English spelling is at best confusing and at worst a hot mess.

It is no wonder so many ESL students struggle with making the connection
between written words in English and how they are pronounced. Sometimes
there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I am a big proponent of
teaching the phonetic alphabet to ESL students, primarily because I think it
makes a big difference in their ability to achieve accurate pronunciation. But
sometimes the phonetic alphabet is not an option. You might have ESL students
who are casually studying the language and do not want to cover any material so
academic. You might opt out of teaching the phonetic alphabet because you just
have too many other things to do. Or it might be some other reason. After all,
how many dictionaries use the phonetic alphabet when listing the pronunciation
for an entry? Whatever your reason for not using the phonetic alphabet, there is
good news. As unpredictable as English spelling and pronunciation may seem at
times, there are some rules that your students can follow when they encounter
unfamiliar words. Here are seven simple spelling and pronunciation connections
you can share with your students to help them achieve accurate pronunciation.

Remember Rules for Pronouncing Vowels
 Before going through these rules with your students, they will need to
know the difference between short vowel sounds and long vowel sounds.
If you are unclear about these definitions, look for an explanation in a
standard English only dictionary or read about it here.



1
A Vowel Followed by a Single Consonant at the End of a Word
Is Pronounced as a Short Vowel
Words that conform to this rule are often some of the first that
students of English (as well as native speakers) learn to read. Pup
has cup. Man has ham. All of these words follow the short vowel +
consonant rule. You might see these words represented in this way. CVC.

want. The Preceding Vowel (Separated from the E by One or More Consonants) Will Be Pronounced as a Long Vowel Silent e is one of the first spelling rules children learn in school. and no wonder since it is so common in English. If you are teaching .  3 If a Vowel Is the Final Letter in a Word. You might see these words represented like this CV. Some examples of single syllable words which follow this rule are go. be. CVCC. Either way. Multiple syllable examples include ago and ego. A final vowel at the end of a word is pronounced as a long vowel. and bark. It Is Silent. hand. the pronunciation rule remains the same. lo. You may see these types of words represented in this way. It Is Pronounced as a Long Vowel A vowel at the end of a word may appear in a single syllable word or a multisyllabic word. and he. 2 A Vowel Followed by Two Consonants at the End of a Word Is Pronounced as a Short Vowel Words that conform to this rule may be single vowels followed by a consonant blend (see below for an explanation of consonant blends) or those that are followed by two distinct consonants. Some examples include the following: stops. wish.  4 If an E Appears at the End of a Word. pi.

you might have students underline or cross out the silent e and mark the preceding vowel as long. These vowel combinations come in all kinds of match ups. ch (chair).  5 If Two Vowels Appear next to Each Other in One Syllable. Some blends are clearly two sounds which become one complex sound (for example bl in black. You can find examples throughout the English language. note. and ape. and load. r.phonics. the Second Vowel Is Silent and the First Vowel Is Pronounced as a Long Vowel We see vowel combinations all the time in English. flute. A general rule as to their pronunciation is to say the first vowel and ignore the second. or s but not always. but some of them are hate.A consonant blend is two or more letters that are pronounced as one sound in English. English examples include true. beat. tch (watch) and others.  6 If One Consonant Follows a Vowel in the Middle of a Word. care. tr as in atrophy). You might see words which follow this rule represented this way: CVVC. You might see words which follow this rule represented in this way: CVCe. These sounds include sh (wish). bite. leaf. nice. Consider Rules for Pronouncing Consonants  One thing to keep in mind when discussing consonant pronunciation are consonant blends. They often include the letters l. train. Other “blends” are actually only one English sound which is spelled by using two or more consonants. It Is Pronounced as the First Sound in the Next Syllable .

When a consonant is doubled in the middle of a word. consonant blends act as one consonant sound. . They may choose to use these rules to pronounce words they have never seen before. it also follows this rule. and haz-mat. Ultimately.Where a consonant is pronounced in a word does make a difference in a student’s pronunciation. lo-cate (not loc-ate) and pro-tect (not prot-ect). ab-ject. but nonblend neighboring consonants will follow this rule. What matters most. Other examples include tele-phone (not teleph-one). while generally true. Clearly the second is the correct pronunciation while the first sounds. One Vowel Is Pronounced at the End of the First Syllable and the Other Is Pronounced at the Beginning of the Next Vowel Of course. at best. Some examples include sub-ject. however.  7 When Two Consonants Follow a Vowel in the Middle of a Word. Think about the difference between pap-er and pa-per. is that these rules give your students a place to start when they encounter a word that they do not know how to pronounce. particularly if they speak slowly. tal-ly. When you teach them to your students. English is a complicated language with complicated rules of spelling and pronunciation. These rules. be sure that they know these rules are not hard and fast and that exceptions can be found to each of them. or they may use the rules to determine the spelling of an unfamiliar word they have heard pronounced. strange. do have exceptions. and at worst like a different word entirely. la-bor (not lab-or). top-ple.