Language learning: speaking skills Books

Book SynopsisThis book offers an overview of some recent advances in the Computational Bioacoustics methods and technology. In the focus of discussion is the pursuit of scalability, which would facilitate real-world applications of different scope and purpose, such as wildlife monitoring, biodiversity assessment, pest population control, and monitoring the spread of disease transmitting mosquitoes. The various tasks of Computational Bioacoustics are described and a wide range of audio parameterization and recognition tasks related to the automated recognition of species and sound events is discussed. Many of the Computational Bioacoustics methods were originally developed for the needs of speech, audio, or image processing, and afterwards were adapted to the requirements of automated acoustic recognition of species, or were elaborated further to address the challenges of real-world operation in 24/7 mode. The interested reader is encouraged to follow the numerous references and links to web resources for further information and insights. This book is addressed to Software Engineers, IT experts, Computer Science researchers, Bioacousticians, and other practitioners concerned with the creation of new tools and services, aimed at enhancing the technological support to Computational Bioacoustics applications. STTM, Speech Technology and Text Mining in Medicine and Health Care This series demonstrates how the latest advances in speech technology and text mining positively affect patient healthcare and, in a much broader sense, public health at large. New developments in text mining methods have allowed health care providers to monitor a large population of patients at any time and from any location. Employing advanced summarization techniques, patient data can be readily extracted from extensive clinical documents in electronic health records and immediately made available to the physician. These same summarization techniques can also aid the healthcare provider in extracting from the large corpora of medical literature the relevant information for treating the patient. The series topics include the design and acceptance of speech-enabled robots that assist in the operating room, studies of signal processing and acoustic modeling for speech and communication disorders, advanced statistical speech enhancement methods for creating synthetic voice, and technologies for addressing speech and language impairments. Titles in the Series consist of both authored books and edited contributions. All authored books and contributed works are peer-reviewed. The Series is for speech scientists and speech engineers, machine learning experts, biomedical engineers, medical speech pathologists, linguists, and healthcare professionals Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Why Computational Bioacoustics? 3. Getting to know the problems of automated species recognition 4. Preparation of data 5. Sound production mechanisms 6. Parameterization of bioacoustic signals 7. Machine learning methods 8. Application examples 9. Useful resources 10. Conclusion and outlook

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a complete introductory course on the phonetics of English and Dutch based on an essentially practical approach to the subject. No previous knowledge of phonetics is assumed and all terms are explained in straightforward English as they are introduced. Theoretical and practical aspects of the subject are clarified for the student by means of numerous self-study exercises in articulation and transcription. The book contains a detailed contrastive description of British RP English and of Dutch (in both the Netherlands and Belgian standard varieties). In addition to a full description of the individual vowels and consonants, full attention is paid to features of connected speech, e.g. intonation, assimilation and elision, stress and articulatory setting. There are sections on sound-spelling relationships in English and an analysis of the commonest pronunciations errors in the English of Dutch-speakers. A guide to the technique of phonemic transcription is also provided, with numerous transcription passages for which correction keys are available. One chapter is devoted to differences between British and American pronunciation. Another section provides a survey of a range of British regional accents (e.g. Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Northern, London, Midlands, West Country). Now available with corrections incorporating the reactions of Dutch and Belgian users.Table of ContentsPreface 1. A working basis 2. The phoneme 3. Transcription 4. The speech mechanism 5. Classification of consonants 6. Fortis/lenis contrast in Dutch and English 7. Secondary articulation 8. Description and classification of vowels 9. Back to the phoneme 10. Phonation and states of the glottis 11. English checked vowels 12. English free vowels 13. Sounds and spelling: vowels 14. The vowels of Dutch 15. English fricative consonants 16. English stop consonants 17. English nasal and approximant consonants 18. Sounds and spelling: consonants 19. The consonants of Dutch 20. Patterns of adjustment in connected speech: assimilation and elision 21. Articulatory setting in English and Dutch 22. Stress and rhythm 23. Pitch, tone and intonation 24. Functions of intonation in English 25. Intonation in Dutch and English compared 26. Error analysis 27. A brief look at other accents of the British Isles 28. Some differences between American and British English Guide to the technique of phonemic transcription Guide to the technique of allophonic description Glossary of technical terms Key to exercises Further reading and list of works consulted Vowel symbols used in various systems of transcription Selected list of diacritics and phonetic symbols The International Phonetic Alphabet English Phonetic Symbol checksheet Index

