Now Available! Acquiring the Major Speech Functions is a practical handbook for students who plan to study in Russia or spend time in Russian-speaking communities and want to not only communicate with grammatical correctness but use the language in ordinary situations the way Russians dowhether for making requests, offering or accepting an invitation, consoling, complaining, or simply improving on how to start and maintain a conversation in Russian that is natural and culturally appropriate. Acquiring the Major Speech Functions includes: 13 SPEECH ETIQUETTE THEMES 62 LISTENING ACTIVITIES 59 DRILLS 84 SITUATIONAL SCENARIOS 62 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

'The thrill is that you're actually figuring it out on your own. You're engaging with another language, not just parroting it... It's an excellent way to start, and leaves the listener thinking, Hey, Ich kann do dis.' - New Yorker, David Sedaris, humorist and author, on learning German with the Michel Thomas Method Looking for a convenient language course that fits your lifestyle and gets you speaking a new language in a matter of weeks, not years? The original no-books, no-homework, no-memorizing method is in tune with the way the brain prefers to receive, store and retrieve information. You'll stick with it because you'll love it. * Improve your Egyptian Arabic naturally and unforgettably without strain or stress * Learn from listening and speaking, without the pressure of writing or memorizing * Build up your Egyptian Arabic in manageable steps by thinking out answers for yourself WHY IS THE METHOD SO SUCCESSFUL? 'What you understand, you know; and what you know, you don't forget.' - Michel Thomas Before there was machine learning, there was Michel Thomas. For over 50 years he worked on decoding languages by breaking them down into their most essential component parts. These 'building blocks' are introduced to the learner sequentially in such a way that you reconstruct the language for yourself - to form your own sentences, to say what you want, when you want. This unique method draws on the principles of instructional psychology and works with the way your brain prefers to receive, store and retrieve information. Knowledge is structured and organized so that you absorb the language easily and don't forget it. The method is designed to eliminate the stress which prevents you from relaxing and allowing the brain to work in the way which accepts learning in a seemingly painless, very exciting and highly motivating way. HOW DO THE COURSES WORK? 'All stress inhibits true and effective learning' - Michel Thomas During the course, you will join Michel Thomas Method teachers Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar and two students in a live lesson, learning from both their successes and their mistakes to keep you motivated and involved throughout the course. You, as the learner, become the third student and participate actively in the class. Within the very first hour you will be able to construct complex phrases by listening and thinking out answers for yourself without the pressure of writing or stress of having to memorize. You will learn at your own pace, pausing and repeating where necessary, and complete the course in about 15-20 hours. By the end of the course, you will have a solid working knowledge of Egyptian Arabic and be able to express yourself confidently in a variety of situations. WHAT WILL I ACTUALLY ACHIEVE? 'I am the architect who builds the house. It's up to you to decorate it.' - Michel Thomas The Michel Thomas Method will help you kick-start, continue, and flourish in your language learning journey. The Intermediate course will give you a full understanding of all the verb tenses and help you to speak more fluidly, with proper pronunciation, faster than most any other method. Along with the Foundation course, it is designed to give you a strong foundation and good working knowledge of a language from which you can expand and later 'add decoration' to. It is a rapid method for learning, but still requires effort and concentration on the part of the learner. WHAT'S NEW IN THIS NEW EDITION? This new edition includes an audio review course to let you quickly revise and consolidate your learning once you've completed the full course. WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE COURSE?* Intermediate Egyptian Arabic includes four audio Course CDs and one audio Review CD to continue and consolidate your knowledge. The booklet is available to download from www.michelthomas.com. *Note that the course content is the same as the previously entitled Perfect Arabic course, but the CD-ROM has been replaced with audio review CDs. LEARN ANYWHERE! Reclaim your pockets of free time to learn a new language! Don't be tied to chunky books or your computer, Michel Thomas Method audio courses let you learn whenever and wherever you want, in as little or as much time as you have.

