Clear

Speech From the Start

Basic Pronunciation and nd
Listening Comprehension
in North American English 2 Edition
Judy B. Gilbert
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 Welcome to

Clear Speech
The world’s favorite pronunciation series

Clear Speech From the Start offers a variety of tools

for learning and practicing pronunciation.

With the Student’s Book you can learn

and practice how to:
speak more clearly
Clear
Speech
listen to other people more efficiently
guess the pronunciation of written words
From the Start
Basic Pronunciation and nd
Listening Comprehension
in North American English 2 Edition

Judy B. Gilbert

With the Basic Pronunciation: Clear Speech

From the Start App for iPhone, iPad, and
iPod touch available on the App Store,
you can:
play games and practice pronunciation in a
fun interactive way

With the Student’s Book Audio available

at www.cambridge.org/clearspeech,
you can:
download the MP3s for all the listening
activities in the Student’s Book
review and practice all the sounds and
intonation and rhythm patterns presented
and practiced in class
 Contents
Scope and Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Letter to the Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Key to Sound Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi

Unit 1 The Alphabet and Vowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Unit 2 The Two Vowel Rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Unit 3 Syllables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Unit 4 The One Vowel Rule

Linking with /n/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Unit 5 Strong Syllables

Linking with /m/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Unit 6 Weak Syllables

Linking Vowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Unit 7 The Most Important Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Unit 8 Stop Sounds /t/ and /d/ and Continuing Sounds /s/ and /z/
Linking with /t/, /d/, /s/, and /z/ Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Unit 9 Final Sounds /d/ and /I/

Linking with /I/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Unit 10 Final Sounds /I/ and /Id/

Linking with All the Stop Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Unit 11 Final Sounds /t/, /d/, and /r/

Linking with /r/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Unit 12 Continuing and Stop Sounds + /s/ or /z/

Linking with /s/ and /z/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Unit 13 Numbers
Checking and Correcting Mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Unit 14 Final Sounds /n/, /I/, /nd/, and /Id/

Linking with /n/, /I/, /nd/, and /Id/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Unit 15 Final Sounds /s/, /θ/, and /t/

Linking with /θ/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Unit 16 Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

iv • Contents
 Appendices
Appendix A Parts of the Mouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Appendix B Vowel Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Appendix C How Often Do the Vowel Rules Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Appendix D Tongue Shapes for /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /I/, and /r/ . . . . . . 134

Extra Practice 1
Vowels

Part 1 The tongue in alphabet vowel sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Part 2 The lips in alphabet vowel sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Part 3 Practicing the vowel rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Extra Practice 2
Problem Consonants

Part 1 /v/ and /b/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Part 2 /r/ and /I/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Part 3 /n/ and /I/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Part 4 /θ/ and /t/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Contents • v
 Scope and Sequence
Unit / Section Featured Topics Music of English
1 The Alphabet
and Vowels
Listening to the alphabet vowels
Saying the alphabet vowels
Cake, please.
Tea, please.
pages 2–6 Key words for the alphabet vowels

2 The Two
Vowel Rule
The Two Vowel Rule in a short word
Words that end in the letter -e-
How do you spell “time”? T-I-M-E.

pages 7–11 Words with two vowel letters together

Asking how to spell words

3 Syllables
pages 12–18
Tapping syllables
Counting syllables
How many syllables are in “city”? Two.
How do you spell “cream”? C-R-E-A-M.
The Two Vowel Rule for syllables

4 The One
Vowel Rule
The One Vowel Rule
Listening to relative vowel sounds
What does “less” mean?
What does “lease” mean?
Linking with /n/ Key words for the relative vowel sounds How do you say S-H-A-K-E?
pages 19–28 Comparing alphabet and relative vowel sounds
Linking with /n/

5 Strong syllables
Linking with /m/
The Strong Syllable Rules
Listening for strong syllables
What’s that called?
It’s a blanket.
pages 29–37 Saying strong syllables What’s it for?
Strong syllables in sentences It’s for keeping you warm.
Extra syllable in the past tense
Linking with /m/

6 Weak Syllables
Linking Vowels
Comparing the vowels in strong and weak syllables
The Weak Syllable Rules
Can I help you?
Yes, I’d like a pizza.
pages 38–44 Saying strong and weak syllables What size?
Linking vowels from one word to the next Elephant-size.
Weak “and,” “of,” and “a”
Ordering food

7 The Most
Important Word
What makes a word easy to hear?
Rules for the Most Important Word
What’s the matter? I lost my wallet!
California is a city. No, it isn’t. It’s a state.
pages 45–53 Disagreement I wanted a cup of tea. Not coffee?
Misunderstandings Are you going to get up at seven?
Correcting a mistake No, at ten.

