Long Vowel Short Vowel. The length and the sound of a vowel can change according to its position in a word and the pronunciation of that word. Vowel sounds can be short, long, or silent.
This page explains when each sound is commonly used. English speakers use long and short vowel sounds to distinguish between otherwise similar words. Being able to distinguish between long vowels and short vowels is super important when learning to read and write.
Now I know where I got my accent.
In some languages vowel length is an important phonemic factor.
You can spell the same vowel sound in different ways e.g. road, arrow, bone. It may seem obvious with a short, familiar word, but what if you encounter a new word that you have. Read each word and determine its vowel sound.