Here's why:
* The vowel sound in "pencil" is short: It's the short "i" sound, as in "pin" or "sit."
* Long vowel sounds are typically associated with vowels that are pronounced as their letter name (e.g., "a" as in "say", "e" as in "see", "i" as in "bike", "o" as in "go", "u" as in "use").
Let me know if you'd like to explore other vowel sounds!