8 Stop Sounds /t/

and /d/ and
Comparing stop sounds /t/ and /d/ to continuing
sounds /s/ and /z/
How do you spell “fruit”?
How do you spell “repeats”?
Continuing Sounds Listening for plural words ending in /s/ or /z/ Is she running? No, she’s reading.
/s/ and /z/ Linking with /t/, /d/, /s/, and /z/ Is he playing tennis? Yes, he is.
Linking with /t/, Correcting a mistake
/d/, /s/, and /z/
pages 54–62

9 Final Sounds /d/

and /I/
Comparing stop sound /d/ to continuing sound /I/
Listening to final sounds /d/ and /I/
How do you spell “whale”?
What does “paid” mean?
Linking with /I/ Saying final sounds /d/ and /I/
pages 63–69 Listening for and saying final /I/ to distinguish
present and future
Linking with /I/
Counting syllables in sentences

10 Final Sounds /I/

and /Id/
Listening to final sounds /I/ and /Id/
Using contrasts in questions
Did you say “coal”? No, I said “cold.”

Linking with All Listening for and saying final /I/ and /Id/ to
the Stop Sounds distinguish present and past
pages 70–74 Linking stop sounds to vowels

vi • Scope and Sequence

11 Final Sounds /t/,
/d/, and /r/
Comparing /t/ and /d/ to /r/
Listening to final sounds /t/, /d/, and /r/
What is it? An ice cube.
Where is it? In a glass.
Linking with /r/ Saying final sounds /t/, /d/, and /r/ Where’s that stuff?
pages 75–83 Listening for and saying final sounds /t/, What stuff?
/d/, and /r/ to distinguish present and past That, um, stuff for the party.
Linking with/r/, /t/, /d/, and /I/
Asking for more information

12 Continuing and
Stop Sounds +
Listening for final /s/ or /z/ to distinguish
singular and plural
What’s a bank for?
It’s for saving money.
/s/ or /z/ Giving locations Excuse me, where’s the library?
Linking with It’s on Main Street.
/s/ and /z/ Thank you.
pages 84–93 No problem.

13 Numbers
Checking and
Saying numbers and years
Correcting mistakes about numbers
Did you say “ninety”? No, “nineteen.”
Where is Big Guy?
Correcting Listening for pauses in telephone numbers It’s at twenty-five B.
Mistakes Saying telephone numbers Twenty-nine B?
pages 94–102 Checking information No, twenty-five B.
More linking practice What does Mr. True sell?
Clothes for men.
Did you say clothes for teens?
No, for men.

14 Final Sounds /n/,

/I/, /nd/, and /Id/
Comparing final sounds /n/, /I/, and /d/
Listening for final sounds /n/ and /I/
What’s a trail?
A thing to ride in.
Linking with /n/, Saying final sounds /n/, /I/, /ld/, and /nd/ No, that’s a train. What’s a trail?
/I/, /nd/, and /Id/ Linking with /I/, /n/, /ld/, and /nd/ It’s a path.
pages 103–108 Checking information Right.
The mirror test for /n/ and /I/

15 Final Sounds /s/,

/θ/, and /t/
Comparing /s/, /θ/, and /t/
Listening for /s/, /θ/, and /t/ contrasts
What’s a bath for? To get clean.
What’s a bat for? To play baseball.
Linking with /θ/ Saying /s/, /θ/, and /t/
pages 109–116 Checking days and dates
Linking with /θ/

16 Review
pages 117–127
Two Vowel Rule
One Vowel Rule
I’d like the Toronto, please.
The Toronto?
Strong syllables Yes, on white.
Final stop sounds OK, on white.
Final continuing sounds No, I changed my mind.
The most important word On whole wheat.
OK. One Toronto, on whole wheat.
Appendices A Parts of the Mouth
pages 129–135 B Vowel Rules
C How Often Do the Vowel Rules Work?
D Tongue Shapes for /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /I/, and /r/
Extra Practice 1 1 The tongue in alphabet vowel sounds
pages 136–138 2 The lips in alphabet vowel sounds
3 Practicing the vowel rules
Extra Practice 2 1 /v/ and /b/
pages 139–145 2 /r/ and /I/
3 /n/ and /I/
4 /θ/ and /t/

Scope and Sequence • vii

 Acknowledgments
Thanks to the following people for their contributions to the second edition of
Clear Speech From the Start:

The reviewers Linda Bolet, Houston Community College, Texas; Katherine

Chirinos, Houston Community College – Southwest, Texas; Nancy Hilty, College of
Marin, California; Arlene Simmons, Los Angeles Unified School District, California;
and Melissa Villamil, Houston Community College – Central, Texas.

