Vowel Teams
Vowel teams are graphemes that consist of two or more letters representing a single vowel phoneme. There are a few other terms to learn when talking about vowel teams in English!
What are vowel digraphs and vowel trigraphs?
The terms digraph and trigraph refer to the number of letters in the vowel team. A vowel digraph is the term for a two letter vowel team representing a single vowel phoneme, such as the letters ee representing the vowel phoneme /i/, as in the word see. A vowel trigraph is a three letter vowel team representing a single vowel phoneme, such as the letters igh, which represent the vowel phoneme /aɪ/, as in the word light. Note that vowel digraphs and trigraphs can contain vowel as well as consonant letters, as long as the phoneme that is represented is a vowel phoneme.
What are monophthongs and diphthongs?
Vowel teams typically represent vowel phonemes known as monophthongs and diphthongs. These terms describe the way the vowel phoneme is pronounced. A monophthong is a single, ‘pure’ vowel sound produced when the tongue and other speech organs maintain a consistent position throughout its pronunciation. Examples of monophthongs include the vowel sounds in "bean" (/i/) and "moon" (/u/). A diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds produced within the same syllable, where the tongue and other speech organs change position smoothly from one vowel sound to the next. Examples of diphthongs include the sounds in "coin" (/ɔɪ/) and "loud" (/aʊ/).
Click on the graphemes next to the mouth animations below to hear the most common vowel teams in Australian English. They are presented in the order they are taught in ReadingDoctor® Online.
Vowel teams representing monophthong vowel phonemes:
ee like in see:
Also found in words such as bee, reef and steep. This digraph represents the monophthong vowel phoneme /i/.
ea like in sea:
Also found in words such as team, steam and beach. This digraph represents the monophthong vowel phoneme /i/.
oo like in spoon:
Also found in words such as room, moon and stoop. This digraph represents the monophthong vowel phoneme /u/.
aw like in paw:
Also found in words such as saw, pawn and straw. This digraph represents the monophthong vowel phoneme /ɔ/.
After learning about the most common vowel monophthongs, students are taught to decode words, like:
bawl, beach, bee, beef, bleach, bleed, bloom, boo, boom, boot, booth, brawl, breeze, broom, cheap, cheat, cheek, cheery, claw, coffee, crawl, creek, creep, dawn, deep, draw, droop, each, earring, eel, feed, feel, flaw, fleet, food, free, freeze, goose, greed, green, groom, groove, heel, hoop, hoot, igloo, jaw, jeep, keel, keep, law, lawn, leash, leech, loo, loop, loose, moo, moon, moose, need, ooze, paw, pawn, peach, peek, peel, peep, pool, prawn, preach, queen, raw, reach, reed, reef, reel, roof, room, roost, root, saw, scoop, seed, seek, seesaw, shawl, sheen, sheep, sheet, shoo, shoot, sleep, sleeve, smooch, smooth, sneeze, speech, speed, spook, spoon, squawk, squeak, squeal, squeeze, steel, steep, stoop, straw, swoop, tattoo, teach, thaw, toot, tooth, wheat, yawn, zoo, zoom, abort, alarm, alert, apart, arc, arch, archer, arm, army, art, bar, barb, barber, bark, barn, bird, blur, born, burger, burn, burnt, burst, car, card, carp, cart, carve, charm, chart, chirp, church, churn, cork, corn, corner, curb, curl, curler, curly, curve, dark, dart, dirt, dirty, far, farm, fart, fern, first, fork, form, fort, forty, fur, girl, hard, harm, harp, harsh, her, herb, herd, horn, horse, hurl, hurt, jar, jerk, lord, march, mark, marker, mars, marsh, nerve, north, nurse, orb, orbit, order, organ, park, part, party, perch, perm, porch, pork, port, scar, scarf, scorch, scorn, serve, shard, shark, sharp, shirt, short, skirt, smart, snarl, snort, sort, spark, sport, spurt, squirm, squirt, star, start, stir, stork, storm, story, surf, swirl, tar, tart, third, thirst, thirty, thorn, torch, torn, turn, twirl, urn, whirl, yard, yarn,
bawl, beach, bee, beef, bleach, bleed, bloom, boo, boom, boot, booth, brawl, breeze, broom, cheap, cheat, cheek, cheery, claw, coffee, crawl, creek, creep, dawn, deep, draw, droop, each, earring, eel, feed, feel, flaw, fleet, food, free, freeze, goose, greed, green, groom, groove, heel, hoop, hoot, igloo, jaw, jeep, keel, keep, law, lawn, leash, leech, loo, loop, loose, moo, moon, moose, need, ooze, paw, pawn, peach, peek, peel, peep, pool, prawn, preach, queen, raw, reach, reed, reef, reel, roof, room, roost, root, saw, scoop, seed, seek, seesaw, shawl, sheen, sheep, sheet, shoo, shoot, sleep, sleeve, smooch, smooth, sneeze, speech, speed, spook, spoon, squawk, squeak, squeal, squeeze, steel, steep, stoop, straw, swoop, tattoo, teach, thaw, toot, tooth, wheat, yawn, zoo, zoom, abort, alarm, alert, apart, arc, arch, archer, arm, army, art, bar, barb, barber, bark, barn, bird, blur, born, burger, burn, burnt, burst, car, card, carp, cart, carve, charm, chart, chirp, church, churn, cork, corn, corner, curb, curl, curler, curly, curve, dark, dart, dirt, dirty, far, farm, fart, fern, first, fork, form, fort, forty, fur, girl, hard, harm, harp, harsh, her, herb, herd, horn, horse, hurl, hurt, jar, jerk, lord, march, mark, marker, mars, marsh, nerve, north, nurse, orb, orbit, order, organ, park, part, party, perch, perm, porch, pork, port, scar, scarf, scorch, scorn, serve, shard, shark, sharp, shirt, short, skirt, smart, snarl, snort, sort, spark, sport, spurt, squirm, squirt, star, start, stir, stork, storm, story, surf, swirl, tar, tart, third, thirst, thirty, thorn, torch, torn, turn, twirl, urn, whirl, yard, yarn,
Vowel teams representing diphthong vowel phonemes:
ai like in rain:
Also found in words such as main, train and brain. This digraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /eɪ/.
ay like in play:
Also found in words such as day, stay and away. This digraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /eɪ/.
igh like in light:
Also found in words such as fight, high and bright. This trigraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /aɪ/.
oa like in boat:
Also found in words such as coat, float and throat. This digraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /oʊ/.
oi like in coin
Also found in words such as join, point and boil. This digraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /ɔɪ/.
oy like in boy
Also found in words such as toy, joy and enjoy. This digraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /ɔɪ/.
ou like in around
Also found in words such as out, loud and found. This digraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /aʊ/.
ow like in owl
Also found in words such as cow, now and fowl. This digraph represents the diphthong vowel phoneme /aʊ/.
After learning the most common vowel teams representing diphthong vowel phonemes, students are taught to decode words like: