Lesson 1 · Lesson guide
The English alphabet
Hello, my dear student!
Today we start at the very beginning: the English alphabet. It looks easy, I know. But every English word you will ever read, write or spell is made of these 26 letters, so let’s learn them properly, together.
Go through this guide with me, chapter by chapter. Press every listen button and say the letters out loud (yes, really out loud!). After that, the exercises will feel easy.
See you in the exercises,Your teacher
Your browser has no English voice, so the listen buttons are hidden. Everything is written on the page.
What we’ll learn today
- 26letters
- 5vowels
- 21consonants
- 15minutes with this guide
By the end of this lesson, you will
- say the name of all 26 letters, from A to Z
- match every capital letter (A) with its small letter (a)
- know the five vowels: A, E, I, O, U
- tell apart letters that sound or look alike
- spell your own name in English, like in the IELTS exam
A note from your teacher
Don’t rush. Fifteen minutes here will save you an hour of mistakes later.
Four things I want you to understand
Read each card, then listen to the examples.
Idea 1
Every letter has two shapes
A capital (big) shape and a small shape. We use capitals at the start of a sentence, for names of people and places, and for I (“me”). Everywhere else: small letters.
- A a
- G g
- Q q
- London(London)
- My name is Ali.(Mening ismim Ali.)
Idea 2
A letter has a name and a sound
The name is what we say when we spell: C is “see”. The sound is what the letter does inside a word: the C in “cat” sounds like k. Today we learn the names. Sounds come next.
- C “see”(C harfining nomi)
- cat(mushuk)
- H “aitch”(H harfining nomi)
- hat(shlyapa)
Idea 3
Vowels and consonants
Five letters are vowels: A, E, I, O, U. The other 21 are consonants. Almost every English word has a vowel, so learn these five first. (Y sometimes works like a vowel too, as in “my”.)
- A E I O U
- cat(mushuk)
- dog(it)
- sun(quyosh)
Idea 4
Why the names matter for IELTS
People spell names, emails and addresses all the time. In IELTS Listening you will hear someone spell a name, and you must write it with no mistakes. It all starts here.
- S-A-R-A → Sara(Ismni harflab aytish)
- B for ball(B — ball (toʻp) soʻzidagi kabi)
- double L(ikkita L)
Remember!
A letter has a name (for spelling) and a sound (in words). Today we learn the names.
Listen and repeat after me
Tap any letter: you hear its name and see a word that starts with it. Say each one out loud. Then press Play A to Z and say the whole alphabet together with the voice.
A note from your teacher
Everyone asks me: “Why is W called double-you?” Look at it: it is two Us side by side, UU. Long ago it was really written like that!
My favourite trick: letters that rhyme
Learning 26 separate names is hard. Learning 6 small groups is easy, because the letters in each group rhyme.
The “ay” group
They rhyme with “day”.
- A
- H
- J
- K
The “ee” group
They rhyme with “see”. The biggest group.
- B
- C
- D
- E
- G
- P
- T
- V
The “e” group
They start with the e of “egg”.
- F
- L
- M
- N
- S
- X
- Z
The “eye” group
They rhyme with “my”.
- I
- Y
The “you” group
They rhyme with “you”.
- Q
- U
- W
On their own
O is “oh”, R is “are”.
- O
- R
A note from your teacher
Say each group like a little song: A, H, J, K! B, C, D, E, G, P, T, V! My students remember it in one day.
Letters that are easy to confuse
These are the letters my students mix up most. Tap the letters to hear the difference, read my tip, then press Test me: you hear one letter and tap which one it was.
A, E, I: the vowel trap
In Uzbek these letters are read a, e, i. In English their names are completely different, and E and I even seem swapped!
How to tell them apart A rhymes with day, E with see, I with my. Say it like a chant: “day, see, my → A, E, I”.
I and Y
Their names sound almost the same: “eye” and “why”.
How to tell them apart Y starts with a little w: “w-eye” = why. I is just “eye”, like the word for your eye.
V, W and Y
They look alike: v, w and y are all pointed letters. And W is called “double-you”, not “double-vee”!
How to tell them apart v is one valley, w is two valleys, y is a v with a tail. W is “double U” because long ago it was written UU.
G and J
Both names start with the same j sound: “jee” and “jay”.
How to tell them apart G ends like B, C, D (“ee”). J ends like A, K (“ay”). A jay is a bird: J is the bird letter.
B, P, V and D
All four end in “ee”, so they are hard to hear, especially on the phone or in a recording.
How to tell them apart B and P: close your lips (P has a puff of air: hold a paper in front of your mouth). V: top teeth on your bottom lip. D: tongue behind your top teeth.
M and N
“em” and “en” sound almost the same.
How to tell them apart M: close your lips, mmm. N: lips open, tongue up, nnn. In writing, m has two bumps and n has one.
C, S and Z
C is “see”, not “ts”. S is “ess”. Z is “zed”. Many learners say C the Russian way.
How to tell them apart C rhymes with B and D. S rhymes with “yes”. Z rhymes with “red”.
Q, U and W
All three end in “you”: “cue”, “you”, “double-you”.
How to tell them apart U is just “you”. Q adds a k in front: “k-you”. W is the long one: “double-you”.
Remember!
A is “ay”, E is “ee”, I is “eye”. Say it ten times: A–E–I, A–E–I!
How to write the letters
Small letters sit on a line. Some go up, some go down. Take a notebook and copy each group three times.