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Book SynopsisWhen travelling, do you want to. . . -communicate accurately? -do more than just 'get by'? -make connections in a new language? Through twenty common scenarios plus culture and travel advice, you'll soon be practising the most frequent words and expressions you need for your travels. Get the words and phrases you need for ordering food, booking a hotel, meeting friends, shopping and more. You can download the audio files on these discs from your computer to your MP3 player or play them in an MP3 CD player. You'll also get a coursebook PDF for reading practice and a handy phrasebook to take away with you. Through our interactive Discovery Method, you'll: -Progress in your understanding by working out language patterns for yourself. -Personalize your Korean with interactive role-plays. -Perfect your pronunciation and sound more natural. Rely on Teach Yourself, trusted by language learners for over 75 years.

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Book SynopsisAll humans have an innate need and ability to communicate with others, and this book presents successful approaches to nurturing communicative abilities in people who have some type of communication impairment.The contributors look at a wide range of approaches, including intensive interaction, co-creative communication, sensory integration and music therapy, for a variety of impairments, including autism, profound learning disabilities, deafblindness, severe early neglect and dementia. This wide perspective provides insight into what it feels like to struggle with a communicative impairment, and how those who work with and care about such individuals can and should think more creatively about how to make contact with them.Covering both the theory and practical implementation of different interventions, this book will be invaluable for health and social work professionals, psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, speech and language therapists, as well as researchers, teachers and students in these fields.Trade ReviewContributors explore a wide range of approaches including intensive interaction, co-creative communication, sensory integration and music therapy, for a variety of impairments including autism and profound learning disabilities. -- BILD Information ServiceBuilt from materials presented at a 2007 seminar entitled "promoting Social Interactions for Individuals with Profound Communication Needs" held in Dundee, Scotland, these essays range from lessons learned in practical and clinical work to results of empirical studies. They address learners with situations ranging from autism to profound learning disabilities, deaf-blindness, severe early neglect and dementia, and includes contributor's notions on how it feels to be in such a learner and professional interventions. Topics include assessing intuiton as a part of human communication, using music to communicate, using imitation with children with autism spectrum disorder or with those who have suffered early institutionalization, communicating with people who are congenitally deaf-blind, interacting intensively with those who have profound learning disabilities, and using adaptive interaction to communicate with people with dementia. Other interventions include video interaction guidance and sensory integration. -- Book News IncTable of Contents1. Introduction: Bridging a Spectrum of Communicative Impairments. M. Suzanne Zeedyk, University of Dundee, UK. Origins of Communication. 2. Intuition for Human Communication. Colwyn Trevarthen, University of Edinburgh, UK. 3. The Universality of Musical Communication. Raymond A. R. MacDonald, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK. Communicative Impairments. 4. The Use of Imitation with Children with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Foundations for Shared Communication. Michelle B. O'Neill, Martyn C. Jones and M. Suzanne Zeedyk, University of Dundee, UK. 5. Sharing Communicative Landscapes with Congenitally Deafblind People: It's a walk in the park! Paul Hart, Sense Scotland. 6. Using Imitation to Establish Channels of Communication with Institutionalised Children in Romania: Bridging the Gap. Clifford E. Davies, M. Suzanne Zeedyk, Sarah Walls, Naomi Betts and Sarah Parry. 7. Developing Relationships with People with Profound Learning Disabilities through Intensive Interaction. Dr Pete Coia, Wakefield Psychological Service, UK and Angela Jardine Handley. 8. A New Approach to Communicating with People with Advanced Dementia:A Case Study of Adaptive Interaction. Maggie P. Ellis and Arlene J. Astell, University of St Andrews, UK. A Closer Look at Interventions. 9. Video Interaction Guidance: A Bridge to Better Interactions for Individuals with Communication Impairments. Hilary Kennedy, University of Dundee, UK and Heather Sked. 10. Sensory Integration: From Spinning to Sitting, from Sitting to Smiling. Jane Horwood, Private Practitioner. 11. Intensive Interaction: Getting in Touch with a Child with Severe Autism. Phoebe Caldwell, Private Practitioner.

