Michael Vaughan-Rees
(new edition – Garnet Education 2010)
ISBN: 978 1 85964 528 49
Pronunciation books tend not to stay in print for long, due to lack of demand, and a number of good products have disappeared after only a few years of existence. So it’s great to see Rhymes and Rhythm back on the market after several years’ absence. This original and amusing book is a goldmine of useful and fun practice activities for working on stress and rhythm in English. The poems often practise specific language (as well as pronunciation), such as lexical sets (e.g., verbs of motion) and how to pronounce the names of places and people. The activities are many and varied – students get carried away reciting ‘A long-haired drummer in a rock ‘n’ roll band’ or ‘Chinatown’! Although described by the publisher as a course, the book can be used as an incidental resource, e.g., for warmers (‘Billy yate a napple’) or fillers (‘Norman’s from Nottingham’), or to practise a point ad hoc (‘Silly similes’). The book comes with an audio DVD and a CD-ROM, which includes teacher’s notes and extra activities. It is nicely produced, with fun illustrations. I have used quite a lot of its material in class and it always goes down well. Long may it remain in print!
Jean McCutcheon
Freelance, Edinburgh
(February 2012)