Pronunciation courses
Ship or Sheep? An intermediate pronunciation course
Pack containing book and 4 audio CDs
Third edition
Ann Baker
Cambridge University Press 2007
ISBN 978-0-521-60673-8Tree or Three? An elementary pronunciation course
Pack containing book and 3 audio CDs
Second edition
Ann Baker
Cambridge University Press 2007
ISBN 978-0-521-68527-6Many years ago I was told that "Ship or Sheep?" was a very good book for practising pronunciation. I looked at it in the bookshop but decided it looked rather plain and uninteresting so didn't buy it. The new edition now has a cover in shades of red and "Tree or Three?" has shades of green making both books look much more attractive.
The blurb on both books is the same: "Do you have trouble with your pronunciation? Are you sometimes misunderstood, even when you know the word is right? This book can help you! This fully revised edition of the classic title, now in full colour, will help you make the distinction between similar sounds and make sure that you are understood - first time. This new edition has been re-written to make it suitable for either self-study or classroom use." The same sounds with phonetic symbols are used in both books but there are more examples in "Ship or Sheep?" making units of mostly 4 pages, occasionally 3 or 5, whereas in "Tree or Three?" the units cover mainly 2 pages, occasionally 3. In "Ship or Sheep?" there are Diagnostic Tests at the beginning to help pin-point a student's problems and there are 7 Review Units to practise the pronunciation from the preceding units. "Ship or Sheep?" is divided into 2 sections, the first on vowel sounds and the second consonant sounds. In "Tree or Three?" they are mixed throughout the book. Stress is also shown, although more frequently in "Ship or Sheep?". The 3 CDs with Tree or Three?" are between 40 and 49 mins each and the 4 CDs with "Ship or Sheep?" are between 70 and 78 minutes each. Obviously, I haven't listened to everything, but choosing tracks at random, they all seem to be Standard British English with the execption of one unit in "Tree or Three?" entitled "The silent r" where they also give examples in American English to compare the "r" sound.
Both books show diagrams of the mouth and throat showing how the sounds should be made, also the position of the lips. The instructions are much more complicated in "Ship or Sheep?", for example with the "k" sound they tell one to: "First touch the back of the roof of your mouth with the back of your tongue, etc. " Is this a new meaning of "tongue twister"? Does this really happen when I pronounce a "k" sound?
The units showing the pronunciation of television might be useful for the many students I've had who have told me that they "look televishon". I'm quite successful in getting them to "watch" but often can't get rid of the "vish" sound in the middle. The j is another trouble spot, although I notice a lot of television reporters talk about the "Dow Chones"!! I once had a student who told me he was interested in, what I understood to be, chess. I said I thought it was quite difficult to play to which he replied that he didn't play it, he only listened! After a few more confusing comments, I eventually found out that he liked Jazz. Obviously, these books would be of use to these students.
On the other hand, I feel it's a disadvantage that only British English is spoken on the CDs. Today, students have to understand various accents when they do the Cambridge listening exams and they're also more widely-travelled than they were when these books were first published and have heard many other accents during their travels.
Although these books have been up-dated, I still find they are rather out-of-date as not everyone wants to learn Standard British English today. (By the way, I'm British!)
Diane Lohri-Newman