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Book SynopsisThis expert guide provides yoga teachers with the skills they need to understand how to care for and improve their voices technically, as well as how to express themselves authenticity and effectively as a teacher.Being able to give instruction clearly and with emotional intelligence is part of the personal development that each yoga teacher goes through. This book offers instruction, support and ideas on how to embark on the journey of yoga teaching with greater confidence and mindfulness. After the basics in vocal projection, inflection and intonation are covered, the book details the psychological significance of believing in your own value and finding what makes each teacher unique and accessible to their students. It includes advice on safe boundaries in the student/teacher relationship, self-care, and tips on how to deal with common teaching mishaps with grace and humour. Improvisation techniques and personal stories from other teachers help to expand the reader's skills further to create an affirming, practical guidebook for all yoga teachers.Trade ReviewHolding Space fills an oft-neglected gap in yoga teacher trainings by expertly showing us how to play that most powerful of instruments - our voice. Carefully distilled from over two decades of dedicated voice-work and yoga experience, Sarah's accessible, nuanced, and wise writing makes this book a captivating and informative guide for yogis everywhere. -- David Kim, Senior YogaWorks Teacher Trainer & YogaWise Yin TrainerAdeptly straddling the worlds of theater, voice, and yoga, Sarah Scharf seamlessly interweaves these arts in a much-needed book that addresses the concern of presence in teaching. Though directed to yoga instructors, this valuable guide may also serve movement/dance practitioners looking to amplify learning outcomes through effective vocal functioning. -- Michael Morgan - Director for Social Justice, Fitzmaurice InstituteEffective use of voice and choice of language are two of the most important skills for any yoga teacher, yet they are often given insufficient prominence in teacher training. There is both art and science in using voice and language, and, in this unique book, Sarah Scharf addresses both in a highly practical way directed specifically to yoga teachers. As well as hugely important for existing yoga teachers, it deserves to be required reading on all yoga teacher training courses. -- Elizabeth Stanley, Director, Yogacampus and The Life CentreTable of Contents1. Anatomy of the Voice. 2. Voice Work. 3. Speaking Your Truth. 4. Improvisation and Body Language. 5. Staging. 6. How we Learn. 7. How We Teach. 8. Putting it all Together. 9. Expanding as a Teacher.

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Book SynopsisLiteracy teaching tends to take a structural approach to language, focusing on auditory products or skills such as sounds, morphemes, words, sentences, and vocabulary. However, new research suggests that the majority of English speakers actually think and learn in visual concepts, and that there is a cultural and linguistic mismatch between auditory teaching methods and the way students think and learn. This has important implications for all educators including those who work with students with neurogenic disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders and ADHD.In her new book, Dr. Ellyn Lucas Arwood outlines a revolutionary four-tiered model of how a learner acquires language, and suggests ways to impose visual language functions onto an auditory language like English in order to improve learning for both neurotypical learners and those with neurogenic disabilities. Dr. Arwood provides tried-and-tested intervention strategies that work with all levels of ability, giving readers the knowledge and confidence to teach learners to become more literate in a way that raises learners' abilities to think and problem solve.This book takes a fresh look at how language and literacy interact, and will be of interest to educators and special educators, speech and language pathologists, and other professionals who support language learning and development.Trade ReviewThe book is well-illustrated with case studies and is full of practical ideas for intervention, as well as handling complicated theory in an accessible way... Thinking about the way language functions is crucial to successful learning and visual language function is emphasised over the traditional auditory function of language as key to this success. A fresh approach, worth reading. -- bulletinTable of ContentsIntroduction. Part I. Language and Thinking. 1. Defining Language. 2. Language Acquisition: Learning to Think. 3. The Study of Language Functions: Thinking. Part II. English Language Functions. 4. The Cultural-Linguistic Properties of English. 5. Living with a Visual Brain in an Auditory World: A Paradigm Shift. 6. Language, Literacy and Thinking. Part III. Language - How Do We Assess and Intervene? 7. Assessment of Pre-language Thinkers. 8. Intervention for Pre-Production, Pre-Language Thinkers. 9. Intervention for Verbal Pre-Language Thinkers. 10. Language Thinkers. 11. Linguistic Thinkers. 12. Language Function Affects Behavior. Part IV. Educational Applications of Language Function. 13. The Language-Based Primary Classroom. 14. The Language-Based Intermediary Classroom. 15. The Language of Concrete to Formal Thinkers. 16. Evidence-Based Research for Viconic Language Methods. References. Appendices. Glossary. Index.

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Book SynopsisWhat is the current state of English language teaching in Poland, what are the most difficult aspects of English pronunciation for Polish learners and what are the ways to overcome them?

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Book SynopsisWhat elements make a speaking activity successful? Which tasks or activities truly help build English speaking fluency? What mistakes do ESL teachers often make when designing a speaking activity? This work seeks to answer these questions. It helps ESL/EFL teachers design and use speaking tasks that improve students' speaking fluency.

