Clear Speech: Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English, 4th Edition

I love this book though I wish I had started my high level class with the 2nd Edition Clear Speech From the Start and worked a way up to this book. I thought since they were a level four class that they should have a highest level book but Cl. Speech From the Start would have been a better launching pad. I highly recommend these books. I am finding that so many of my students already know a lot of Vocabulary but they aren't understood and don't understand what's being said to them. I have really seen the lights come on since using these books. The teacher's manuals have really usable advise and I understand so much more about pronunciation. The lessons are flow and keep the student's attention. My student's come in enthusiastic about learning another unit. I recommend the Clear Speech books for all levels and multi level classes. This book is okay for all levels but again 2nd Edition Clear Speech From the Start if available would be better to start them with. I plan on always having these books in my tool kit and to never leave home without them. My beginner level students are for the most part effectively pronouncing the TH sound with only two lessons. They have a firmer grasp of long and short vowels and the reasons for the music of English. They are very interested in the mechanics of speaking which is well explained in these books. Due to using Clear Speech this year in class, I have watched my students grow in confidence unlike any class I have ever had in the last 8 years Can't say enough good things about Clear Speech series.

I first discovered this book when I was tutoring students at a California University. Prior that time, I had relied on a more traditional minimal pairs approach. This book has that too, but prior to beginning with the individual sounds, the author focuses the students attention on what she calls Prozidy, which is the rhythm, pitch and stress patterns that define charastically English production. Not only did mastering these concepts provide a tremendous advance in the students ability to produce easily understandable English, it seemed to increase their sensitivity to the individual sounds as well. Therefore, when we finally did get to the minimal pair exerceses toward the end of the book, the students seemed to be able to identify the various sounds much more quickly and with significantly less 'aggrivation' involved. In short, I cannot say enough about how valuable this book is to anyone who wants to develop exactly what the title promises to deliver, Clear Speech.

I've been using this textbook for years in my ESL oral communications classes. I like it because it uses the phonetic alphabet that I was taught to use in graduate school almost 30 years ago, and I find that it really works. Of course, I supplement it with worksheets that I've designed, but it covers all the bases including linking, syllable stress, word stress, etc.

I like because is very helpful and clear with many examples.

First of all, let me say that Judy Gilbert knows a lot about pronunciation. This is not just a book of pronunciation practice. It is a book about the whys and hows of pronunciation. I don't agree with everything in it, and it would be a difficult book for any of my students to understand--the student book uses words like continuants, stops, glide, and structure words. It uses a phonetic symbol scheme that has some unusual symbols in it. And it's difficult to download the listening files (you have to do them one by one). That said, the student book is a great teacher's book. It has changed the way I teach pronunciation forever. I will use and reuse some of the exercises in the book for the rest of my career. It is the best book on American English pronunciation I have ever read. Every American EFL/ESL teacher, whether or not they believe in teaching pronunciation, should own this book. I just think it's too difficult for the average student.*EFL = English as a Foreign Language, for speakers of English outside of the US or CanadaESL = English as a Second Language, for speakers of English living in the US or Canada, or thinking of migrating there

Good

I love it .Clear speech as a serene sky. The cover is made form carton not plastic. 3 CDs for the lessons and 1 CD quiz.

incomplete course. The books says that it comes with support from their website but not true, you will need to pay extra to listen the exercises and do the home work, this is like a big rip off, I tried to returned but the return period of time past and I was in the move from one state to another so I got stuck with this useless book.