Tall letters
They go up above the others.
- b
- d
- f
- h
- k
- l
- t
Letters with a tail
They go down below the line.
- g
- j
- p
- q
- y
Short letters
They stay between the lines.
- a
- c
- e
- m
- n
- o
- r
- s
- u
- v
- w
- x
- z
Mirror letters
The same shape, turned around.
- b
- d
- p
- q
Letters with a dot
Small i and j have a dot. Capital I and J do not.
- i
- j
Same shape, just bigger
These capitals look like big small letters.
- C
- O
- S
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Z
Remember!
Can’t remember b or d? Make a bed with your hands: two thumbs up, fists together. Left hand is b, right hand is d.
Spelling out loud, like in real life
Listen to each phrase and repeat it. Then ask a friend to spell their name.
How do you spell that?
(Buni qanday harflab yozasiz?)
Ask this about any new word.
Can you spell your name, please?
(Ismingizni harflab ayta olasizmi?)
You will hear this in IELTS Listening Part 1.
It’s D-I-L-N-O-Z-A.
(U D-I-L-N-O-Z-A deb yoziladi.)
Say each letter clearly, with a short pause.
H-E-double L-O.
(H-E-ikkita L-O.)
Two same letters together: say “double”.
London starts with a capital L.
(London bosh L harfi bilan boshlanadi.)
Say “capital” for a big letter.
Is that B for ball or P for pizza?
(Bu ball dagi B mi yoki pizza dagi P mi?)
Check letters that sound alike with a word.
Sorry, can you say that again, please?
(Kechirasiz, yana bir bor ayta olasizmi?)
When you did not hear a letter. It is always OK to ask!
Listen to a real conversation
Press Play all and follow the text. Then practise it with a friend, using your own names.
- Receptionist
Good morning. What’s your name, please?(Xayrli tong. Ismingiz nima?)
- Student
My name is Aziz Karimov.(Mening ismim Aziz Karimov.)
- Receptionist
How do you spell your first name?(Ismingizni qanday harflaysiz?)
- Student
A-Z-I-Z.
- Receptionist
Is that Z for zebra?(Bu zebra dagi Z mi?)
- Student
Yes, two Zs.(Ha, ikkita Z.)
- Receptionist
Thank you. And your surname?(Rahmat. Familiyangiz-chi?)
- Student
K-A-R-I-M-O-V.
IELTS tip: Listening Part 1 sounds exactly like this: a form, a name and its spelling. Write names with a capital letter and check every letter: one wrong letter makes the whole answer wrong.
A note from your teacher
This is how real exams begin. If you can follow this dialogue, you are already on your way to IELTS!
Mistakes I hear every day
These letters look like Uzbek or Russian letters, but their English names are different. I hear these mistakes in every new class, so watch out for them.
Not: A = “a”Say: A = “ay”(A harfining nomi)
The first letter is already a trap. A rhymes with “day”.
Not: E = “e”Say: E = “ee”(E harfining nomi)
E is a long “ee”, like in “see” and “tree”.
Not: H = “ha”Say: H = “aitch”(H harfining nomi)
H is one of the strangest names: “aitch”. Practise it a few times.
Not: C = “ts”Say: C = “see”(C harfining nomi)
The Russian way of saying C is wrong in English. C sounds like the word “sea”.
Not: X = “xa”Say: X = “ex”(X harfining nomi)
In Uzbek, X is a throat sound. In English, X is “ex” and sounds like ks, as in “box”.
Not: Q = “qa”Say: Q = “cue”(Q harfining nomi)
Q sounds like the word “queue”. In words it almost always comes with U: queen, question.
Not: R = “er”Say: R = “ar”(R harfining nomi)
R sounds like the word “are”.
Not: Z = “zet”Say: Z = “zed”(Z harfining nomi)
British English says “zed”, American English says “zee”. Both are correct; I use “zed”.
Can you answer my questions?
Think of the answer first, then open the card. No peeking!
How many letters are in the English alphabet?
What are the five vowels?
Which letters rhyme with “day”?
E or I: which one is called “eye”?
What is the name of W, and why?
Someone spells B-O-X. What is the word?
How do you spell “hello” out loud?
Which small letters go below the line?
A note from your teacher
All correct? Wonderful, you are ready. A few wrong? No problem: go back to that chapter, then try again.
For teachers using this lesson
If you teach this lesson in a classroom, here is how I run it in about 45 minutes.
Class plan45 min
- 5 minWarm up
Ask: “What English words do you know?” Write a few on the board and circle their first letters.
- 8 minPresent the alphabet
Use the chart. Tap each letter, the class repeats in chorus, then row by row. Then play A to Z once more.
- 5 minKey ideas and rhyming groups
Capital and small letters, name and sound, vowels. Then chant the rhyming groups together.
- 7 minEasy to confuse
Do “Test me” with the whole class: students show the letter with their fingers or on mini whiteboards.
- 5 minSpelling aloud
Practise the phrases, then act out the dialogue in pairs with real names.
- 12 minExercises: Parts 1 to 4
Open the Exercises tab. Play together on the projector, or students play on their phones.
- 3 minCheck and homework
Ask three “Check yourself” questions. Homework: Part 5 (Alphabet Challenge) and Part 6 (Final Boss).
Now it’s your turn!
Six short parts with games, each a little harder than the one before. Take your time, and if you make a mistake, that’s fine: that’s how we learn. I believe in you!
— Your teacher