Color-Coded Exercises/ɛ/ - /æ/ Newcastle Language Systems
To benefit from this exercise, please watch the following videos FIRST:
1) English Pronunciation: Introduction to the Color-Coded System
2) English Pronunciation: Introduction to the Five Front Vowels
3) English Pronunciation: Introduction to /eɪ/ - /ɛ/ Grape / Yellow Vowels
4) The Color-Coded Exercise for the /eɪ/ - /ɛ/ Grape / Yellow Vowels
This video exercise helps learners of English to produce the front vowel sounds that we hear in the word YELLOW and the first syllable of LAVENDAR.
After learning one of these vowels, English learners often simply use the SAME vowel to produce both sounds. This appears to be a common issue with native speakers of the Slavic language group, who will often produce a word like "bat" [bæt] by using the /ɛ/ sound of YELLOW, so it sounds like "bet" [bɛt]. For native speakers of the Chinese language group, however, the situation is often the exact opposite. Therefore, as Jack states in the Yellow - Lavendar introductory lesson, some learners may find it easier to work through this exercise backwards, starting withe the /æ/ sound and then using it to find the /ɛ/ sound.
Finally, learners wishing to successfully add the sounds to their set of pronunciation skills should practice for a few minutes EVERY DAY, as practicing only once per week does not lead to improvement. Of course, if you still need some help after working through the exercises, you can always schedule pronunciation lessons with us at newcastlels.com. Our method has helped many students add the sounds of English to their set of linguistic skills, and we're sure we can do the same for you. Classes may be one-on-one if you like, but we can also accommodate up to 3 students for the price of 1. Additionally, we have classes in Conversational English, Business English, Writing, and we can help you with that TOEFL, TOEIC, or IELTS you may need to pass!