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Book SynopsisProvides an Introduction to English for Academic Purposes in speaking skills. The exercises practice an array of important academic speaking strategies, including tips for impromptu speaking and making presentations, and also reinforces vocabulary. Each unit includes activities based on the types of speaking situations that students will encounter in academic settings.

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Book SynopsisWhether you are teaching a speaking course online for the first time or transitioning a face-to-face course to online, Teaching Speaking Online outlines ways to foster spoken language development in online teaching contexts.

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Book SynopsisConsists of 25 units that present basewords with definitions, usage examples, and exercises. Each unit focuses on a specific topic, carefully selected for its relevance to students' lives, so that students can practice new words in meaningful contexts.

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Book SynopsisGiovanni Pontano, best known today as a Latin poet, also composed popular prose dialogues and essays. The De sermone, translated into English here for the first time as The Virtues and Vices of Speech, provides a moral anatomy of aspects of speech such as truthfulness, deception, flattery, gossip, bargaining, irony, wit, and ridicule.

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Book SynopsisThe human voice does not deceive. The one who is speaking is inevitably revealed by the singular sound of her voice, no matter what she says. Starting from the given uniqueness of every voice, Cavarero rereads the history of philosophy through its peculiar evasion of this embodied uniqueness.Trade Review"Cavarero is lyrical, commanding, sweeping."—Theory & Event"The material gathered here is striking for both its breadth and the richness of treatment." —Philosophy in Review/Comptes Rendus philosophiquesTable of ContentsTable of Contents Translator's Introduction...Paul A. Kottman Introduction 1. The Voice According to Calvino Introduction 2. Preliminary Outline of the Theme of the Voice; or, Philosophy Closes its Ears PART I -- How Logos Lost its Voice 1. The Voice of Jacob 2. 'Saying,' Instead of the 'Said' 3. The De-vocalization of logos 4. The Voice of the Soul 5. The Strange Case of the Anti-Metaphysician Ireneo Funes 6. The Voice of Language 7. When Thinking Was Done With the Lungs... 8. Some Irresistible (and Somewhat Dangerous) Flute-Playing 9. The Rhapsodic Voice; or, Ion's Specialty PART II. Women Who Sing 1. 'Sing to Me, O Muse' 2. The Fate of the Sirens 3. Melodramatic Voices 4. The Maternal chora; or, The Voice of the Poetic Text 5. Truth Sings In Key 6. The Hurricane does not Roar in Pentameter 7. The Harmony of the Spheres; or, The Political Control of mousike PART III: A POLITICS OF VOICES 1. Echo; or, On Resonance 2. A Vocal Ontology of Uniqueness 3. Logos and Politics 4. The Reciprocal Communication of Voices Appendix: Dedicated to Derrida Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis is an introduction to Korean pronunciation for students at all levels of proficiency. Beginners should find the information they need to cross the threshold of intelligibility in Korean, while more advanced students can fine-tune their pronunciation and improve their comprehension.

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Book SynopsisThe first volume in a four-part language course, this textbook enables students to start speaking and understanding the Burmese spoken language.

