Phonetics & Phonics in The Books Store

Working with the concept of invented spelling, Wilde helps teachers discover the better ways to help children develop as readers and writers.
- Writing Teacher

To many teachers who began their careers with basal readers, the schwa sound was part of what led them to whole language in the first place. If they didn't even understand linguistic terminology themselves, how could they be expected to teach it to kids? Yet many teachers still wonder about letters and sounds and phonics. What role does phonics play in learning to read? Does it still have a place in classrooms where children are becoming literate through rich experiences with literature and writing? Why have the debates about phonics continued and in some ways grown more heated?

In What's a Schwa Sound Anyway? Sandra Wilde answers these and many other questions related to phonics and its relationship to learning to read and spell. She makes a forceful case that teachers who have a working knowledge about the English sound system are not only more powerful observers of students' reading and invented spelling, but also more informed participants in the current debates about the role of phonics in learning to read.

The first part of the book is a lively exploration of the English sound system and its relation to written language for both reading and spelling. This mini-course in linguistics is reader friendly and accessible to even the most linguistics-phobic classroom teacher. Of special interest to those who work with diverse populations is a chapter-length discussion of language variation such as Black English and its role in learning to read and spell.

The second part of the book helps readers apply their new knowledge about sounds, letters, and the relationship between them to the classroom. Chapter 5, "Skills and the Big Phonics Debate," applies theory, research, and common sense to debates about the role of phonics in learning to read and spell. The next two chapters take a close look at a number of writing samples and reading miscues, illuminating how a knowledgeable teacher can appreciate "error" as a reflection of children's developing understandings of written language.

Sandra Wilde's work with invented spelling has helped us discover that the better we understand what children are doing, the more responsive and creative we can be as teachers. What's a Schwa Sound Anyway? continues this work by helping teachers deepen and extend their knowledge base about written language and the way children perceive it, always with the goal of helping children continue to grow and develop as readers and writers.

Practical Phonetics and Phonology provides a one stop resource for students with interests in English phonetics. Assuming no prior knowledge and using a minimum of academic jargon, this book aims to present the essentials of the subject in a lively way whilst stressing the day-to-day applications of phonetics and phonology. It covers all the core concepts of speech science, features a discussion of regional and social accent variation, outlines pronunciation change and includes classic readings from key names in the discipline.

Practical Phonetics and Phonology 2^nd edition:

• presents the essentials of the subject in a lively way whilst stressing the day-to-day applications of phonetics and phonology
• covers all the core concepts of speech science such as: the phoneme, syllable structure, production of speech, vowel and consonant possibilities, glottal settings, stress, rhythm, intonation and the surprises of connected speech.
• incorporates classic readings from key names in the discipline including David Abercrombie, David Crystal, Dennis Fry, Daniel Jones, Peter Ladefoged, and Steven Pinker
• includes an audio CD containing a collection of samples provided by genuine speakers of 23 accent varieties from Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Singapore and West Africa.

New features of this edition include: new readings by Peter Trudgill and John Well; a section on English orthography; an appendix of websites dealing with phonetics and accents of English; revised and updated activities and examples. The accompanying CD now includes: British Estuary English and New York English.

The 2nd edition of Practical Phonetics and Phonology will appeal to all students of English language and linguistics and those training for a certificate in TEFL.