My colleagues Barbara Bradford, Adam Brown, Madalena Cruz-Ferreira, Nancy

Hilty, James Kirchner, Olle Kjellin, Barbara Seidlhofer, Michael Vaughan-Rees, and
Robin Walker, for years of helping me think through fundamental linguistic and
pedagogical issues.

Ellen Shaw for encouragement and guidance and for later pushing me to study
what was known about spelling, so that students could be helped to guess how to
pronounce the written word.

Judith Alderman, for drawing the pictures of the tongue shapes looking to the
front; Dorothy Cribbs, for developing the original widened vowel font; Ames
Kanemoto, for developing the concept of shrinking letters for continuants; and
Jack Rummel, for his fine ragtime.

Karen Shimoda, Development Editor, who has been a much valued partner,
helping solve the sequence and clarity issues that come with serious change;
Debbie Goldblatt, Project Manager, for thoughtful review; Karen Brock, Senior
Commissioning Editor, for her wisdom in decisions overseeing the development of
both the book series and the apps; and Sheryl Olinsky Borg, Publishing Manager,
and Maria Amélia Dalsenter, Managing Editor, for insightful supervision during the
finishing phases of these books, to make them as easy to teach from as possible.

And to all those whose dedicated professionalism has helped shape this new
edition of Clear Speech From the Start.

To Jerry, who fixes things.

viii • Acknowledgments
 Letter to the Teacher
For years before the first edition of this book, teachers had asked me to write a
lower-level version of Clear Speech, the intermediate-level book of this series, because
they felt that teaching pronunciation early would avoid fixed habits that are hard
to overcome later. Students get discouraged when their efforts to communicate are
misunderstood, so it is psychologically important to help them speak clearly from
the beginning. This second edition of Clear Speech From the Start follows the same
principles developed in the first edition but with new and improved features based on
teacher recommendations.

The following pages of this letter outline the new features of the second edition and
how they work with the six basic principles and approach of Clear Speech From the
Start. The letter also provides suggestions for teaching the activities.

I hope that you find using this second edition of Clear Speech From the Start to be an
enjoyable and professionally rewarding experience.

Judy B. Gilbert

Letter to the Teacher • ix

 New Features of Clear Speech From the Start,
Second Edition
• A pronunciation pyramid adds new support. This concept makes it
easier for students to understand how the various aspects of spoken English
work together. The pyramid is divided into four levels, each with a distinctive
color. The base, or foundation, level of the pyramid is the word group (a short
sentence, a clause, or a phrase). Within that base, there is the most important
word, which is the focus of the word group. Within the most important word,
there is one strong syllable. The vowel at the center of this syllable is the peak
vowel, which is the top of the pyramid and the peak of information. Accuracy is
necessary when pronouncing this vowel.

/æ/
peak vowel

matt
strong syllable

matter
the most important word

What’s the matter?

word group

Throughout the book, the pyramid appears at appropriate points to remind

students how the specific topic being taught fits into the whole system
of spoken English. With the same purpose, Rules and Vowel Work boxes
are shaded in the pyramid level color that corresponds to the topic being
presented.

• More support for vowel rules is given. Sound symbols are used in specific
tasks to help students recognize how pronunciation of sounds relates to the
spelling rules.
• Expanded appendices and extra practice are provided. The back of
the book now includes the original appendices with useful information and
mouth diagrams and new sections for extra practice with vowels and “problem”
consonants.

• A four-color design adds visual appeal and clarity to presentation and

practice. A color design as well as updated illustrations and graphics make the
presentations even clearer and provide more support for the practice tasks.

• The audio program is available for students to download. The

complete audio program for the Student's Book is available as MP3s on the
Clear Speech Website (www.cambridge.org/clearspeech). Students can now
download the audio for further practice outside the classroom.