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Book SynopsisAn Introduction to French Pronunciation is a comprehensive and accessible guide to current French pronunciation. enables students to not only to hear the language, but to know what to listen for includes chapters on the general principles of French phonetics and regional variations in the pronunciation of French includes discussion of vowels, semi-consonants, consonants, rhythmic groups, the syllable, liaison and intonation written by a leading figure in the field, the author of A Comprehensive French Grammar (Blackwell, 2003) Trade ReviewPraise for Glanville Price's An Introduction to French Pronunciation, revised edition (Blackwell, 2005)... “Glanville Price’s books on the grammar and history of the French language have been recognized as authoritative resources by generations of graduate students. The revised edition of his Introduction to French Pronunciation exhibits qualities that have contributed to the popularity of the work, especially comprehensibility and conciseness.” The Modern Language Journal Praise for Glanville Price's A Comprehensive French Grammar (Blackwell, 2003)... “Remarkably comprehensive … an essential grammar but good for a browse too. Conventional grammar and very much more is covered in meticulous detail.” Times Education Supplement “As a pedagogic grammar, it is remarkably reliable and complete, with two key elements: a good index and excellent cross-referencing. He pitches the explanations at a level which is useful from first to final-year undergraduate linguists.” Journal of French Language StudiesTable of ContentsPreface. 1. General Considerations. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Sounds, Phonemes and Allophones. 1.3 Suprasegmental Features. 1.4 The Articulation of French. 1.5 The Organization of this book. 1.6 References and Further Reading. 1.7 Phonetic Symbols. 2. The Production of Speech. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 The Vocal Cords and Voice. 2.3 Articulators. 2.4 Active Articulators. 2.5 Passive Articulators. 2.6 Terminology. 3. The Articulation of French. 3.1 Articulatory Tension. 3.2 Pure Vowels. 4. The Vowel Phonemes. 4.1 Principles of Classification. 4.2 Point of Articulation. 4.3 The Height of the Tongue or the Degree of Aperture. 4.4 Lip Configuration. 4.5 Orality or Nasality. 4.6 Classification and IPA Symbols. 4.7 Front Unrounded Vowels. 4.8 Front Rounded Vowels. 4.9 Mute e. 4.10 Back Rounded Vowels. 4.11 Nasal Vowels. 4.12 Summary Table. 5. The Semi-Consonants. 5.1 General. 6. The Consonant Phonemes. 6.1 Principles of Classification. 6.2 Point of Articulation. 6.3 Manner (or Mode) of Articulation. 6.4 Presence or Absence of Voice. 6.5 Classification and IPA Symbols. 6.6 Stops. 6.7 Fricatives. 6.8 Lateral. 6.9 Nasals. 6.10 r-Sounds. 6.11 Summary Table. 7. The Rhythmic Group. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 The Different Types of Group. 7.3 The Rhythmic Group. 7.4 The Rhythmic Group and the Word. 8. The Syllable. 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 The Rules of Syllabification. 8.3 Syllabification within the Sense Group. 8.4 Closed and Open Syllables. 8.5 Syllable-Timing and Stress-Timing. 9. Stress. 9.1 Normal Stress. 9.2 Emphatic Stress. 9.3 Contrastive Stress. 9.4 Normal Stress in French. 9.5 Emphatic Stress in French. 9.6 Contrastive Stress in French. 9.7 Other Types of Stress. 10. The Vowels in Detail. 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 /i/ - High Front Unrounded. 10.3 /y/ - High Front Rounded. 10.4 /u/ - High Back Rounded. 10.5 The Three Pairs of Mid-Vowels. 10.6 /e/ - High –Mid Front Unrounded; /ε/ - Low-Mid Front Unrounded. 10.7 /ø/ - High-Mid Front Rounded; /œ/ - Low-Mid Front Rounded. 10.8 /o/ - High-Mid Back Rounded; /]/ - Low-Mid Back Rounded. 10.9 /a/ - Low Front Unrounded; /Y/ Low Back Rounded. 10.10 The Nasal Vowels. 10.11 Unvoicing of Vowels. 10.12 Canadianisms. 11. Mute e. 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 Four Simple ‘Rules’. 11.3 An Expansion of the Four ‘Rules’. 11.4 Rule 1. 11.5 Rule 2. 11.6 Rule 3. 11.7 Rule 4. 11.8 Three or More Mute es in Succession. 11.9 Miscellaneous Points. 12. Vowel Length. 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 Five Simple Rules. 12.3 Rule 1. 12.4 Rule 2. 12.5 Rule 3. 12.6 Rule 4. 12.7 Rule 5. 12.8 Is Vowel Length Ever Phonemic in French?. 12.9 Other Alternatives. 13. The Semi-Consonants in Detail. 13.1 Introduction. 13.2 /i/ or /j/ after a Vowel?. 13.3 /j/, /l/ or /ll/ after /i/?. 13.4 Intervocalic /j/. 13.5 /r/. 13.6 /r/ and /w/. 13.7 Vowel or Semi-Consonant?. 14. The Consonants in Detail: (I) Stops. 14.1 Introduction. 14.2 Mode of Articulation (General). 14.3 French and English Stops. 14.4 Point of Articulation. 14.5 A Canadianism. 14.6 The Glottal Stop. 15. The Consonants in Detail: (II) Fricatives. 15.1 French and English Fricatives. 15.2 Manner of Articulation. 15.3 Point of Articulation. 16. The Consonants in Detail: (III) /r/, /l/ and the Nasals. 16.1 The Varieties of French /r/. 16.2 The Lateral Consonant /l/. 16.3 The Nasal Consonants /m/, /n/, /…/ and /N/. 16.4 The Release of Final Consonants. 16.5 Voiceless /l/ and /r/. 16.6 Voiceless /m/. 17. Gemination. 17.1 Long Consonants and Geminate Consonants. 17.2 French Geminates. 18. Consonantal Assimilation. 18.1 Introduction. 18.2 Regressive Assimilation of Fortes and Lenes. 18.3 Progressive Assimilation. 18.4 Assimilation to Vowels. 19. Liaison. 19.1 Origins. 19.2 The Problem. 19.3 The Liaison Forms. 19.4 Words Having No Special Liaison Form. 19.5 Compulsory Liaison. 19.6 Generally Acceptable Liaison. 19.7 No Liaison. 20. Intonation. 20.1 Introduction. 20.2 Types of Utterance. 20.3 Declarative Sentences. 20.4 Yes-No Questions. 20.5 Wh-Questions. 20.6 Imperative Sentences. 20.7 Level Intonation. References for Further Reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisAn innovative, dynamic, and dramatic approach to French language and culture for high school and college students

