Why do we write letters we don’t pronounce? In this episode, we explore the silent “b” in words like lamb, thumb, comb, debt, doubt and subtle, and uncover the history behind it. By the end, you’ll see how English spelling reflects its past, and why pronunciation doesn’t always follow the rules.

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274

Practice three key British vowel sounds: /ɒ/, /əʊ/, and /ɔː/. Improve your pronunciation with clear examples and focused contrast exercises.

Transcript:

/ɒ/ — octopus, on, olive, lot, stop, dog, clock, box, shop, pocket, orange, problem, bottle

/ɔː/ — door, floor, more, short, born, or, ornament, four, core, store, before, score

/əʊ/ — open, ocean, oak, go, home, nose, road, stone, hope, boat, don’t

/ɒ/ and /ʌ/: cot - cup, cot – cut, not – nut, lock – luck, stock – stuck, cop – cup, pot - putt, rock - ruck, sock - suck, mock - muck, dock - duck, rob - rub

/ɒ/ and /ɔː/: cot – caught, stock – stalk, cod – cord, collar – caller, pot - port, shot - short, flock - fork, wok - walk, Don - dawn, not - nought, cot - court, stop - stork

/əʊ/ and /ɔː/: so – saw, no – nor, go – gore, toe – tore, load – lord, bow - bore, low - law, row - roar, show - shore, code - cord

/əʊ/ and /ɒ/: no – not, go – got, code – cod, hope – hop, load – lot, rode – rod, robe – rob, choke - chock, toad - Tod

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274

In this episode, we focus on three key British vowel sounds linked to the letter O that learners often confuse: /ɒ/ (as in octopus), /əʊ/ (as in go), and /ɔː/ (as in door).

You’ll learn how to clearly distinguish these sounds by focusing on mouth position, length, and movement—not just how they sound, but how they feel when you produce them.

We break down:

• The difference between /ɒ/ and /ʌ/ (e.g. cot vs cut)
• The contrast between /ɒ/ and /ɔː/ (e.g. cot vs caught)
• How to correctly produce the diphthong /əʊ/ and avoid flattening it
• Key distinctions between movement vs stillness and length vs glide

You’ll also practise with clear minimal pairs to build awareness and control.

By the end, you’ll have a simple framework:

• /ɒ/ = short and open
• /ɔː/ = long and rounded
• /əʊ/ = moving from neutral to rounded

In the next episode, we’ll focus on practice to help you build consistency and accuracy.

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274