, foot, cut, egg
PROFT · REFERENCE CHART
Vowel sounds in English
Practice 1
Listen and choose the word you hear. After you answer, play both words to compare them.
Practice 2: odd one out
Listen to the four words. Which word has a different vowel sound?
Diphthongs: two sounds in one
A diphthong starts with one vowel sound and glides into another in the same syllable. Move your mouth: bike is not /bik/, it is /baɪk/.
PROFT · REFERENCE CHART
Diphthongs in English
Practice 3
Listen to each word and choose its diphthong.
Consonant sounds
In English, consonants are strong and they mark the rhythm of the word. These are the sounds that need the most attention for Spanish speakers.
PROFT · REFERENCE CHART
Consonant sounds in English
At the start of a stressed syllable, they are strong, with a puff of air.
Between vowels, T and D sound like a quick, soft /d/.
In words like button, the T becomes a short stop in the throat.
B uses both lips. V uses your top teeth on your bottom lip.
Put your tongue between your teeth. θ has no voice, ð has voice.
NG ends in the back of the mouth, with no /g/. Many S letters sound like /z/.
Practice 4
Listen and choose the correct answer.
Word stress: one strong syllable
Every English word with two or more syllables has one strong syllable: it is longer, louder and clearer. The other syllables are soft, and their vowels often reduce to /ə/.
One strong syllable
comPUter: clear and marked.
The others are soft
They reduce and lose force: cəm-PU-tər.
comPUter PHOtograph phoTOGrapher
Practice 5
Listen to each word and tap the strong syllable.
Sounds in context
One sound can change the whole meaning: ship or sheep, best or vest. Use the context to choose the right word, and then say it with the right sound.
Listen and fill in the blanks
Play each sentence and fill in the blank. The box has pairs of words that sound similar, so choose carefully. Tap a word to hear it and put it in the blank, or type it.
Vocabulary box
Minimal pairs. Tap a word to hear it. Half of the words are extra.
Prolong, stress, connect
These three habits make the biggest difference. Use them together in every sentence.
Hold the tense, long vowels: need, keep, food, car.
Make one syllable strong in each word, and one word strong in each group.
Link the words. Speak in groups, not word by word.
Listen with the marks, repeat each sentence, and then hide the marks and say it again.
Final quiz
Ten questions to review Part 3. Listen to each one before you answer.
How much did you learn?
Tap the audio button, listen and choose your answer. You will see the explanation right away.
Consolidation: read and pronounce
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.
LEVEL 1 · THE MUSIC OF ENGLISH · MINI COURSE
Rhythm and melody
Content words, stress, thought groups, intonation and linking.
ReviewPART 2More practice
Weak forms, little words, stress in answers, pauses and real-life intonation.
ReviewPART 3The sounds of English
Vowels, diphthongs, consonants, word stress, and prolong, stress, connect.
You are herePART 4Sound games
Sound order, Click & Say, memory games and the minimal pairs lab.
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