Speak Out – Walker

Robin Walker is the author of Teaching the Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca (Oxford University Press, 2010), and is the outgoing editor (actually, now outgone) of IATEFL Pronunciation Special Interest Group’s newsletter, SPEAK OUT!. You can read the full review here.

My favourite paragraphs in the review are the last two complete paragraphs on page 66, the first of which begins with the following sentence:

There is so much that I like about this book that it is hard to know where to begin, but first Cauldwell [that’s me] has to be congratulated for making everything in Phonology for Listening accessible to its intended readership through clear, jargon-free language.

The second of the two paragraphs goes (in full):

But there are numerous other positive qualities to this book. My own favourites include the way the author debunks a number of pronunciation myths. I’m not sure how many times we’re going to have to tell teachers that the syllable-timing/stress-timing opposition doesn’t reflect reality. However, if you find yourself dragged back there during future training work, you could do worse that turn to pages 141-142 of Phonology for Listening.