This resource was created using time and materials from a mini-grant awarded summer 2004, to provide extra practice opportunities for students in Judy Kuster's CDis 292: Phonetics course. It is accessible on the Internet. It is also available on CD rom which can be used off-line on either MAC or PC computers that have a CD player and the proper software installed. For those wishing to practice off-line, a CD is available for a $5 deposit. The deposit will be returned at the end of the semester when the CD is returned.
INSTRUCTIONS: What follows are 5 sets of 10 words for each American English vowel and diphthong being taught in this phonetics class. The link to "how this vowel is pronounced" leads to a wonderful resource at the University of Iowa that has a quicktime movie of the Sounds of American English that depicts how each sound is produced and what each sound, sounds like. The link is at the top of each of the sets below. You'll need to go into the site and open either the "monophthongs" or "diphthongs" and then select the specific sound (front, central, or back). You'll need to have Flash 4 or higher plugin and QuickTime 4 or higher to use this web site. Netscape or Internet Explorer version 4 or better is recommended and Javascript must be enabled on your computer to access this information the University of Iowa site. It is worth the effort!
The vowels listed at the beginning of each set are pronounced by the instructor for this class. The practice opportunities should accompany the vowels as they are being taught in class. Open each set and practice transcribing the words in sets of 10. After you have transcribed each set of 10, check your answers. If you discover more than one error in any set, repeat that set until you can transcribe it with no more than one error per set. Then there are several short sentences with the target vowel featured. Transcribe the sentences and check against the answers provided. If you have more than a total of 3 errors in the sentences, repeat until you can transcribe with no more than 3 mistakes. Since this is a building process, previously practiced vowels will also be used in the words and sentences.