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Timothy Cheek's revised edition of Singing in Czech: A Guide to Czech Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire, with its accompanying audio accessible online, builds on the original pioneering work of 2001 that set "a new and very welcome high standard for teaching lyric diction," according to Notes: The Journal of the Music Library Association. It offers users updated information, important clarifications, and expanded repertoire in a more accessible, easier to use format. Singing in Czech is divided into two parts. Using IPA, the first part takes the reader systematically through each sound of the Czech language, enhanced by recordings of native Czech opera singers. Chapters cover the Czech vowels, consonants, rules of assimilation, approaches to singing double consonants, stress and length, Moravian dialect, and an introduction to singing in Slovak. Fine points of formal pronunciation have been clarified in this revised edition. In the second part, Cheek offers a thorough overview of Czech art song, expanded from the first edition. Texts to major song literature and opera excerpts by Smetana, Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu, and Haas, with timings, editions, word-for-word translations, idiomatic translations, and IPA transcriptions follow. In this revision, Cheek has included additional cycles by Dvorak and Martinu, and two new chapters on Czech female composers Vitezslava Kapralova and Sylvie Bodorova. This revised edition of Singing in Czech is useful for all those who are interested and engaged in the performance of the rich Czech vocal repertoire.

Representative collection of 16 masterly orations, correspondence, including "House Divided" speech at the Republican State Convention, the First Inaugural Address, the Gettysburg Address, the Letter to Mrs. Bixby, expressing regret over the wartime deaths of her 5 sons, and the Second Inaugural Address.

Say farewell to language faux pas forever!

Based on the revolutionary Easily Pronounced Language Systems approach, "Say It Right in Thai" makes mastering correct Thai pronunciation simple. With "Say It Right" you'll learn how to use hundreds of Thai words and phrases in everyday conversation.

This amazing guide gives you easy-to-read vowel symbols that, when combined with consonants, make pronunciation easy. With "Say It Right in Thai" you will: Learn more than 500 essential Thai words and phrases Easily create sentences using "Phrasemakers" Get a quick reference to more than 500 word pronunciations in the "Say It Right" travel dictionary

Topics include: Essential Words & Phrases; Arrival/Departure; Transportation; Hotel Survival; Restaurant Survival; Shopping; and Health

Burmese has two styles of speaking and writing: the colloquial style, which is used for talking to friends and for writing letters, and the literary style, which is used in more formal contexts, such as academic articles, newspaper reports, and narrative passages in fiction. This volume, the final book in a four-part Burmese language course, introduces learners to the literary style. It assumes a prior knowledge of Burmese script and a grounding in the colloquial style. Okell starts with simple sentences, and, over a series of short lessons, gradually increases the range of vocabulary and the level of complexity. The texts Okell uses for study are excerpts from Burmese children's schoolbooks highlighting themes of home- and school-life and Burmese nationalism and independence. Each passage is accompanied by a full translation and is followed by a set of exercises designed to familiarize the reader with the new vocabulary and sentence structures. Accompanying audio files allow students to hear the texts read aloud. Language professors and their students, or those learning Burmese on their own, will appreciate the accessible approach and the manageable size of the lessons of the very practical textbooks in this series.

Say farewell to language faux pas forever!

Based on the revolutionary Easily Pronounced Language Systems approach, "Say It Right in Greek" makes mastering correct Greek pronunciation simple. With "Say It Right" you'll learn how to use hundreds of Greek words and phrases in everyday conversation.

This amazing guide gives you easy-to-read vowel symbols that, when combined with consonants, make pronunciation easy. With "Say It Right in Greek" you will: Learn more than 500 essential Greek words and phrases Easily create sentences using "Phrasemakers" Get a quick reference to more than 500 word pronunciations in the "Say It Right" travel dictionary

Topics include: Essential Words & Phrases; Arrival/Departure; Transportation; Hotel Survival; Restaurant Survival; Shopping; and Health

