Clear Speech from the Start Student's book [Paperback]

Judy B. Gilbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0521637376 | ISBN-13: 978-0521637374

Clear Speech from the Start gives beginning students immediate help in mastering the crucial elements of English pronunciation. The audio program for Clear Speech From the Start includes a broad selection of exercises recorded by a variety of speakers in natural-sounding speech. The program is also available on Audio CD.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The audio program for Clear Speech From the Start includes a broad selection of exercises recorded by a variety of speakers in natural-sounding speech. The program is also available on Audio CD.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 23, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521637376
• ISBN-13: 978-0521637374
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judy B. Gilbert is an internationally respected authority on teaching English pronunciation. A teacher and teacher trainer, Ms. Gilbert has traveled widely, presenting workshops and lectures. In addition, she has chaired seminars and colloquia around the world.

A founding member of the TESOL Speech Pronunciation Interest Section, Ms. Gilbert is also a distinguished member of the IATEFL Pronunciation Interest Group.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now ESL beginners can build clear pronunciation!, April 27, 2001

By 

Katherine Dorsch (Los Gatos,CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clear Speech from the Start Audio Cassette Set (3 Cassettes): Basic Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English (Audio Cassette)

Conventional wisdom in the ESL/EFL world holds that pronunciation should not be taught at the beginning level. It's just too technical, requiring complicated descriptions and explanations for which beginning students don't have the vocabulary.

But if there were a way to make the material accessible? Even beginners need to communicate clearly -- intelligible speech fosters successful academic, work, and social interactions, and that's got to be encouraging for the student! Judy Gilbert's well-planned approach makes clear pronunciation truly accessible to beginners. The book -- rightly so -- limits the pronunciation points to those that are most urgently needed for intelligibility. The principle areas covered are: (1) the alphabet: using letters to spell out loud for clarification, (2) decoding spelling/reading words: using simple spelling rules to predict the pronunciation of a word, (3) syllable number: developing awareness of the number of syllables in words and phrases, being sure not to add unnecessary syllables or to omit necessary ones, (4) syllable stress: lengthening stressed vowels and reducing unstressed ones, (5) word connections: linking words together (this improves both listening comprehension and the smoothness of the student's speech), (6) the music of English: the pitch contours and rhythm of the language, and (7) articulation: t/d, s/z, l/r/n, and th.

There are some very cool things in this book for pronunciation teachers and learners. For example, there are tongue shape drawings looking from the back of the tongue to the front and out the mouth. Can't picture it? You'll have to see it to believe it! Along with the traditional front and side views, this new perspective really helps you visualize what's going on inside your mouth to produce a specific sound. I only wish there were drawings for all the American English vowels and consonants!! (But then it wouldn't be a beginning textbook, would it?)

I also like the vowel pronunciation rules. Example: the letters 'ai' are pronounced like the first letter [a] in the combination. Think: straight, complaint. Then, in the appendix, a percentage is given for how often the rule works, in this case, 95% of the time. This will give the student the confidence to guess how a new word is pronounced, take 'restraint', for example, but not stress out when the rule doesn't work, as in 'plaid'.

There are many helpful graphics in the book. Two of my favorites are the extra-wide bolded letters for stressed vowels (I think you can visualize that) and the diminishing letters for continuant sounds (Thatsssokay. The storezzznearrrMain [the second and third s's, z's, and r's have decreasing font sizes]).

I've been looking for a book like this for a long time. Mostly, I do corporate accent and pronunciation training and executive speech coaching with foreign-born clients who have a high intermediate to advanced command of English. But occasionally, I am asked to train employees who have a lower level of English. This is definitely the book I'll choose for them! Trainees can apply the basic concepts they learn to company-specific vocabulary and technical terms.

I only wish all learners of North American English could start out with this book...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent book!, October 27, 2009

By 

Iryna Houzich "Iryna H." (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clear Speech from the Start Student's Book with Audio CD: Basic Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English (Paperback)

It is beautul book! It big help for my English. My teacher, when she look it for her said my: "It best prenansiation book!" Clear Speech from the Start Student's Book with Audio CD: Basic Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear Speech from the Start, May 3, 2011

By 

R. Schnell "World Traveler" (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clear Speech from the Start Teacher's Resource Book with CD: Basic Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English (Clear Speech S.) (Paperback)

Illustrations that help the student understand how to place their tongue. Good pair work exercises. My students like this book.