Many languages have five vowels. British English has about twelve single vowels, plus the glides from Episode 12. So learners often use one sound for two English vowels: live and leave sound the same, full and fool sound the same, cup and cap sound the same. In this episode: • Long or short: length is a clue • The open vowels: bed, bad, cup, cap • The bird vowel and the long ah • Modern goose and the happy ending • Listening lab: at the table • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: ship (SHIP) / sheep (SHEEP) — short and relaxed / long and smiling live (LIV) / leave (LEEV) — I live here. / I leave at eight. fill (FIL) / feel (FEEL) — Can you fill the kettle? / I feel tired. full (FUUL) / fool (FOOL) — I'm full. / a fruit fool (a creamy pudding) pull (PUUL) / pool (POOL) — Pull the door. / the swimming pool bed (BED) — the E in bed, said, friend bad (BAD) — the modern British A: mouth open, almost like a short AH cup (KUP) — the British STRUT vowel: a short, open UH, the mouth relaxed cap (KAP) — the open A again hut / hat — We sat in the hut. / Where's my hat? bird (BURD, no R) — a long, steady UR sound with relaxed lips bird / bed — The bird's on the bed. car (KAH), park (PAHK), lark (LAHK) — long AH, no R (Episode 8) Real British English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — modern British accent, everyday grammar, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang, he/she/it for things, and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.