• An App with games makes self-study practice more engaging. Four

games with hundreds of activities provide further practice of key pronunciation
aspects. The app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is available on the App Store.
x • Letter to the Teacher
Six Principles of Clear Speech From the Start
1 Topics that are the most important are taught first. This allows you to
focus on the elements your students need most, such as how English speakers call
attention to the most important words or which vowels need to be extra clear.

2 Teaching points are designed to help students with both listening

comprehension and intelligibility. Tasks are presented with plenty of listening
preparation before students are asked to speak. Words are presented both in
regular spelled form and in special word boxes that show how they sound.

3 Spelling and phonics rules are presented to help students guess

pronunciation. Vowel rule boxes provide the spelling and phonics rules
adapted to English language students’ needs. These rules can help students
guess the pronunciation of unknown words and make them much more
autonomous learners.

4 Visual and kinesthetic modes emphasize key points. For example, the
lengthening of strong (stressed) vowels is presented in the following manner.

ba nan a
This makes the presentation clearer and more memorable for learners,
especially visual and kinesthetic ones.

5 Signals of spoken English are combined into simple, memorable

phrases and sentences. The Music of English boxes show these simple, yet
common phrases and sentences, along with lines that illustrate the use of pitch
for emphasis. Practice with these phrases and sentences help fix patterns in
memory. A special color is used for these boxes, to indicate that all the levels of
the pronunciation pyramid are being practiced at the same time.

What’s the matter?

I lost my wallet!

6 Student pair work is emphasized. This provides a communicative

challenge and gives students the opportunity to practice not only speaking but
also practice listening to different voices and pronunciations.

Letter to the Teacher • xi

 The Clear Speech From the Start Approach
The relationship between speaking and listening comprehension is
made clear. Students who learn to recognize important signals of the natural
rhythms and melodies of English often report improved understanding of speech
on TV, in movies, and in face-to-face conversation.

English learners regularly complain, “Native speakers talk too fast.” This often
results from difficulty recognizing grammar signals: the plural ending of “books”;
the past tense ending of “called”; or the future tense in contractions like “I’ll.”
Learners also tend to miss the significance of signals of emphasis, such as the
difference between “Did you want a cup of soup?” vs. “Did you want a cup of
soup?” Another problem that slows down learner’s listening comprehension is
unawareness of signals of word grouping. For example, when a telephone number
is grouped incorrectly, the listener may be unable to understand it. All of these
signals make it difficult for learners to process incoming English efficiently and are
addressed in this book.

Students learn how rhythm and melody are used as signals. In English,
rhythm and melody serve as signals to help the listener follow the intentions of
the speaker. These signals communicate emphasis and make clear the relationship
between ideas so that listeners can readily identify these relationships and
understand the speaker’s meaning.

Learners typically do not notice these signals that native listeners count on to help
them follow meaning in a conversation. As a result, conversational breakdowns
occur. Emphasis that conveys the wrong meaning or word groups that either run
together or break in inappropriate places make it difficult for the listener to follow
the speaker’s meaning. If the burden becomes too great, the listener simply stops
listening. The principle of “helping the listener to follow,” therefore, is a vital one.
It is essential to helping students develop “listener-friendly” pronunciation.

Students are given rhythm training. It is not usually efficient to teach

individual sounds without establishing some basic understanding of the English
system of rhythm. People learning new languages tend to practice new sounds
in the rhythm of their first language, and this makes it harder to get the target
sounds right. Mastering the new rhythm will make it easier for students to say the
new sounds clearly.

Template sentences provide students with simple and transferable

patterns. The essence of the pronunciation pyramid is that all of the levels of
the pyramid – the building blocks of the spoken language – work at the same
time and are interdependent. However, we can’t teach all of these elements
simultaneously. The solution is to teach template sentences – the word group that
forms the base of the pyramid. These template sentences are found in the Music
of English boxes. When templates are solidly placed in long-term memory, they
can serve as an accurate resource for analysis of specific aspects of a flowing piece
of spoken English.

xii • Letter to the Teacher

Choral repetition reinforces the templates. The best way to teach
template sentences is through quality repetition. Repetition, a truly ancient
teaching method, fell into disfavor decades ago because teachers felt that it was
boring. Repetition practice can indeed be boring, but quality repetition creates a
momentum that is the opposite of boring and gives the students confidence.

