FREE TEELINE SHORTHAND LESSON
(please note this is a free trial lesson and is not a FULL lesson - it includes extracts from the full lesson which gives you an idea of how the lessons are structured)
If you prefer - you can download a PDF version of this trial lesson - it does not however contain the sound file which is used for dictation practise at the end of the lesson. You can download the PDF by clicking on this link it is rather large so please be patient!
PLEASE NOTE - this trial lesson is a sample of our online paid version and a number of words and outlines have been removed. This trial lesson contains extracts from our Lesson 1.
LESSON ONE - THE TEELINE ALPHABET
This lesson covers the Teeline alphabet and how to join letters together. You will also learn easier ways of writing words that occur regularly in the English language. There are many to learn throughout the course and the more you learn the quicker you will be able to write.
AIM
By the end of the full Lesson One you should be able to write some of the letters of the alphabet, including some additional 'combination characters' quickly and easily from memory.
THE FIRST PART OF THE ALPHABET
The arrow next to the letters shows the direction they should be written. Sometimes, two versions of the same letter are shown. The first version is more common and the second is used for easier joining to other letters. Vowels are mostly written as a half version called 'indicators'. Full vowels are used for special contractions and for a clearer outline.
The Teeline letters are adapted from the longhand letters - either the capital or the small versions. They keep the same positions as in longhand - i.e. G, J, P and Q go through the line and T is written above the line representing the cross stroke of a capital T. Other letters are placed on the line. Teeline letters are the same sizes as in longhand. Vowels are smaller than the consonants. There are two versions known as the full vowel and the indicator.
Have a look at the first half of the alphabet:
EXERCISE ONE
The following passage is written with essential vowels included only. See how quickly you can read it:
U shld b able t rd ths wth a lt o vwls tkn out. Ths is hw Tln is frmd bt usng a qckr wa o rting th alfbt. U cn use a pn or pncl to rt Tln, tho a pn is btr as it flws acrs th pg esly n wnt brk. Hwvr, u mst us whtvr u fl mst cmfrtable wth.
ANSWER
You will find the answers to the above exercise if you drag your mouse over the text in the box below :
You should be able to read this with a lot of vowels taken out. This is how Teeline is formed but using a quicker way of writing the alphabet. You can use a pen or pencil to write Teeline, though a pen is better as it flows across the page easily and won't break. However, you must use whatever you feel most comfortable with.
THE WORKSHEETS
The worksheets are designed to enable you to practise writing Teeline and learn the new letters. You need to copy the printed Teeline directly onto the worksheet as fluently and quickly as you can, preferably saying the letter or letters over in your mind as you do so. In this way you will learn the new theory and begin to write Teeline with ease. Before you begin worksheet one, familiarise yourself with the alphabet then complete the worksheet. You should copy the Teeline on the three lines beneath and then test yourself again to see if you know the alphabet thoroughly. You can print out and repeat this exercise as often as you need to..
WORKSHEET 1
JOINING LETTERS TO FORM WORDS
Now that you have learnt the first half of the alphabet, you can join the letters to form words. Letters stay the same size and shape when joined together, the first letter usually determining the position on the line.
Most vowels are omitted so the following combinations could represent different words:
(note - we have not covered all of the words or letter combinations that are in this extract - they are however, covered in the full online paid version)
COMMON WORDS
For commonly used words you can put the Teeline together as in the example below. The more you learn, the quicker your Teeline writing will be and eventually you will even make up your own shortened versions.
Now see if you can read the following words:
ANSWER
You can check your answers by dragging your mouse over the following box which contains hidden text with the answers.
Life, laugh; / cab, cub; / club; / goal, gull; / duck, dice, dock; / take, took, talk; / black, block; / met, mate, meat, mat; / name, gnome; / page, pig; / quit, quite, quiet; / rock, race, rice
Now see if you can read the following sentences:
(note - we will not have covered all of these words in this trial lesson so you may not be able to read them all - but they will be covered in the full on line paid lesson) 
ANSWER
You can check your answers by dragging your mouse over the following box which contains hidden text with the answers.
1. The dog fell, the duck laughed
2. Kindly check the letter
3. The lady at the club had a bad leg
4. The black cab took the lady to the city
5. I had a bad cough and cold all day
NOW SEE IF YOU CAN WRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO TEELINE:
1. Take the letter and make the change
2. I got a black eye from a fall
3. The man at the club left his phone there
4. The bad fog made him get lost
There now follows a simple, slow dictation. In order to listen to the sound files and undertake the dictation you will need an MP3 player on your computer - such as Real Player - Windows Media Player - Winamp. We can not suggest which one is best for your computer, or indeed if any of these would suit your own machine, however there are plenty of free ones available on the internet.
If you can write the letters of the alphabet and some of the common words from this trial lesson, you should be able to take this down quite comfortably, and read it back. The transcription follows but as long as you were able to read it back and take it down with not too much hesitation, that’s the main thing so don’t be too hard on yourself if your some of your outlines were slightly different to those in the transcription!
Now you can practise writing some words in to Teeline as dictation. Click on the 'play' button below. The more you practise the faster you will become - don't expect to get every word first time! Make sure you have your speakers turned on and the volume up!
This dictation is at 30 WPM (words per minute)
(note - we will not have covered all of the words in the dictation in this trial lesson but they will be covered in the full on line paid lesson)
Press play :
If the player does not work - click here instead to hear the file
Alternatively you will need to find somebody to dictate this for you
- Take the letter to the box
- Go and find the dog the lady bought today
- Tell the manager to stop and go home
- The chairman told me to call him today
- Tell the lady to sit there till I get her help
Once you have finished writing, press play again to check your work. Keep practicing to increase your speed and confidence.
ANSWER
This has been just a sample of a lesson to show you how we use the exercises, sound files etc., If you would like to learn the rest of the alphabet and lots more - how to join multiple words together to make phrases, shortened versions of words, lots more exercises and sound files with timed dictations you will need to register, so read on.
HOW TO REGISTER
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