You say "I want a coffee," and it comes out as "I WAHNT a KAH-fee", the way it sounds in many films. British listeners will understand, but it does not sound British, and if you then make caught and cot sound the same, real confusion begins: short and shot, port and pot. Many languages have only one O sound, so learners use it for every O, or they follow the spelling and say "WANT" with the A of cat. In this episode: • The lot vowel: a short, round o • The thought vowel: a long, round aw • Sure, poor, your and tour • Minimal pairs: short o or long aw? • An invented scene: a sunday morning • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: hot (HOT) — careful, the pan's hot stop (STOP) — stop that, please shop (SHOP) — I'm going to the shop coffee (KOF-ee) — fancy a coffee? want (WONT) — do you want some toast? what (WOT) — what time is it? watch (WOCH) — let's watch something sorry (SO-ree) — sorry, I'm late wash (WOSH) — wash your hands because (bi-KOZ) — because it's raining gone (GON) — the milk's gone off clock (KLOK) — the kitchen clock is slow Fancy a coffee? — would you like a coffee? (casual) Gone off — gone bad, not fresh (used for food) caught (KAWT) — I caught the bus talk (TAWK) — can we talk later? walk (WAWK) — let's walk to school saw (SAW) — I saw your mum earlier door (DAW) — shut the door, please more (MAW) — any more tea? four (FAW) — four slices of bread floor (FLAW) — your socks are on the floor water (WAW-tuh) — a glass of water daughter (DAW-tuh) — this is my daughter morning (MAW-ning) — good morning small (SMAWL) — a small one, please 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.