To practice quality repetition, students first need to hear the template a number
of times – in varying ways (loud, soft, whisper, etc.) but always at a normal speed
retaining all the melodic and rhythmic features of natural English. If the sentence
is slowed down, it will tend to lose these essential features.

Choral response gives support to each speaker who, if speaking alone, might falter
and lose the rhythm. The auditory support of choral sound and the strengthening
effect of repetition give the students confidence and the satisfaction that they are
mastering a useful template of spoken English.

Teaching the Activities in Clear Speech From the Start

Clear Speech From the Start was designed to be used in a wide range of teaching
situations; therefore, you should feel free to choose those activities that are most
appropriate for your students. You may also wish to shorten some activities if
further practice is unnecessary.

Listening activities: Listening tasks such as “Which word do you hear?” and
“Which word is different?” can help students learn to recognize particular sounds
and stress patterns. When students practice hearing final sounds that make a
grammar difference – for example, past tense such as “closed” or plural endings
such as “books” – both listening comprehension and pronunciation will improve.

Student pair work: The pair-work practice is particularly important, as it gives

the students a great deal of realistic interactive speaking and listening. Pair work
offers the immediate feedback so important to motivation. Moreover, it places
more responsibility for learning where it belongs – with the student.

While students work together in pairs, you can circulate among them, giving help
on a more personal basis. To provide variety, the pair-work activities can be used
as a listening exercise, with the teacher playing the part of Student A and the
whole class playing Student B. Alternatively, one student can be Student A and
the rest of the class can be Student B.

Rhythm practice: Rhythm is taught mainly through the Music of English boxes,
but it is also effective when physical activity is included, such as marking time by
tapping the table or moving the body in some way. The Teacher's Resource and
Assessment Book suggests a variety of physical activities to reinforce the target
rhythm.

Letter to the Teacher • xiii

 Linking final sounds: Linking practice helps with listening comprehension,
since words in word groups typically run together and are linked as much as
possible to keep the group together. Also, this kind of practice helps students
concentrate on the particular sound being studied. Linking is shown in this book
by linking lines within printed words or by running words together in the gray
word boxes.

Another good use for linking practice is to choose any difficult sound, such as /l/.
For instance, sometimes it is difficult for learners to combine “tell” with a word
that begins with a vowel, like “everybody.” It should sound like “telleverybody.”
The reason this approach can help with a troublesome sound is that it may be
easier for students to say this sound at the beginning of a word rather than at the
end.

Pitch patterns: English language learners usually do not hear intonation very
well. When they listen to speech, they are powerfully distracted from paying
attention to pitch changes because they are struggling to understand sounds,
vocabulary, and grammar. The pitch lines in the Music of English boxes remind
students of the importance of pitch patterns in English.

Games: Some units include various types of games for extra practice. If class time
allows, these tasks can help consolidate the material practiced in the unit.

Pyramid reviews: Some units end with review tasks in which students fill in
parts of the pronunciation pyramid. These exercises can help students gradually
practice noticing the key elements in a word group.

Extra practice: If your students need additional work with the vowel sounds
and rules, use the exercises in Extra Practice 1, “Vowels,” at the end of the book.
If your students need more practice with some common problem consonant
sounds, use the exercises in Extra Practice 2, “Problem consonants.”

Use as many visual, kinesthetic, and auditory tools with these tasks as you can
think of. There are imaginative tips from teachers included in the Teacher’s
Resource and Assessment Book.

xiv • Letter to the Teacher

Components of Clear Speech From the Start,
Second Edition
In addition to this Student’s Book, this second edition of Clear Speech From the
Start also includes the following components:

• Teacher’s Resource and Assessment Book with practical explanations for

the rationale for each lesson, useful classroom procedures, teaching tips, as
well as the audio script and answer key for each task. It also includes a listening
diagnostic test, a speaking diagnostic test and a student pronunciation profile
form, 15 unit quizzes, and all the audio scripts and answer keys.

• Class Audio and Assessment CDs with three CDs including the audio for all
the listening tasks in the Student's Book and one CD including the audio for all
the tasks in the listening test and quizzes.

• App Basic Pronunciation: Clear Speech From the Start for iPhone, iPad, and iPod
touch, with hundreds of fun interactive activities for engaging practice with
word stress, syllables, and beginning and final sounds. It is available on the
App Store.

