Short & long oo: full & fool (/ʊ/ vs /uː/)

Objective & content

This Sound Check video (about 2 minutes 30) fixes one pair of sounds: the short oo of full and the long oo of fool. Freya (British) and Cody (American) show that both sounds use round lips. The long sound is held (foool). The short sound is quick (full). A glass that is full has water in it, and a fool makes silly mistakes. Students repeat full, pull, fool and pool, then one sentence: The pool is full. Then they play a three-round game: which word did you hear?

Pedagogical guide

In many languages there is only one oo sound, so full and fool sound the same. This is the case for French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Polish learners. German and Dutch speakers already know long and short vowels. Their trap is different: they change only the length. The short oo in English is also looser and lower, with less tense lips. Both hosts say these two sounds the same way: there is no British or American difference to explain here. The game tests listening only, so check the speaking yourself.

Suggested procedure

1. Before (2 min). Write full and fool on the board. Ask a few students to say both words. Do they sound different?
2. Watch (3 min). Play the video once. Students repeat aloud when Cody says "Try it with us" and "Say them with me".
3. Game (2 min). Play the game again. Pause each time a host says "Listen..." and the word, before the other host gives the answer. The class votes: long or short?
4. After (3 min). In pairs, one student says full or fool, pull or pool. The partner points to the right word on the board.

Materials & prerequisites

• The video, a screen and sound for the whole class.
• The example words are at about A1+ level. Students do not need phonetic symbols.

Assessment & extensions

Say four words from the video in random order. Students show one finger for the short sound and two fingers for the long sound. For more practice, add stood and stewed.