Shadowing Practice: English Pronunciation Training: Short & Long Vowel Sounds (Full Guide) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Do you often mispronounce words like bit and bite in English conversations?
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Then this lesson will fix that today.
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Today I'll show you the difference between short and long vowel sounds, how to pronounce them correctly,
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and some simple tricks to help you speak more clearly and confidently.
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This video is divided into five sections.
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We'll look at all the vowel sounds.
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A, E, I, O and U.
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We're going to start with the letter E.
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As a short vowel, it's pronounced E.
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To make this sound, open your mouth lightly and just say E.
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E. And as a long vowel, it's pronounced EEEE.
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So your mouth spreads and you say the sound for a longer time.
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EEEE.
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EEEE.
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Let's look at some words.
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We've got PET with the short vowel sound and PET with the long vowel sound.
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I'm going to pronounce every letter individually now so you can hear and practice the sound.
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This is a great technique to improve your pronunciation accuracy.
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So we've got p -e -t, pet.
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And the long vowel is p -e -t, peat.
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In the word Pete, the E at the end makes the vowel long.
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This is called a split digraph.
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Two vowels working together even though there is a letter in between.
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So here we say P -E -T, Pete.
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The E at the end is silent.
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Let's try another example.
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Met, meet.
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As you can see, it is extremely important to pronounce the vowel sounds correctly because the words change meaning.
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Now, let's move on to the letter U.
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As a short vowel, this is pronounced A.
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You open your mouth a little bit more this time and just say a short sound.
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Uh.
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Uh.
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And as a long vowel, it's pronounced U.
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U. It's made up of two sounds.
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The sound Y and the sound U.
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You glide those two sounds together.
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You, you, you.
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Your mouth starts off spread and then moves into a slight circle.
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You, you.
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Let's practice these two sounds in some words.
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Repeat after me and focus on the difference in sound tub,
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tube, cut, cute, cub, cube,
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hug, huge, us, use, bus, fuse.
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Next we have the letter O.
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As a short vowel this is pronounced O.
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To make this sound you open your mouth in a round circular shape and say a short O sound sound.
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And as a long vowel, this is pronounced O, O.
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Your mouth starts off being quite big and round and then gets smaller.
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O, O, O, O, O.
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And now let's look at some examples.
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Listen Listen and repeat to train your ear.
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Pop.
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Pape, nut, note, cod, code,
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con, cone, hop, hope, rod,
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road, rob, robe, mop, mape, Cop.
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Cope.
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Now let's take a look at the letter I.
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As a short vowel, this is pronounced as I.
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You kind of smile, spread your lips and say I.
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I And as a long vowel, it's pronounced I.
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I It's made up out of two sounds.
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The sound A and the sound E.
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A E.
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And if you glide those two sounds together you get AYE.
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Your mouth starts off quite round and then spreads AYE.
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Now repeat after me and focus on the vowel sound.
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Bit, bite.
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Fin, fine.
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Tim, time.
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Dim, dime time, sid, side,
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pin, pine, win, wine, kit,
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kite, red, ride, rip, ripe,
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twin, twine, Slid, slide and finally the letter A.
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As a short vowel it's pronounced as A.
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You open your mouth, it's quite round and you say the short sound A.
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Ah.
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Ah.
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You try.
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And as a long vowel sound, it's pronounced A.
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And this sound is made out of two sounds.
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So you have the sound E and E.
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So your mouth starts off quite spread and then spreads even more.
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You try.
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Let's look at some examples.
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Repeat after me and focus on the vowel sounds.
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Cap.
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Cape.
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Dan.
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Jan, Dane, Fad, Fade, Fat,
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Fate, Jan, Jane, Man, Mane,
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Mad, Maid, Mat, Mate, Pal,
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Pale, pan pain rat
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rate sam same tam
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tame tap tape van vein sag sage rag
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Rage Wag Wage And remember,
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short vowels are quick sounds and long vowels are long sounds and they say their letter name.
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If you'd like to practice these words some more, you can download the worksheet.
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The link is in the description.
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And if you want to improve your pronunciation even more and speak more confidently in English conversations,
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watch this lesson next.
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Bye for now.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “English Pronunciation Training: Short & Long Vowel Sounds”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sound, vowel, pronounced, mouth, letter. This video has 102 sentences and 751 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:04. The speaker talks slowly, about 75 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 72% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| litter noun | /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ | Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| twin noun | /twɪn/ | Either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared the same uterus at the same time; one who was born at the same birth as a sibling. |
| bite verb | /baɪt/ | To cut into something by clamping the teeth. |
| correctly adverb | /kəˈɹɛk(t).li/ | In a correct manner. |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| silent adjective | /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ | Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. |
| tape noun | /teɪ̯p/ | Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape. |
| fate noun | /feɪt/ | The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events. |
| tube noun | /tuːb/ | Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape. |
| cape noun | /keɪp/ | A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland. |
| slide noun | /ˈslaɪ̯d/ | An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| start off verb | To begin. |
| make out of verb | To construct from; to create (something) using (a material or substance). |
| work together verb | To be coworkers with someone; to share a workspace with someone. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- We'll look at all the vowel sounds.
- Let's look at some words.
- Let's practice these two sounds in some words.
- Let's look at some examples.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is divided · is called · is pronounced |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will fix · I'll show · We'll look |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | We're going to start · I'm going to pronounce |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as we've, I'll, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, accuracy /ˈæk.jɚ.ə.si/, individually /ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒ(u)əli/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like pronounce, litter, lesson.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.