• Website (www.cambridge.org/clearspeech) with extra materials and

information about the series, including the complete audio for all the listening
activities in the Student's Book as downloadable MP3s.

Letter to the Teacher • xv

 Key to Sound Symbols
VOWELS
Cambridge
Dictionary
of American
English/
International
Clear Speech Phonetic
Key words From the Start Alphabet Your dictionary
cake, mail, pay /e y/ /eɪ/

pan, bat, hand /æ/ /æ/

tea, feet, key /i y/ /i:/

ten, well, red /ɛ/ /e/

ice, pie, night /ɑ y/ /ɑɪ/

is, fish, will /ɪ/ /ɪ/

cone, road, know /ow/ /oʊ/

top, rock, stop /ɑ/ /ɑ/

blue, school, new,

/uw/ /u:/
cube, few
cut, cup, us, rust, love /ʌ / /ʌ /

house, our, cow /ɑw/ /ɑʊ/

saw, talk, applause /ɔ/ /ɔ:/

boy, coin, join /ɔ y/ /ɔɪ/

put, book, woman /ʊ/ /ʊ/

alone, open, pencil,

/ə/ /ə/
atom, ketchup

xvi • Key to Sound Symbols

 CONSONANTS
Cambridge
Dictionary
of American
English/
International
Clear Speech Phonetic
Key words From the Start Alphabet Your dictionary
bid, job /b/ /b/

do, feed /d/ /d/

food, safe, leaf /f/ /f/

go, dog /g/ /g/

home, behind /h/ /h/

kiss, back /k/ /k/

load, pool, fail /l/ /l/

man, plum /m/ /m/

need, open /n/ /n/

pen, hope /p/ /p/

road, card /r/ /r/

see, recent /s/ /s/

show, nation, wash /ʃ/ /ʃ/

team, meat /t/ /t/

choose, watch /tʃ/ /tʃ/

think, both, teeth /θ/ /θ/

this, father, teethe /ð/ /ð/

visit, save, leave /v/ /v/

watch, away /w/ /w/

yes, onion /y/ /j/

zoo, these, ease /z/ /z/

beige, measure, Asia /ʒ/ /ʒ /

jump, bridge /dʒ/ /dʒ/

Key to Sound Symbols • xvii

 Clear
Speech
From the Start
 1 The Alphabet and Vowels
Cake, please.

A The alphabet
Listen.
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm
Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

B Vowel letters
Listen.
a e i o u

C Do you hear a ?
1 Listen. Mark Yes or No.
Yes No a
1. (cake)
2. (rice)
3.
4.
5.
6.
cake
2 Listen again.

D Do you hear e ?
1 Listen. Mark Yes or No.
Yes No e
1. (tea)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

2 Listen again.
tea
2 • Clear Speech From the Start
E Do you hear i ?
1 Listen. Mark Yes or No.
Yes No i
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
ice
2 Listen again.

F Do you hear o ?
1 Listen. Mark Yes or No.
Yes No o
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
cone
2 Listen again.

G Do you hear u ?
1 Listen. Mark Yes or No.
Yes No u
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
cube
2 Listen again.

Unit 1 • 3
 H Which word is different?
1 Listen to three words. One word is different. Mark it.
X Y Z
1. (see, see, say)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

2 Listen again.

I Saying the alphabet vowel sounds

Listen. Then say each sound until you can say it easily.

Letter Sound

a /e y/

e /i y/

i /ɑ y/ At the end of these sounds

the lips are wide.

o /o w/

u /u w/

At the end of these sounds

the lips are round.

4 • Clear Speech From the Start

J Key words for the alphabet vowel sounds
1 Listen. Then say each key word until you can say it easily.
Letter Sound Key word

a /e y/ cake

e /i y/ tea

i /ɑ y/ ice

o /o w/ cone

u /u w/ cube

2 Write the key words.

Letter Key word

Unit 1 • 5
 K Food
Listen. Say each word until you can say it easily.

Fast Burger
MEALS DESSERTS BEVERAGES
FastBurger Ice cream cones Juice
FPO
vanilla Lemonade
Cheeseburger
French fries 01.13
chocolate Coffee
Pie Tea
Cake Milk
Fruit Shakes
vanilla
chocolate

L Music of English
Listen. Then repeat each sentence until you can say it easily. Learn it like a
little song.

Cake, please.

Tea, please.

6 • Clear Speech From the Start