This dissertation presents a study on the acquisition of telicity by Spanish and English native speakers. In addition to the study of acquisition, it investigates the syntactic and semantic properties of locatum constructions (e.g., the water filled the bucket), which are sentences that contain two internal arguments and whose subject is non-agentive. This dissertation explores the syntactic and semantic properties of elements of the verb phrase that had not been previously considered in the interpretation of telicity, such as the role of non-agentive subjects and the type of movement that takes place in the checking of the verb's telic features.Contrary to the assumption that only the direct internal argument of the verb can delimit an event, I argue that objects generated in the lower verb phrase, by virtue of being an internal argument of the verb can delimit an event. An object delimits an event by checking the verb's telic features in spec-AspP, either by covert or overt movement. If a predicate contains one internal argument (e.g., the boy filled the bucket) the checking of the verb's telic features takes place via covert movement. That is, only the NPs specific quantification features move covertly to check the verb's telic features in spec-AspP. However, if the predicate contains two internal arguments (e.g., fill the bucket with water), the surfaced subject (e.g., the water filled the bucket) by virtue of being an internal argument of the verb, checks the verb's telic features as the category and its features move overtly to subject position.The study shows that young children understand telicity when the verb's telic features are checked via overt movement, but have difficulties understanding telicity when the verb's telic features are checked via covert movement. I propose that predicates whose telicity involves overt movement should be acquired earlier than predicates whose telicity involves covert movement because overt movement is an operation that happens between D-structure and S-structure before the sentence is pronounced. Predicates whose telicity involves covert movement might be acquired at a later age of development because covert movement happens between S-structure and LF after the sentence is pronounced.

This thoroughly updated edition provides an expansive discussion of the therapeutic journey to increasing fluency. Humor, creativity, and other effective clinical techniques and principles are presented using a framework of personal experience. Thoroughly discussed are the options and challenges faced by those who stutter and the clinicians who assist them in effectively communicating. Whether you are a student or a clinician, this text will provide you with the tools essential in making stuttering less of a mystery.

In the second edition of Interviewing, experienced educators Rob Anderson and G. Michael Killenberg explain and demystify the interviewing process, offering students a practical guide to the fascinating art of asking and answering questions. Throughout, they urge students not to view interviewing as a procedure or as a collection of techniques; instead, they present the process of interviewing as a fascinating opportunity for learning through dialogue. The basic motivation for interviewing is learning something new.
Each chapter features two sections: "The Basics," which describes essential skills, and "Beyond the Basics," which places them into a relevant context. Moreover, interviewing skills are clearly divided into three interrelated types: Listening, Questioning, and Framing. To highlight the practical, real-world significance of interviewing, the authors encourage students to apply their learning actively and to connect their skills with ideas from other communication, social science, and humanities courses. This student-friendly text also includes the following features:
* An emphasis on how interviewing contributes to the quality of public dialogue
* An integrated approach to both interviewer and interviewee roles
* In-depth coverage of culture and ethics
* Innovative boxed supplements, including:
- "Interviewers/Interviewees in Action" boxes, featuring first-person accounts
- "Trying Out Your Skills" boxes
- End-of-chapter "Making Your Decision" boxes, which present interactive hypothetical situations designed to generate class discussion
In addition, each chapter includes "The Interview Bookshelf," an annotated section recommending booksthat students will find helpful for further reading or for future interviewing-related assignments in other classes. A comprehensive online Instructor's Resource Guide is also available and provides suggestions for class activities, resources, and assignments.

Say farewell to language faux pas forever

Based on the revolutionary Easily Pronounced Language Systems (EPLS) approach, "Say It Right in Korean" makes mastering correct Korean pronunciation simple. With Say It Right you'll learn how to use hundreds of Korean words and phrases in everyday conversation. This amazing guide gives you easy-to-read vowel symbols that, when combined with consonants, make pronunciation easy. With "Say It Right in Korean" you will: Learn more than 500 essential Korean words and phrases Easily create sentences using "Phrasemakers" Get a quick reference to more than 500 word pronunciations in the Say It Right travel dictionary

INNOVATIONS is a new five-level general English course for classes looking for new material with a fresh approach. Based on a language-rich, lexical/grammatical syllabus, it starts from the kinds of natural conversations that learners want to have. Online Teacher Training available!

Is American English in decline? Are regional dialects dying out? Is there a difference between men and women in how they adapt to linguistic variations?
These questions, and more, about our language catapulted Robert MacNeil and William Cran--the authors (with Robert McCrum) of the language classic "The Story of English--across the country in search of the answers. "Do You Speak American? is the tale of their discoveries, which provocatively show how the standard for American English--if a standard exists--is changing quickly and dramatically.
On a journey that takes them from the Northeast, through Appalachia and the Deep South, and west to California, the authors observe everyday verbal interactions and in a host of interviews with native speakers glean the linguistic quirks and traditions characteristic of each area. While examining the histories and controversies surrounding both written and spoken American English, they address anxieties and assumptions that, when explored, are highly emotional, such as the growing influence of Spanish as a threat to American English and the special treatment of African-American vernacular English. And, challenging the purists who think grammatical standards are in serious deterioration and that media saturation of our culture is homogenizing our speech, they surprise us with unpredictable responses.
With insight and wit, MacNeil and Cran bring us a compelling book that is at once a celebration and a potent study of our singular language.

