Books, audio and internet resources – Pronunciation
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Use the comments to help you select books and web resources that have exercises on the pronunciation features you want to focus on, or provide intensive listening practice.
Pronunciation for academic study
Smith, J. and Margolis, A. 2007, English for Academic Study: Pronunciation study book, Garnet Education, University of Reading.
CDs featuring British English. Clear explanation and practice of sounds, stress, intonation and features of connected speech. Includes sections of sample presentations for practise of particular pronunciation features. Easy-to-follow format.
Pronunciation for academic presentations
Reinhart, S. 2002, Giving Academic Presentations, University of Michigan Press, USA.
This is an excellent introduction to giving academic presentations. Each chapter contains a section specifically dealing with pronunciation. Pronunciation areas covered include: pausing, stress, intonation, noun phrases, unstressed words and syllables.
Pronunciation in general Australian English
Boyer, S. 2002, Understanding English Pronunciation, BER, Glenbrook NSW.
Boyer, S. 2003, Spelling and Pronunciation for English Language Learners, BER, Glenbrook NSW.
These two books are comprehensive introductions to the pronunciation of Australian English. They cover sounds, stress, intonation and spelling, chunking and pausing. The language used relates to general Australian English. Audio cassettes and CDs. Answer section for self-study.
Zawadzki, H. 1994, In Tempo: An English pronunciation course, NCELTR, Sydney.
This book concentrates on the rhythm and stress of Australian English and is especially suitable for learners from Asian language backgrounds and speakers of other 'syllable-timed' languages such as French. Audio cassettes or CDs. Answer section for self-study.
Pronunciation exercises in British English
Hancock, M. 2003, English Pronunciation in Use, Intermediate, CUP, Cambridge. CDs.
Hewings, M. 2007, English Pronunciation in Use, Advanced, CUP, Cambridge. CDs.
These two books contain many exercises suitable for tertiary students. They cover sounds, word stress in multi-syllabic words, sentence stress, intonation and ways to organise information and keep conversation going. Both intermediate and advanced levels are recommended. The intermediate book has a guide for speakers of specific languages with recommended units to study. Both books have an answer section for self-study.
Rogerson, P. and Gilbert, J.B. 1990, Speaking Clearly, CUP, Cambridge.
Easy-to-follow introduction to the rhythm and stress of English. Also covers sounds.
Pronunciation and speaking skills in the Australian workplace
de Silva Joyce, H., Wilson, L. and Zawadzki, H. 2007, Getting it Right at Work: Negotiating and Problem Solving, NSW AMES, Sydney. DVD and workbook.
de Silva Joyce, H., Wilson, L. and Zawadzki, H. 2007, Getting it Right at Work: Customer Service, NSW AMES, Sydney. DVD and workbook.
These resources focus on workplace communication. The DVD presents unsuccessful and successful versions of workplace interactions. Each interaction type has an in-depth explanation of communication strategies, examples and activities focussing on the key pronunciation features which contribute to successful communication. Answer section for self-study. Negotiating and Problem Solving is concerned with internal workplace communication. Customer Service deals with communicating with the public.
Pronunciation in American English
Gilbert, J. 1993, Clear Speech (2nd ed.), CUP, Cambridge.
This is an easy-to-follow introduction to the rhythm and stress of American English. It also has a section on listening to lectures.
First Language Interference
Swan, M. and Smith, B. (eds) 2008, Learner English. A teacher's guide to interference and other problems.
This is an excellent outline of pronunciation problems caused by the influence of a speaker's first language on the pronunciation of English. Languages include European, Asian and African language groups.
Talking books
Did you know that many libraries, including the UTS Library have 'talking books', that is, books with CDs or audio cassettes? These will usually be novels and are useful because you can listen and read at the same time. They can help you to improve your pronunciation of general English, expand your vocabulary and gain confidence with English sounds and spelling conventions.
Search the UTS Library for talking books.
TED video
The TED video (opens an external site ) has a wide range of excellent presentations. It is particularly useful for non-native speakers of English as interactive transcripts are provided.
Internet resources - pronunciation
IELTS Speaking Test: Passport to English
IELTS Speaking Test: Passport to English is a very good modelling and analysis of the pronunciation of students answering questions in an IELTS interview situation. Use the other links on the Australia Network learning English site to practise listening to Australian English.
http://australianetwork.com/learningenglish/ (opens an external site)
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service has excellent videos, recordings and quizzes to help you learn about and practise English pronunciation. There are tips for learning about and improving pronunciation as a communication skill in British English. Access the BBC World Services information on:
Better Speaking -http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/webcast/tae_betterspeaking_archive.shtml(opens an external site)
Pronunciation Tips -http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/webcast/tae_betterspeaking_archive.shtml(opens an external site )
Sounds of American English
This is a great website from the University of Iowa with audio and dynamic diagrams showing the pronunciation of English sounds:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html (opens an external site)
Vowels of the International Phonetic Alphabet
Another excellent site from Liz Sandler with 3 dimensional dynamic models showing the pronunciation of vowels:
http://lizsandler.co.uk/articulation/articulation_homepage.html (opens an external site)
American English Pronunciation Practice
A good website for practising pairs of problem sounds (e.g. /l/ and /r/), final consonants and consonant cluster's:
http://www.manythings.org/pp/ (opens an external site)
There are also links to YouTube videos on pronunciation. It is part of the interesting things for ESL student’s site.
Sounds of English
An easy to use reference from the British Council and BBC with quizzes to help you learn the phonetic alphabet, British English:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/activities/phonemic-chart (opens an external site)
Pronouncing dictionary
You can use this Cambridge Learner's Dictionary to check stress and sounds of English words:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/ (opens an external site)