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Book SynopsisINNOVATIONS is a new five-level general English course for classes looking for new material with a fresh approach. Based on a language-rich, lexical/grammatical syllabus, it starts from the kinds of natural conversations that learners want to have.

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Book SynopsisNow in its 11th edition, Speaking with a Purpose is designed to help speakers develop the skills they need to prepare and deliver effective speeches.Using a traditional step-by-step approach combined with up-to-date communication theory, this no-frills textbook allows students to prepare, practice, and present speeches. This new edition places greater emphasis on the skills needed to communicate effectively both online and offline. It analyses the similarities and differences between in-person speaking and online video conferencing and explores technical online attributes such as best Zoom protocols. This new edition also provides a deeper focus on the ethics and ethical implications associated with communicating in public and assesses issues such as trustworthiness, integrity, and respect for others.A valuable resource in the traditional, online, or hybrid classroom, this is an essential textbook for general courses in public speaking and speech commTable of Contents1. Speech Communication 2. Audience Analysis 3. Determine Your Purpose and Subject 4. The Introduction and Conclusion 5. Gathering Supportive Material 6. Supporting Your Ideas 7. Organizing the Body of Your Speech 8. Delivering Your Speech 9. Informing 10. Persuasion 11. Group Communication 12. Speaking Online 13. The Tech Savvy Leader

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Book SynopsisLanguage is more than words: it includes the prosodic features and patterns that we use, subconsciously, to frame meanings and achieve our goals in our interaction with others. Here, Nigel G. Ward explains how we do this, going beyond intonation to show how pitch, timing, intensity and voicing properties combine to form meaningful temporal configurations: prosodic constructions. Bringing together new findings and hitherto-scattered observations from phonetic and pragmatic studies, this book describes over twenty common prosodic patterns in English conversation. Using examples from real conversations, it illustrates how prosodic constructions serve essential functions such as inviting, showing approval, taking turns, organizing ideas, reaching agreement, and evoking action. Prosody helps us establish rapport and nurture relationships, but subtle differences in prosody across languages and subcultures can be damagingly misunderstood. The findings presented here will enable both native sTrade Review'Nigel G. Ward's book presents a novel approach to a long elusive question: what are the acoustic correlates of prosody that align with communicative functions? By taking a data mining approach, acoustic features long thought to be correlates of prosodic categories and long speculated as contributing in complex ways, can be examined together. While research has been hampered by the lack of consensus defining discrete communicative functions, Ward takes a defiantly speculative approach in the interpretation of his very concrete statistical associations, paving the way for the discipline to use his methods experimentally.' Nanette Veilleux, Simmons University, BostonTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Bookended narrow pitch regions; 3. Downstep constructions; 4. Creaky voice and its functions; 5. Perspectives on prosody; 6. Late pitch peak and its functions; 7. Expressing positive assessments; 8. Superposition; 9. A big-data approach; 10. From patterns to meanings; 11. Turn-taking constructions; 12. Topic management constructions; 13. Stance-related constructions; 14. The rest of English prosody; 15. Envoi.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on teaching speaking within a coherent methodological framework.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Speaking Processes and Skills: 1. Speaking and the language learner; 2. Cognitive processes in speaking; 3. Speaking competence; Part II. Spoken Discourse: 4. Genres of speaking; 5. Spoken grammar and discourse intonation; Part III. Designs and Approaches: 6. A methodological framework; 7. A model for teaching speaking; 8. Developing a speaking programme; Part IV. Classroom Practices and Processes: 9. Developing fluency; 10. Developing accuracy and complexity; 11. Raising metacognitive awareness about speaking; 12. Improving small group discussions; I3. Alternative assessment.

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