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English Pronunciation for Brazilians – The Sounds of American English
Sonia M. Baccari de Godoy, Cris Gontow and Marcello Marcelino
Disal Editora, 2006, 288 pages

ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION FOR BRAZILIANS

THE SOUNDS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH

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Those of you on the lookout for a straightforward publication will agree it is high time English Pronunciation for Brazilians -The Sounds of American English (with 3 Audio CDs) appeared in the market to fill a gap of materials specially targeted to pronunciation difficulties of Brazilians. The authors are experienced EFL teachers and teacher-educators, two of whom are experts in Pronunciation. They make use of Brazilian Portuguese to help learners understand and produce English sounds in a light, useful way.

The book is divided into Parts A – Pronouncing a Foreign Language, B – Consonants and C – Vowels. There is also a Glossary of technical terms, an Answer Key and Audio Scripts. The content of each unit is organised in well-designed and attractive sections like: Think About It, Close Up, Zoom In, Get Your Tongue Around It, In Context, Conversation, Stay Tuned, Wrap Up and Tip Boxes. Entertaining, provocative illustrations wittily announce the topic of each unit containing a range of activities which sensibly guide the learner from perception to production of key pronunciation features, including linking in connected speech.

If we were to offer suggestions for a future edition, they would be mostly in the user’s interest, namely: to clarify the link between a unit and its corresponding recorded activities on the CDs, and add sections on suprasegmentals, mainly rhythm and intonation.

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The reviewers

Zaina A. Abdalla Nunes – Ph.D. and M.A.in Applied Linguistics (PUC-SP), Full Professor of the English Department at PUC-SP. Elizabeth M. Pow – M.A. in Applied Linguistics (PUC –SP), teacher educator at FASB and PUC-COGEAE. The reviewers are BRAZ-TESOL Pronunciation SIG Central Committee members.