English is easy. Then, there is this.
All ESL teachers can relate to this video! Many languages have each vowel making the same sound regardless of the word (like Latin, Spanish etc.). But English has all these vowels pairings that change sound depending on the context. For example: though, thought, through, tough. 
Got many laughs from this one. But is must be hard for non-native speakers; apparently there is no reliable way to tell when "ea" is long e (about 66% of the time), short e (32%) or a long a (2%). Then "ear" as in "early" makes a 4th sound when followed by a consonant (e.g. earn, pearl, search), but it too has exceptions, as you demonstrated: beard, heart, hearth, and hearken. [Source: The ABC's …More
Got many laughs from this one. But is must be hard for non-native speakers; apparently there is no reliable way to tell when "ea" is long e (about 66% of the time), short e (32%) or a long a (2%). Then "ear" as in "early" makes a 4th sound when followed by a consonant (e.g. earn, pearl, search), but it too has exceptions, as you demonstrated: beard, heart, hearth, and hearken. [Source: The ABC's and All Their Tricks]
