English Listening & Speaking Books, Audio CDs, ESL Pronunciation
1. Pronunciation Matters : Communicative, Story-Based Activities for Mastering the Sounds of North American English by Lynn Earl Henrichsen, Brent Green, Atsuko Nishitani, Carol Lynne Bagley, Paperback: 112 pages, Publisher: University of Michigan Press/ESL
Using a story-based approach, Pronunciation Matters provides ESL/EFL learners with nearly two hundred communicative and motivating practices leading to mastery of a variety of sound contrasts in North American English that are problematic for speakers of other languages. Units address the many areas that experienced ESL/EFL teachers have noted as troublesome for learners of English--not only vowels and consonants but also stress and intonation, for example. Contexts have been carefully engineered to focus on important sound contrasts in North American English. Chalkboard-style pictures illustrate each context and make practice more meaningful and interesting.
2. American Accent Training (American Accent Training) by Ann Cook, Paperback: 210 pages, Publisher: Barron's Educational
The second edition, now on 5 audio CDs, is for foreign-born students and business people working, traveling or studying in the United States and Canada. Through extensive intonation and pronunciation exercises, students learn how to speak with a standard American Accent. At the same time, listening comprehension improves dramatically. Supplementary materials included detailed nationality guides for eight languages (Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Spanish, French, German, Russian and Korean), access to a comprehensive website, and referral to a qualified telephone analyst for an individual diagnostic speech analysis. Also included are colored markers for written exercises, and a mirror to practice accurate pronunciation.
3. Active Listening 1: Introducing Skills for Understanding Audio CDs (Active Listening) by Marc Helgesen, Steven Brown , Dorolyn Smith, Audio CD, Publisher: Cambridge University Press
The lowest level of the Active Listening series, a three-level listening course in North American English that draws on recent research in comprehension. This high-beginning to low-intermediate text offers 20 engaging, task-based units, each built around a topic, function, or grammatical theme. Active Listening activates students' knowledge of a topic before they listen, giving them a frame of reference to make predictions about what they will hear. Students learn to listen through a careful balance of activities including listening for gist, listening for specific information, and making inferences. Major features: - a "Before You Begin" unit to develop awareness of listening strategies - pre-listening schema-building activities - a carefully balanced variety of listening tasks - natural recordings with a range of accents - short readings to provide cross-cultural information - a speaking activity in every unit. This level of Active Listening consists of a Student's Book, an interleaved Teacher's Edition, two Cassettes, and three audio CDs.
4. Listening 3; Cassettes (2): Upper-intermediate by Joanne Collie, Stephen Slater, Adrian Doff (Series Editor), Audio Cassette, Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Cambridge Skills for Fluency is a learner-centred range of materials designed specifically to develop students' fluency and confidence in listening, speaking, reading and writing. The books are at four levels from pre-intermediate through to advanced and are suitable for use as supplementary texts or as core texts on skills development courses. Each book in the Cambridge Skills for Fluency series: promotes fluency by presenting a wide variety of both old and new topics in creative and imaginative ways, genuinely engages students' interest and encourages them to share personal reactions and opinions fluently - focuses on a particular skill but the other skills are integrated in a way that reflects real life use of language - contains twenty units designed to take about an hour of class time, a detailed contents map and brief teaching notes.
5. Intermediate Listening Comprehension: Understanding and Recalling Spoken English (College ESL) by Patricia Dunkel, Phyllis L. Lim, Paperback: 177 pages, Publisher: Heinle & Heinle
Intermediate Listening Comprehension 2/E is an intensive training program in listening fluency development.
6. Ship or Sheep? Student's book : An Intermediate Pronunciation Course (Introducing English Pronunciation) by Ann Baker, Paperback: 176 pages, Publisher: Cambridge University Press
This is a comprehensive pronunciation course for intermediate students of English. It provides systematic practice of English pronunciation, stress and intonation through a wide variety of interesting exercises and activities. The course is accompanied by a recording of all the practice material on three cassettes. The book and the recordings are both designed for use in class and by students working alone.
7. Listening Extra Book and Audio CD Pack: A Resource Book of Multi-Level Skills Activities; Paperback: 136 pages Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Listening Extra contains a bank of imaginative photocopiable materials designed for young adults (16+) and adults. There are over 50 easy-to-prepare activities at elementary, intermediate and upper-intermediate level. The material offers teachers a refreshing approach to 18 familiar topics and can be used to supplement existing coursebooks. Activities are designed around authentic scenarios and practise specific listening skills, such as listening for details, identifying emotions or listening for opinions. At the same time as practising a key listening skill, the activities integrate the other skill areas. Students are exposed to a variety of native and non-native speaker accents. The recordings cover a range of genres from radio and television to academic lectures, presentations and conversational dialogues.