Accent training exercises: Learn vowel sounds with the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)

The key to improving your English pronunciation is vowel pronunciation. In this pronunciation lesson, you’ll learn the vowels of English through the IPA — the International Phonetic Alphabet. I will teach you four of the vowel sounds in English: /ɪ/ as in ship, /I:/ as in sheep, /ʊ/ as in cook, and /u:/ as in blue. We will compare and contrast these vowel phonemes in different practical exercises so that you can hear and remember them. This lesson is both for beginners who are completely new to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as well as for advanced learners who could benefit from some revision of the English vowel sounds to improve their clarity and accent.