Speech

Andrzej is a University Lecturer in England. Click the speaker icon to hear all of the extract. Click on each line to hear that line. The numbers down the left hand side are reference numbers for each line. The numbers down the right hand side give the speed in words per minute of each line.

I give talks and seminars about the teaching of listening and pronunciation, and on all aspects of the nature of spontaneous speech. Suitable for all levels of teacher training, including university lecturers. I also speak on topics of general interest, such as prejudice towards accents. Forthcoming talks and workshops 17th October: Hong Kong – Hong […]

Phonology for Listening is a textbook for all teachers of English. It takes the plight of the learner-listener as its starting point.  It is getting rave reviews (which you can read here) and it  has been shortlisted for two prizes: the English Speaking Union’s English Language Book Award (2103) and the Ben Warren-International House Trust Prize (2014). […]

Whatever teachers need in order to improve their students’ listening, they will find it in this astonishingly comprehensive book … This is a great leap forward that really brings listening into the 21st Century. More from Jenny … *** Winnie Cheng, Professor of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University This is a book for students and […]

You’ll remember that Ying was a learner who kept a diary about learning to listen. She wrote: ‘Sometimes when a familiar word is used in a sentence, I couldn’t catch it. Maybe it changes somewhere when it is used in a sentence.’ (Goh 1997, p. 366) Ying’s dilemma is this: does she ‘know’ a word, […]

Ying is a learner who kept a diary about her experiences while she was learning to listen. She wrote: ‘I believe I need to learn what the word sounds like when it is used in the sentence. Because sometimes when a familiar word is used in a sentence, I couldn’t catch it. Maybe it changes […]

Dorah is from South Africa, her first language is Sotho. She is speaking to Sheila about a traditional wedding in her village in South Africa. The extract is taken from some experimental listening materials I am working on with Sheila Thorn of The Listening Business. D: They would come in the morning and then there […]

The abbreviations ELF and EIL stand for English as a Lingua Franca, and English as an International Language. These abbreviations are used in discussions about pronunciation standards. Around the world, there are more non-native speakers using English (EIL) than native speakers. When groups of speakers from different language backgrounds communicate in English, there is evidence […]

The Window on speech has five chapters, which give a comprehensive but easy-to-follow introduction to the rhythmic patterns of speech, and intonation. It is these patterns – speech units – which are used to present, analyse, and teach the sound substance of the stream of speech. Describing spontaneous speech has five chapters covering filled and silent pauses, […]

This is the first ‘favourite’ to feature an American voice – so perhaps the spelling should be ‘favorite’, but in the interests of consistency, we will use the British spelling. The extract is taken from Chapter 7 of the American Canadian version of Streaming Speech. If you were asked to explain the meaning of the […]

I give talks and seminars about the teaching of listening and pronunciation, and on all aspects of the nature of spontaneous speech. Suitable for all levels of teacher training, including university lecturers. I can speak on topics of general interest, such as prejudice towards accents. You can read more about the range of talks available […]

Anke has two occupations: she is an accountant, and a teacher. Click the speaker icon to hear all of the extract. Click on each line to hear that line. The numbers down the left hand side are reference numbers for each line. The numbers down the right hand side give the speed in words per […]

One of the delights of self-publishing is (of course) to see one’s own words in print, to get one’s work ‘out there’. The biggest non-delight is to discover (the inevitable) errors. I feel tempted to blame all those I acknowledge and thank in the prelims of the book – but of course it can only […]

This is a follow-on page related to my blog ‘Listening Cherry 08’ here. I was doing this task, without looking at the answer key, and I could not do no. 6 (see image below), which required me to listen to a speech unit which contained nine syllables going at 5.0 syllables per second, and fill […]