"Sound Concepts leads students to understand what their main problems in pronunciation are, and how to solve them. Sound Concepts systematically addresses predictable pronunciation challenges and introduces students to the regular patterns of English stress, intonation, and timing that will help them develop communicative competence.

FEATURES:
Comprehensively addresses all aspects of pronunciation, dividing instruction into four main parts: 1. Sound Concepts: the communicated content - what is said; 2. Rhythm & Music: the communicative intent - what is meant; 3. Grammar Sounds: regular verb and noun endings; 4. Consonant & Vowel Sounds
Integrates segmental and suprasegmental topics in each chapter and provides initial diagnostics and cumulative assessments.
Offers abundant contextualized speaking and listening opportunities for meaningful pronunciation practice.
Invites students to monitor their progress toward producing spontaneous, accurate speech through reflective journals, language strategies, checklists, and pronunciation logs.
Focuses meaningful attention on paralinguistics - the body language that helps convey intent or meaning.

CONTENTS

An Introduction to the Teacher
The Case for Teaching Pronunciation -- The Scope of the Task -- A Short Course in Teaching Pronunciation -- A Principled Approach to Error Correction -- How to Use This Book Effectively -- Words of Wisdom: Theoretical and Research Principal-Based Foundations

UNIT 1 SYLLABLES

Chapter 1: A Preview of Pronunciation
An Introduction to Language, Sounds, and the Alphabet -- Sound Concepts: Mini-Lesson 1 -- Consonant & Vowel Sounds: Mini-Lesson 2 -- Introduction to the "th" Sounds: /θ/ and /ð/ -- Rhythm & Music: Mini-Lesson 3 -- Grammar Sounds: Mini-Lesson 4 -- Introduction to the Pronunciations of the Past Tense Ending "-ed"

Getting Ready for Chapter 2: What You Need to Know About Pronunciation

Chapter 2: Diagnostics and Logbook
Diagnostics -- How to Use This Book: The Teacher-Student Partnership -- Four Levels of Competence -- How You Can Learn to Correct Your Mistakes -- Using Your Pronunciation Log to Track Your Progress -- Understanding the Key to Success: Speaking -- Context for Practice: Language Learning Case Studies

Getting Ready for Chapter 3: What You Need to Know About Syllables

Chapter 3: Syllable Structure and Linked Sounds
Introduction to Linked Sounds -- Introduction to Contracted Sounds -- Introduction to the Sounds /t/ and /d/ -- Syllable Structure -- Consonant-to-Consonant Linking -- Saying the Past Tense Ending "-ed" -- Context for Practice: Language and Borrowings

Reflecting on Chapters 1-3: Pronunciation Questions and Priorities

Chapter 4: Stress Patterns and Deleted Sounds
Introduction to Deleted Sounds -- Deleted /h/ -- Introduction to Stress -- Standard Stress Patterns: Two-Syllable Words -- Standard Stress Patterns: Phrases -- Standard Stress Patterns: Sentences -- Introduction to Reduced Sounds -- Reduced Can: Can --------> /kn/ -- Contracted Not: Not -----> n't -- Introduction to the Sound /s/ -- Introduction to the Sound /z/ -- Third-Person Singular Present Tense Ending ("-s" or "-es") -- Context for Practice: The Trial of the Century

Assessment Section 1: Chapters 1-4

UNIT 2: STRESS

Getting Ready for Chapter 5: What You Need to Know About Stress in Longer Words

Chapter 5: Stress in Sentences and Reduced Sounds
Reduced Sounds: and and of -- Introduction to the Sound /aɪ/ (eye) -- Introduction to the Sound /i/ (eat) -- Introduction to the Sound /I/ (it) -- Introduction to the Sounds /b/ and /v/ -- Introduction to the Sound /j/ -- Introduction to the Sound /y/ -- Regular Plural Count Noun Endings ("-s" or "-es") -- Context for Practice: Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream -- Thought groups -- Stress with "-ation" Suffixes

Reflecting on Chapters 1-5: Pronunciation Change and the Learning Process

Getting Ready for Chapter 7: What You Need to Know About Stress and Sentence Rhythm

Chapter 7: Informational Stress and Altered Sounds
Introduction to Altered /t/ -- Introduction to the Sound /r/ -- Introduction to the Sound /l/ -- Introduction to the Sound /ʊ/ (book) -- More Contracted Sounds: I'd, He'd, (etc.) -- Sentence-Level Stress -- Introduction to Informal Stress -- Introduction to Intonation -- Stress with Suffixes: "-ogy", "-ogist" -- Stress with Suffixes "-ical", "-ity" -- Recycle Past Tense, Plural Noun, and Third-Person Singular Endings

Assessment Section 2: Chapters 5-7
Context for Practice: Air Traffic Controllers

UNIT 3: INTONATION

Getting Ready for Chapter 8: What You Need to Know About Reductions: Or and Are

Chapter 8: Functional Intonation and Reduced Sounds
Altered Sounds: /y/ -- Introduction to the Sounds /w/ -- Introduction to the Sound /æ/ -- Introduction to the Sound /e/ (say) -- Introduction to the Sound /ɛ/ (get) -- Reduced Sounds: have -- More About Intonation -- Functions of Intonation -- Recycle Past Tense Verb Endings -- Context for Practice: A History of Chocolate

Reflecting on Chapters 1-8

Chapter 9: Functional Intonation and Altered Sounds
Altered Verb Phrases: want to, got to, going to -- Reduced Sounds: because -- Introduction to the Sound /f/ -- Introduction to the Sound /p/ -- Introduction to the Sound /ɑ/ (odd) -- Functions of Intonation: Rising Intonation -- Functions of Intonation: Falling Intonation -- Recycle Regular Plural Count Noun Endings -- Context for Practice: Evolution -- Stress with "-ial" Suffixes

Getting Ready for Chapter 10: What You Need to Know about Intonation & Timing

Chapter 10: Timing and Linked Sounds
Linked Sounds: Introduction to Vowel-to-Vowel Linking -- Introduction to the Sound /k/ -- Introduction to the Sound /g/ -- Introduction to the Sound /ʔ/ -- Introduction to Timing -- Timing and Pauses -- Recycle Regular Past Tense "-ed" Endings -- Linked Sounds: Consonant-to-Consonant Linking -- Review, Reflect, and Recycle -- Using Stress and Syllables with Negative Prefixes -- Context for Practice: Compound Nouns and Noun Phrases

Assessment Section 3: Chapters 8-10

Appendix 1: International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Chart and Mouth Diagrams

Appendix 2: Reproducible Speaking Diagnostic

Appendix 3: Grammar Cross-Reference

Appendix 4: Audio Transcript

Appendix 5: Individual and Language-Specific Trouble Spots

Appendix: Pronunciation Log

Glossary

Index