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Streaming
Speech: Listening and Pronunciation for Advanced Learners of English
is a revolutionary electronic textbook:
- it deals
with the fastest stretches of speech
- it shows
the difference between slow careful, and fast sound-shapes of words
- it makes
learners familiar and comfortable with the variability of spontaneous
speech
- it uses
natural speech to model the pronunciation of vowels and consonants
- it gives
you a choice of six voices to use as a pronunciation model
- it teaches
you the choices and strategies of expert native speakers
- it focuses
simultaneously on accuracy and fluency
- it uses
web-based software to animate the relationship between words and sounds
- it uses
interactive software to monitor and score your performance
- it helps
you match the performance of expert speakers
It is
for upper-intermediate / advanced adult students.
It is for upper-intermediate or advanced adult students of English who
want to take their listening and pronunciation skills to the highest levels.
Students of three types:
- students
who are preparing to study at university level in an English speaking
country
- students
who are preparing to become teachers of English in their own country
- students
who are already teachers of English who want to improve their understanding,
fluency, and knowledge.
For students
preparing to study in English, it provides two kinds of help: first, help
in understanding fast natural speech by clicking on transcripts and hearing
the original speech; second, help in making their pronunciation more fluent
by imitating the strategies and patterns used by native speakers. For
teachers of English (either in training, or in service) it also provides
a third level of help: illustrated explanations of the features of natural
spontaneous speech. Many of these features are not explained in conventional
textbooks.
Structure
Ten Chapters
Streaming Speech consists of an introduction, and ten chapters.
Chapters
1 to 8
The first
eight chapters feature recordings of
the spontaneous speech of people working at The University of Birmingham.
They talk at a natural variety of speeds: one moment 60 words per minute
(VERY SLOW!); the next, 490 words per minute (VERY FAST!). The purpose
of Streaming Speech is to help students understand English when it is
spoken at high speed: there is a consistent focus on the different forms
that words have slow and fast speeds.
Speech
Sounds
Each of the first eight chapters focuses on a group of speech sounds:
short vowels, long vowels, diphthongs, different types of consonsants,
and consonant clusters. In Section 4 of each chapter the student practises
these speech sounds by imitating fluent extracts from the recordings.
Students, listen, imitate, record, and compare their performance with
that of the speaker.
Native
Speaker Strategies (Discourse Features)
Each chapter also focuses on a strategy that the speaker uses to communicate
effectively: strategies such as varying the speed of speech, pausing,
varying stress, using appropriate intonation, questioning, listing, and
telling anecdotes. These strategies are referred to as Discourse Features.
Topics
The topics of the first eight chapters are: Part-time jobs, Houses in
Auckland, Fruit-picking in Shropshire, Studying Modern Languages at Oxford,
English Grammar, Finding a job in Sudan, Studying Human Sciences at Oxford,
and Banana farming in Brazil.
Speakers
The speakers are all associated with the University of Birmingham:
there are four female (Corony, Gail, Maggie, Rachel) and four male (Philip,
Geoff, Bob, Terry) voices. Their accents vary from standard British English
to Irish (Dublin) English.
Chapter
9 'Segments
Workshop'
Chapter 9 is a workshop area, in which students choose
one of six speakers (three female, three male) as a model for their own
pronunciation. For example, if students like Corony's voice, they work
with her recordings on the vowels and consonants of English; if they like
Philip's voice, they work with his recordings on the vowels and consonants
of English. There is also a 'Cluster Buster', in which students can practice
the consonant clusters of English modelling themselves on the speech of
a variety of speakers.
Chapter
10 'Speech Units: A Window on Speech'
Chapter 10 is aimed primarily at teachers of English (both in training,
and in service). It provides explanation of, and training in recognising,
'speech units'. Speech units are the units into which the recordings
are divided: they are the basis for all the work done on listening and
pronunciation in Chapters 1-9. Speech units can be as short as one syllable,
or as long as nineteen syllables. When students click on a line of transcript,
they hear a speech unit. These units are essential for observing the intonation,
rhythm, and speed of speech - they provide 'A Window on Speech'.
Effective
listening
Streaming
Speech teaches students to understand high-speed speech.
They click
on words and hear them at the original speed
They learn both slow and fast forms of words
They imitate the natural speech of expert speakers
They learn natural intonation by following pitch traces
They practise vowels and consonants in fluent speech
They listen, you record, you compare
Efficient
pronunciation
Streaming
Speech teaches students the ability to speed up their speech when
they need to make their points efficiently and quickly.
They learn
to change speed and rhythm in order to keep the listener's interest
They learn to pause in ways that are acceptable to listeners
They learn to change their minds about what to say without irritating
listeners
They learn to handle both slow and fast speech forms of words
They learn to use natural intonation in questions, lists, and statements
Technical
Requirements
Multimedia computer running Windows 95, 98, 2000 (SP4 or above), or XP;
Processor at least 350 MHz; Internet Explorer 5.5 or later; CD-ROM drive;
Windows compatible soundcard; microphone, headset or speakers.
Demonstration
Disk
For a demonstration
disk of Streaming Speech, Listening and Pronunciation for Advanced
Learners of English, write to
speechinaction, 10 Victoria Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 0AH, UK
Tel:
44-(0)121-427-5056 Fax: 44-(0)121-240-9804
email
richard@speechinaction.com
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