The Sound k In American English
The Sound of the Letter k
The letters "c" and "k", as well as the multigraph "ck" can make the sound /k/ in English. This pronunciation drill focuses on this sound and gives you practice with the sound in a wide range of syllable structures. The drill includes the following combinations:
Vowel + Consonant (VC)
Consonant + Vowel (CV)
Vowel + Consonant + Consonant (VCC)
Vowel + Consonant + Consonant + Consonant (VCCC)
Vowel + Consonant + Consonant + Consonant + Consonant (VCCCC)
Consonant + Consonant + Vowel (CCV)
The present lesson focuses on the simpler VC, CV, and VCC combinations, while the more complex VCCC, VCCCC, and CCV combinations are dealt with in a separate lesson.
Step 1: Vowel + Consonant
Repeat each word aloud at least 3 times.
i + k → /ik/
peak, leak, geek
Short i + k → /ɪk/
lick, sick, pick
Short e + k → /ɛk/
deck, check, peck
æ + k → /æk/
back, rack, sack
a + k → /ɑk/
rock, dock, mock
Short a + k → /ʌk/
luck, duck, tuck
Short u + k → /ʊk/
book, cook, look
u + k → /uk/
duke, nuke, fluke
eɪ + k → /eɪk/
make, cake, bake
aɪ + k → /aɪk/
bike, like, hike
Long o + k → /oʊk/
joke, poke, woke
Step 2: Consonant +Vowel
Repeat each word aloud at least 3 times.
k + i → /ki/
key, keen, keep
k + Short i → /kɪ/
kid, kiss, kill
k + Short e → /kɛ/
kept, keg
k + æ → /kæ/
cat, cap, cash
k + a → /kɑ/
cot, con, come
k + Short a → /kʌ/
cut, cup, cult
k + Short u → /kʊ/
could, cook
k + u → /ku/
cool, coop, cougar
k + ɔɪ → /kɔɪ/
coy, coil, coin
k + eɪ → /keɪ/
cape, cage, cave
k + aɪ → /kaɪ/
kite, kind
k + aʊ → /kaʊ/
cow, coward
k + Long o → /koʊ/
coat, code, cold
Step 3: Vowel + Consonant + Consonant
Repeat each word aloud at least 3 times. The words in this section include consonant clusters, so they might require more practice.
i + k + t → /ɪk/
leaked, shrieked, peaked
Short i + k + t → /ɪk/
strict, picked, licked
Short e + k + t → /ɛkt/
direct, perfect, respect
æ + k + t → /ækt/
act, fact, packed
a + k + t → /ɑkt/
walked, talked, rocked
Short a + k + t → /ʌkt/
construct , instruct, obstruct
Short u + k + t → /ʊkt/
looked, booked, cooked
eɪ + k + t → /eɪkt/
baked, faked, raked
aɪ + k + t → /aɪkt/
liked, hiked, spiked
Long o + k + t → /oʊkt/
poked, soaked, cloaked
i + k + s → /iks/
peaks, leaks, weeks
Short i + k + s → /ɪks/
six, picks, mix
Short e + k + s → /ɛks/
decks, sex, vex
æ + k + s → /æks/
ax, tax, racks
a + k + s → /ɑks/
box, fox, rocks
Short a + k + s → /ʌks/
flux, ducks, tucks
Short u + k + s → /ʊks/
books, looks, cooks
eɪ + k + s → /eɪks/
makes, bakes, cakes
aɪ + k + s → /aɪks/
likes, bikes, hikes
oʊ + k + s → /oʊks/
oaks, jokes, pokes
Sentence Drills
Kate kept a black cat.
The cook cut cold cake.
Kim packed six thick books.
The thick cake cooled on the rack.
The kid kicked the soccer ball.
Carl packed his backpack carefully.
The duck pecked at the corn.
A quick fox jumped across the creek.
Kate locked the back gate.
The camp cook cracked six eggs.
Comments
(0)- The Sound of the Letter k
- i + k + t → /ɪk/
- Short i + k + t → /ɪk/
- Short e + k + t → /ɛkt/
- æ + k + t → /ækt/
- a + k + t → /ɑkt/
- Short a + k + t → /ʌkt/
- Short u + k + t → /ʊkt/
- eɪ + k + t → /eɪkt/
- aɪ + k + t → /aɪkt/
- Long o + k + t → /oʊkt/
- i + k + s → /iks/
- Short i + k + s → /ɪks/
- Short e + k + s → /ɛks/
- æ + k + s → /æks/
- a + k + s → /ɑks/
- Short a + k + s → /ʌks/
- Short u + k + s → /ʊks/
- eɪ + k + s → /eɪks/
- aɪ + k + s → /aɪks/
- oʊ + k + s → /oʊks/
- Sentence Drills
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