English Highway Podcast

Pronunciation: The short /u/ (#0266)

Learn the short /u/ vowel sound using vocabulary words and
sentences.

Announcer: You’re about to listen to an audio lesson from OpenEnglish.com.

Welcome! I’m Andres Moreno, and I’ll be your coach for today’s audio
lesson. I’m excited about this lesson because we’ll be working on a very
challenging vowel sound.
We’re going to work on the short “u” vowel sound, like in the word, “cup.”
Repeat after me:

“cup”

“cup”

Stretch it, let me hear it:

“cup”

“cup”

It’s probably one of the most common vowel sounds you’ll hear. Let’s
keep practicing. Repeat after me:

“up”

You can do it. Come on:

“up”

“under”

“under”

“under”

Here’s a couple of more examples. Repeat after me:

“gum”

“gum”

“gum”

That’s it. And again:

“brush”

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 One more time:

“brush”

“brush”

That’s it. You got it. Now, let’s use the short “u” vowel sound in a few
sentences. Repeat after me:

“Brush your teeth.”

And again, come on:

“Brush your teeth.”

Nice job. You got it. So how do you brush your teeth? Repeat after me:

“up and down”

“up”

“up and down”

Good job. When you’re brushing your teeth, you can’t forget to brush
your gums. So repeat after me:

“Brush your gums.”

“brush”

“gums”

“Brush your gums.”

That’s it.
When someone asks you, “Where do you keep your toothbrush?”
You say, “I keep it under the sink.”

So repeat after me:

“under the sink”

“under”

“under the sink”

Way to go. Let’s keep practicing this sound. Repeat after me:

“understand”

“under”

“understand”

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 Good job. Here’s another word:

“truck”

And again:

“truck”

That’s it. One more time:

“hug”

And again:

“hug”
You got it. Let’s practice some short phrases with these words:

“I understand.”

“Give me a hug.”

One more time, come on:

“Give me a hug.”

That’s it. Let’s keep practicing. Five (only did 4) more sentences and
we’re done with today’s lesson. So repeat after me:

“umbrella”

“umbrella”

“umbrella”

“Get me an umbrella.”

That’s it. One more time:

“Get me an umbrella.”

Good job. Next sentence, repeat after me:

“Drink from the cup.”

And again:

“cup”

“Drink from the cup.”

Good job. Here’s another one. Repeat after me:

“He bought a new truck.”

An original Open English production in association with Cl@se.

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 “truck”

“He bought a new truck.”

That’s it. We’re almost there. One more sentence and we’re done for
today. Repeat after me:

“bus”

“I have to catch the bus.”

And again, repeat after me:

“I have to catch the bus.”

That was excellent! Congratulations! With every new lesson, your

listening skills are getting better and better. Continue to work with these
lessons as often as possible because remember, practice makes perfect!
For additional practice, turn on your computer and go to
OpenEnglish.com. At OpenEnglish, you’ll find hundreds of interactive
lessons and videos to help you perfect your English. Accelerate your
English today. See you soon.

Additional practice: Short “o” vowel sound

Words:
cup
up
under
gum
brush
up and down
under the sink
under
understand
truck
hug
umbrella
bus

Sentences:
“Brush your teeth.”
“Brush your gums.”
“I understand.”
“Give me a hug.”
“Get me an umbrella.”
“Drink from the cup.”
“He bought a new truck.”
“I have to catch the bus.”

An original Open English production in association with Cl@se.

Copyright© FoxyP2 Inc. and Rainbow Heights International LLC
Page 4 of 4