English spelling is full of double letters: "letter", "coffee", "summer", "dinner", "happy". In your variety the doubling is purely visual; you say one short consonant and move on. In many Indian languages a long consonant and a short one are two different sounds, and swapping them changes the word, the way "ship" and "sheep" differ in English. What you will learn: • What a long consonant is • Everyday words with a held consonant • The held sound is not a pause or emphasis • Where a long consonant helps you • Indian names and words with long consonants • Compounds where two identical sounds meet • When the spelling is double but the sound stays short • Practice: decode the sentence • Listening strategies • Self-check questions to test your ear Level: B1–B2. Self-study: listen, then take the quizzes. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.