Listening: Basic Auditory Perception & Discrimination A1 - Lesson 2: Recognizing Letters of the Alphabet by Sound

Listening: Recognizing Alphabet Sounds

CEFR Level A1

Lesson Goals

In this lesson, you will practice listening to and identifying the different sounds of the 26 letters in the English alphabet. This is a very important first step for spelling!

Grouping Letters by Sound

Welcome! Some English letters have similar sounds. Let's group them together to make them easier to remember. Listen carefully to your teacher or the audio for each group.

Sound Group 1: The /iː/ (ee) Sound

These letters all end with a long "ee" sound, like in the English word "see".

B

C

D

E

G

P

T

V

Z

Sound Group 2: The /eɪ/ (ay) Sound

These letters have an "ay" sound, like in the English word "day".

A

H

J

K

Sound Group 3: The /ɛ/ (eh) Sound

These letters start with a short "eh" sound, like at the beginning of the English word "egg".

F

L

M

N

S

X

Sound Group 4: Other Key Sounds

A few letters have unique sounds. Let's practice them together.

I

O

Q

R

U

W

Y

Key Tip for Khmer Speakers: The Letter 'R'

The English 'R' sound can be tricky. In Khmer, the 'R' sound (រ) is often made with the tip of the tongue vibrating at the front of the mouth.

For the English 'R', pull your tongue back. The tip of your tongue should not touch anything. It sounds more like "ar", not "rrrr".

Watch Out! Tricky Letter Pairs

Some letters sound very similar and can be confusing. Listen carefully to the difference:

• G (sounds like "jee") vs. J (sounds like "jay")
• M (lips closed at the start, "emm") vs. N (tongue behind teeth, "enn")
• V (top teeth on bottom lip, vibrate, "vee") vs. B (lips together, "bee")

Activity: Listen and Write

Your teacher will say the name of a letter. Listen carefully and write the capital letter you hear on a piece of paper.

1. Listen for: "jee" (You write: _____)
2. Listen for: "jay" (You write: _____)
3. Listen for: "enn" (You write: _____)
4. Listen for: "vee" (You write: _____)
5. Listen for: "why" (You write: _____)

Click to Show Answers

Answers: G, J, N, V, Y

Vocabulary

• Alphabet (noun) [Khmer: អក្ខរក្រម]

  The set of all letters used to write a language (A, B, C...).

• Spell (verb) [Khmer: ប្រកប]

  To say or write the letters of a word in the correct order. Example: "How do you spell your name?"

Your Mission

Now it's your turn to practice! Complete these two tasks before our next lesson.

1. Record Your Name: Use your phone to record your voice. Say your first name and then spell it slowly. For example: "My name is Vanna. V... A... N... N... A." Listen to your recording. Are the letter sounds clear?
2. Listen to the ABC Song: Search on YouTube for "The ABC Song". Listen to it 2 or 3 times. Singing along is a great way to remember the letter sounds and their order.