This book is part of a series which aims to help English Language Learners to become fluent in Spoken English. The first in the planned series, it caters for those Learners who are ready to move up to the ESL (English as a Second Language) Intermediate level in Spoken English. Very often, English Language Learners at the Pre-Intermediate level are faced with two major difficulties. The first is that they have difficulty in understanding native English speakers who are speaking normally. The second is that they themselves are struggling to use more complex language structures fluently. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that native English speakers do not speak the language in the same way that they write it. The spoken word very often bears little or no resemblance to the written word. The second is that a Spoken language must be learnt - it cannot be taught. By this we mean that, while all learning is a two-way process between the instructor and the learner, when it comes to learning to speak a language, something more than 80% of the work must be done by the Learner on their own. One of the obvious areas where this is true is in the need to learn vocabulary. To become fluent in a spoken language, a great many new and more complex words must be learnt - and only the Learner can do that. The instructor cannot learn them for him. How that vocabulary is learnt is a large issue. By far, the vast majority of Learners try to do this by memorising list of English words and their equivalent meanings in their native language. This does not work, and it cannot work. It cannot work because it is an unnatural way in which to learn a language. It is also very boring, many, perhaps most, Learners have great difficulty in memorising, and being able to use, long lists of words and translations. In this book you will discover a new way to learn the vocabulary that you need, and how to make it fun to learn. The emphasis in this book is on practical use of the language. In each Unit, Learners are given the opportunity to extend their vocabulary and to practise speaking the language of the native speakers. The first section of each Unit is designed to focus on the elements of Pronunciation, Enunciation and Intonation when speaking English. The basics of each of these elements is described and explained as we progress through the Course. Great emphasis is laid, as it must be, on basic pronunciation of the Consonants that are found in English. The mechanisms of how these sounds are produced and illustrated and sets of minimal pairs are provided to allow the Language Learner to practise making these sounds and distinguishing between those that are closely related. Successfully reproducing the rhythm of English (Enunciation) is one of the main secrets of being able to speak the language fluently. In this book we describe how that rhythm is actually built up and how it works in practice. To do this, make use of some great English writings (and translations from the literature of other languages) to help the Learner to get a feel for the very beautiful cadences that English is capable of. This series has been two years in the making and most of the material in it has been extensively trialled in the classroom. In addition to the material in the book, a great deal of extra material, including audio files and links to other useful sites will be found on our website www.nutshellbooks.net.
About the Author: Born and educated in Ireland, Bill McCann has worked as a research chemist, archaeologist, project manager, departmental manager, geophysicist, company director, historical adviser and technical writer. He is currently working as a university lecturer in China. (In between that lot, he had great fun as a barman, dishwasher, hotel cook, movie house manager, taxi-cab dispatcher, hotel/bar stock controller and opinion survey interviewer.) Driven by a passionate curiosity and intense wanderlust, he has travelled widely and explored the cultures of many lands and peoples. He is a devoted bibliophile who has been an avid reader since the age of seven and continues to build his personal library which currently contains about 4,000 volumes on a range of subjects, including, Literature, Art, Music, Theatre, all the natural Sciences, Philosophy, Politics, Language, Mythology and, of course, History. The Nutshell Books project aims to distil the essence of the epochs, milestones, and personalities that made and shaped world history into a format more amenable and accessible to the denizens of the electronic age. He sees no sense in the notion of retirement and has every intention of avoiding the grave for as long as possible. Li Zi Chuang (Rick) grew up in Henan, China, in the heartlands of the ancient Xia Dynasty. After completing his High School education he elected to enter Hezhou University in the Guangxi Autonomous Region, where he took English, with an emphasis on Tourism, as his Major. He has now completed his university years and is currently working for a company in Guangdong which has an international client base. At the beginning of his second year at university, Bill McCann arrived to teach in the Foreign languages apartment. The two soon established a good rapport that has since grown into a close friendship. Concerned at the complete lack of English language books in Hezhou, Rick suggested to Bill that they might set up a Bookshop that would make English books and magazines available to the students of the university. The result was Bill 'N' Rick's Bookshop. Rick was also the inspiration behind the series of Nutshell Books about the emperors of China, which is dedicated to him. More importantly, he was worked closely with Bill in developing a practical Course in Spoken English that would help the English major students to become fluent in speaking English. That Course is the foundation for our first series of Nutshell Guides.