Z or Zed? Tricky letter names

Objective & content

This Sound Check video (about 3 minutes 30) is about letter names, for the moment when students spell a name or an email address aloud. Freya (British) and Cody (American) work on three pairs: E and I, G and J, W and U. E is short and flat; I sounds like the word eye. G and J start the same way; only the vowel differs. W ends with U inside it ("double-u"). Students repeat each letter, then spell Liz: L, I, Z. In the game they hear E, J and U and say which letter it was.

Pedagogical guide

The video says many languages have an I that sounds like the English E, so learners swap the two. This is the case in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Dutch. For G and J, French, Portuguese and Italian speakers may reverse them. The letter Z is the one accent difference: Cody says zee (American) and Freya says zed (British). Both are correct, so students pick the one for their accent. Z is taught but not in the game.

Suggested procedure

1. Before (2 min). Ask a student to spell their name aloud. Write the letters on the board.
2. Watch (4 min). Play the video once. Students repeat aloud when the hosts say "Say them with us", "Say them with me" and "spell a real name, with me".
3. Game (3 min). Play the game again. Pause after a host says "Listen..." and the letter, before the other host answers. The class says the letter.
4. After (3 min). In pairs, one student spells a word with E, I, G, J, W, U or Z. The partner writes it down.

Materials & prerequisites

• The video, a screen and sound for the whole class.
• The letters are at about A0- level.

Assessment & extensions

Spell Liz aloud with zee and with zed. Ask which accent each one belongs to.