Bonus lesson
Spelling on the phone
In this lesson you will learn to spell words in a way that is clear
and easily understood
When native speakers spell words over the phone
they often give a prompt word
For example, if I was spelling the word "cam"
I would say, "c" for cat
"a" for apple
"m" for mother
"Cam"
This helps the listener on the other end of the phone
know exactly which letters we mean
Because letters can be difficult to hear over the phone
In your Star Notes you will see a list of all the letters in English
and some prompt options for you to use
Choose the one that you are most confident with pronouncing
But, you can use any word, really.
Often, people use place names
people's names, or animal names
Things that are easy to understand and recognize
We have put a tick next to the ones that we recommend you use a prompt word for
These are the ones that are most likely to cause confusion
Let's go through them now
As we go through them
double-check you are making the vowel sounds correctly
Remember that the two dots mean
It is a long single vowel
Also, check your diphthongs
"A"
"O"
Let's look at the first one
"A"
Make sure you get the two vowels in the diphthong
It's not "eh"
It's "a"
If you use "eh", people will be confused and think that you mean this letter
It's "a"
"A" for America
"A" for apple
"B"
Remember it is a long single vowel
"B"
"B" for Bob
"B" for baby
"C"
"C" for cat
"C" for Canada
"D"
"D" for dog
"D" for dollar
"E"
"E" for Egypt
"E" for elephant
"F"
"F" for France
"F" for friend
"G"
Make sure you get a good long single "e" vowel, ready?
"E"
"G"
"G" for Germany
"G" for giraffe
"H"
Check your "a" vowel
It's not "itch"
It's "H"
"H" for Harry
"H" for helicopter
"I"
"I" for India
"I" for Italy
"J"
Check your "a" diphthong vowel
"A"
"J"
"J" for Japan
"J" for July
"K"
Check your "a" vowel
"K"
Kangaroo
Kodak
"L"
"L" for London
"L" for lemon
"M"
"M" for Mexico
"M" for mother
"N"
"N" for New York
"N" for Nancy
You should always use a prompt word, over the phone, for the letters "m" and "n"
Because if you can't see my mouth
these sound almost exactly the same
Native speakers often use prompt words for these
because they are easily confused
So remember, use a prompt word for the letters "m" and "n"!
"O"
Check your diphthong vowel
"O"
"O" for October
"O" for Oliver
"P"
"P" for Peter
"P" for Paris
"Q"
"Q" for queen
"Q" for quick
"R"
"R" for Robert
"R" for Roger
"S"
"S" for snake
"S" for Sam
The sounds "s" and "f" are also easily confused over the phone
They can sound almost exactly the same
So remember to use a prompt word when you are spelling out words with "s" and "f"
"T"
"T" for Tom
"T" for tiger
"U"
"U" for unite
"U" for under
"V"
"V" for Victor
"V" for Victoria
"W"
"W" for white
"W" for water
"X"
"X" for x-ray
"Y"
"Y" for yellow
"Y" for yes
"Z"
"Z" for zoo
"Z" for zero
This letter is pronounced as "zee" in American English
In other types of English it is "z"
Using prompt words often saves time
because it means there is no confusion
When we are giving an email address, we say "dot" for a full stop
We say "at" for this symbol
And we say "dot com" for this ending
Listen to this example
Okay, I'll spell my email address for you
It's Vivian
That's "V" for Victor
"I" for India
"V" for Victor
"I" for India
"A" for apple
"N" for Nancy
dot
Wong
That's "W"
"O"
"N" for Nancy
"G"
at
Towline
"T" for Tom
"O"
"W"
"L" for London
"I" for India
"N" for Nancy
"E" for Egypt
dot net
dot ca
Practice spelling the following out loud, using the recommended prompt
Your first name
and last name
Your personal email address
Your work email address
Your postal address
Your work address
and your home address
And here are some helpful phrases for speaking on the phone
Could you spell that for me please?
Sorry, could you repeat that please?
Sorry, I missed that. Was that "m" for mother or "n" for Nancy?