American Accent Training with 5 Audio CDs

I purchased AAT to help a couple of ESL students who have excellent English comprehension, but need extensive work on conversational English. This program is a great supplement. It provides a multitude of explanations and drills to improve non native American English. I especially like the practice exercises on slurring words together and the mini lessons on things like the silent w at the beginnings of words.Strong points:It's very well organized. Specific lessons targeting aspects of pronunciation are easy to find, as are the corresponding CD tracks.The chapters addressing ethnic specific difficulties with American English have been invaluable to my students and me.Weak points:I'm working with this program in a classroom, and am able to sort through the plethora of information presented. It's all good stuff, but I think it would be confusing, if not overwhelming for the average ESL student to use alone. It's second nature for a linguist to identify sounds using the technical terms, but it's a bit bewildering for the rest of us, who just want to be understood when we talk!If you're a teacher, you'll want to supplement this book with listening exercises, tongue twisters, and reading aloud, but it's a great framework for improving American English.

I just received my copy of the third edition of American Accent Training from Amazon. As an ESL instructor, I've actually been using this book since the first edition --- yes, I'm old! But hopefully with age has come some wisdom, and I definitely think that's the case with AAT's third edition. It's clear that the author listened to student feedback that pronunciation should be at the beginning of the book and Ann Cook has completely restructured the book with that in mind.Simply from an aesthetic perspective, I have to say I really like the clean design of this book, from the cover and throughout the contents. And from a green aspect, I appreciate that it doesn't come in that big box that the second edition came in. Yet this third edition still manages to cram as much and more linguistic information into a leaner presentation. I really like that the psychology of picking up and using the accent is addressed with techniques to make the process more comfortable. There are still those great CDs, and this time it seems like there are more voices for my students to emulate.As an instructor, I keep abreast of all these types of publications. And it seems like when everyone has copied Ms. Cook and there are lots of imitations being published using her methodology, she skips a couple of steps ahead and comes up with brand-new ideas to help my students learn a typical American accent.

Bought it as a required textbook. It is boring to graduate student (but unfortunately all international TAs need to take this lesson.) It should be quite useful as a correction to your accent if you have incentive to do so by reading.... I may be a good tool to use though.

Since I thought Americans say every word as it's written, no matter how hard I tried I still couldn't match their speed. I believed that they had the special ability to move their tongue and lips incredibly fast. In addition, although several English teachers tried to teach me how to pronounce the final "l", I made "eo" sounds all the same. I was frustrated and convinced that after a certain age, learning a new accent is just impossible. Fortunately, I stared to take American Accent Training. I was amazed by all those brilliant techniques that are so easy to use and so effective. Ever since I started practicing the Reduced Sounds Exercise, like a miracle, the "speed" was no longer a problem. A week later, I was astonished to find out that not only my accent had significantly improved but also I could understand Americans much better. And with my instructor, I have learned to pronounce the final "l" properly in just a few minutes although I still couldn't hear the difference between "l" and "eo". I've tried almost every pronunciation book on the market, this one is definitely far superior than any others, it teaches much more than pronunciation. And it would be nice if there are also digital versions. By the way, I think the publisher, BARRON'S, really should have hired a book designer.

Many (including native English speakers and other non-Chinese speakers) people have asked me how I managed to acquire such a heavy American accent, despite the fact that I've never been to any English-speaking countries. Furthermore, many ESL learners and even some native speakers (Americans included) thought I was an ABC (American-born Chinese), until I told them otherwise. Well, this is the answer. It was very helpful during my early years of studying how to speak "the American way." It goes without saying that consistent, frequent practice and actual application (i.e. by conversing with Americans) are essential for your pursuit of the otherwise elusive American accent (that is, if you weren't born and raised in the States).I can't praise this masterpiece enough. Ann Cook surely knows what she's talking about. If American accent (by which I mean the so-called "standard American accent" commonly heard in public broadcasts such as NPR and among educated Americans) is what you're aiming for, then you do not want to miss this book.It's not a hyperbole to call it the Holy Grail of American accent. Period.P.S. I finished reading this book sometime around 2012-2013, so this book review is long overdue!

Es el mejor curso de inglés que he encontrado, incluyendo las clases de Inglés que recibí antes. Este libro explica cosas que ningún profesor me había dicho y que no había leído en ningun lugar antes.

Ganhei este livro de presente. Porém eu o queria comprar por indicação de uma amigo com quem pratico inglês, ele é falante nativo, Canadense, mas morou desde criança na Holanda por isso precisou estudar inglês, de tanto elogiar este livro quis comprá-lo. Agora que o tenho às mãos percebo que realmente é um ótimo livro, acompanha 5 cd's com a leitura do que está escrito no livro e também áudio para realizar os exercícios. O livro foca na entonação e pronuncia, a fim de que o estudante chegue ao nível de falar como um nativo americano. Há capítulos dedicados a letras em particular como o som de R, T, D, TH, ou seja há capítulos focados em letras que são de maior dificuldade para estudantes estrangeiros. Há muitos exercícios, dicas e inclusive textos falando sobre dificuldades particulares de falantes nativos de certos idiomas, como Japonês, Árabe, Russo, Espanhol. Nestes capítulos a autora dedica se a dar dicas e informar os erros mais comuns que estes falantes costumam ter. Como disse, é um ótimo livro, mas... eu não indicaria para um iniciante, eu tenho nível B1 quase B2 e estou trabalhando na minha pronúncia para alcançar C1. Ao mesmo tempo estou cursando Letras Inglês, para me tornar um professor de inglês e tenho como meta alcançar C2 até o final do meu curso e sei que este livro irá me ajudar nisto e também posteriormente para usar alguns de seus exercícios com futuros alunos. Mas um estudante com nível B1 ou abaixo pode ter dificuldades, mas se você pode arcar com o custo, livro para estudo nunca é de mais. Eu reclamaria do valor do livro se não soubesse que todo livro didático tem o preço salgado.

This is one of the books that have helped me a lot. Not that I had a strong accent before I purchased this book. I had a slight accent. Since I bought this book and started studying it, people don't hear my accent! Apparently I don't have an accent anymore. This book helps really at lot and the book is very structured. I recommend this textbook if you would like to fit in the American society!

Really accurate! It covers all the phonetic and pronounciation. It has been really helpful because there are common american saying and everything it's explained in the book and repeated by the voices on the CD.

Ich wollte dieses Buch als Geschenk für einen Freund kaufen, der seine Englischkenntnisse und vor allem die Aussprache verbessern möchte, und hab es heute endlich bekommen. Die Qualität ist sehr gut, alle CDs sind dabei, die Übungen finde ich auch nützlich. Alles wird gut erklärt und es gibt viele Möglichkeiten, verschiedene Laute und Intonationen zu trainieren. Ich musste ziemlich lange warten, aber trotzdem habe ich die Sendung sogar früher bekommen als erwartet. Also ich bin sehr zufrieden, danke!