Each wave of immigration has brought new words to enrich the American language. Do you recognize the origin of

1. blunderbuss, sleigh, stoop, coleslaw, boss, waffle?
Or
2. dumb, ouch, shyster, check, kaput, scram, bummer?
Or
3. phooey, pastrami, glitch, kibbitz, schnozzle?
Or
4. broccoli, espresso, pizza, pasta, macaroni, radio?
Or
5. smithereens, lollapalooza, speakeasy, hooligan?
Or
6. vamoose, chaps, stampede, mustang, ranch, corral?

1. Dutch 2. German 3. Yiddish 4. Italian 5. Irish 6. Spanish

Having strong social skills is crucial for anyone who wants to be successful in the workplace or in social situations. Yet when it comes to making small talk, most people find themselves literally at a loss for words. Now from the best-selling author of How to Say It comes a quick reference guide that provides readers with a fast fix for everyday conversations at work and in social situations. The Art of Talking to Anyone leads readers quickly and easily through conversations and situations they previously found intimidating and shows them effective techniques for every situation, including small talk at work, in meetings, at social events, on the phone, in public places, with friends or family, and even in romantic situations. Maggio discusses how to incorporate other successful elements into small talk, such as body language, eye contact, and whether and how to touch another person. For each type of conversational situation are: "If they say...You Say..." sections that provide actual dialogue, including multiple responses readers can give to typical questions that are asked in each situation. Bulleted dos and don'ts that offer quick, practical guidelines Tips on how to handle special situations, including what to do if a conversation turns difficult Lists of topics that are great to use for each type of situation Closing lines that allow you to gracefully move on, change topic, or get to the business at hand Quotations that add insight into using conversation for success in each situation With The Art of Talking to Anyone, readers will learn to be confident and interesting - and successful - in all work and social situations.

This book begins the Spoken Standard Chinese series, which emphasizes natural dialogue and familiarity with a modern, adult vocabulary. Book One uses pinyin romanization and no Chinese characters. An accompanying audio program is available.

This is an introduction to Korean pronunciation for students at all levels of proficiency. Beginners should find the information and practice they need to cross the threshold of intelligibility in Korean, while more advanced students will have the opportunity to fine-tune their pronunciation and improve their comprehension. This book focuses on the most challenging features of Korean pronunciation. Careful attention is paid to the way in which a sound's pronunciation can be modified in different contexts. The first part of the text consists of an overview and chapters on vowel and consonant sounds in Korean, adjustment processes that modify speech sounds in different positions within words and phrases, and the role of prosody in expressing meaning and emotion. The practice exercises that follow are paired with the various contrasts and adjustment processes discussed earlier. These exercises recorded on an accompanying CD by two native speakers (male and female) from Seoul, give students systematic, focused exposure to natural colloquial speech that represents the way Korean is actually spoken in the real world.

This book provides a complete introductory course on the phonetics of English and Dutch based on an essentially practical approach to the subject. No previous knowledge of phonetics is assumed and all terms are explained in straightforward English as they are introduced. Theoretical and practical aspects of the subject are clarified for the student by means of numerous self-study exercises in articulation and transcription.
The book contains a detailed contrastive description of British RP English and of Dutch (in both the Netherlands and Belgian standard varieties). In addition to a full description of the individual vowels and consonants, full attention is paid to features of connected speech, e.g. intonation, assimilation and elision, stress and articulatory setting. There are sections on sound-spelling relationships in English and an analysis of the commonest pronunciations errors in the English of Dutch-speakers. A guide to the technique of phonemic transcription is also provided, with numerous transcription passages for which correction keys are available.
One chapter is devoted to differences between British and American pronunciation. Another section provides a survey of a range of British regional accents (e.g. Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Northern, London, Midlands, West Country).
Now available with corrections incorporating the reactions of Dutch and Belgian users.