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I have often wondered when listening to New Zealanders speak how they actually teach vowels in schools. I am Australian and we tend to drawl out the vowel sounds but lots of other nations do not - New Zealanders for example use the short i sound for a lot of their vowel pronunciation.

Nicky
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    I don't think that vowels are "taught in schools". Vowel sounds are picked up as the infant develops, and they are picked up from the adults and other children that they associate with. I remember an English ESL teacher in Saudi Arabia, who took over a class from a Scotsman and was surprised to find that all the Saudi students spoke with a Scots accent. – Greybeard Apr 09 '20 at 09:38
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    @Greybeard I was taught vowel sounds in early elementary school (in the US), in the context of learning how to read. Apparently each of the 5 vowels has a short and a long sound, and each of those has a shape your mouth should make. Short e for example has your mouth like a horse with a bit. – Laurel Apr 09 '20 at 12:55

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