ESL Flashcards: Long a

Post No. 41:

# Teaching the Long A Sound: Free Flashcards for ESL Teachers

**It is another exciting day to teach English!**  

Hello, fellow English teachers around the world! Whether you're in Manila, São Paulo, Tokyo, or anywhere else, I'm happy to share useful materials with you.  

**Once again, it is time to share another piece of useful material for all the English teachers out there.**  

Today, we focus on the **Long A** sound – a key vowel sound that can be tricky for many learners. This sound appears in words like *cake*, *rain*, and *play*.  

**This post contains the Long A sound flashcards.**  

Below, you'll find 12 ready-to-use flashcards. Print them, laminate them, or display them on your screen. They include:  

- The word  

- A simple picture  

- The phonetic symbol /eɪ/  

- Example sentence  

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### 🎴 **Long A Sound Flashcards** (/eɪ/)

| Word   | Picture Idea | Example Sentence                  |

|--------|--------------|-----------------------------------|

| **cake** | 🍰 Chocolate cake | I eat cake on my birthday.       |

| **rain** | 🌧️ Rain falling | It rains a lot in June.          |

| **play** | ⚽ Kids playing | We play soccer after school.     |

| **train** | 🚂 Red train | The train arrives at 3 PM.       |

| **lake** | 🏞️ Blue lake | We swim in the lake in summer.   |

| **snake** | 🐍 Green snake | The snake lives in the jungle.   |

| **plane** | ✈️ Airplane | The plane flies to Japan.        |

| **game** | 🎮 Video game | I like this new game.            |

| **name** | 🪪 Name tag | My name is Maria.                |

| **day**  | ☀️ Sunny day | Today is a beautiful day.        |

| **mail** | ✉️ Envelope | I send mail to my friend.        |

| **wave** | 🌊 Ocean wave | The wave is big today.           |

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### 🗣️ **How to Teach the Long A Sound (Multilingual Tips)**

1. Pronunciation First  

   - Say: **/eɪ/** (like "eh-ee" together)  

   - Compare with Tagalog "ey" in *beybi* (baby), or Spanish "ey" in *rey* (king).  

2. Mouth Shape 

   - Smile 😊 + open mouth slightly  

   - Tongue low, then glide up  

3. Common Spelling Patterns  

   - a_e → cake, name  

   - ai* → rain, train  

   - **ay** → play, day  

4. Class Activity: "Find the Long A!"  

   - Show a flashcard → Students say the word → Circle the spelling pattern.  

5. For Asian Language Speakers  

   - No long vowels? Practice stretching the sound: "Raaaain" → "Rain"  

6. For Spanish/Portuguese Speakers  

   - Avoid saying "rayn" (like "ren") → Say "rey-n" with glide.  

**Hope you enjoy using it in your class!**  

Tag a fellow ESL teacher who needs this! 🌟  

*Next week: Long I sound flashcards!*  

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*Written with love for teachers in the Philippines and beyond.* 🇵🇭✨

Downloadable Link:
Long a Flashcards

★ I want to hear your comments and/or suggestions. 

★ I also would like to know your experience using this material. Looking forward to reading your comments. Cheers!