An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

A breath of fresh air for both singers, speakers and actors, 25 Sep 2008
I totally agree with all the positive comments I have heard about this book. Within hours of reading this book I noticed a difference in my singing. Within days I have made an incredible change in both my singing and speaking voice, consequently my personal confidence has never felt better. He is a great psychologist as he knows how to make difficult learning areas fun - the cry exercise has me in tears laughing when I do it, but find a change in my voice after I have done it.
Robert Love knows how to teach properly, he gets to the point and knows exactly where problems lie and how to uproot them. Great teaching.
I've searched for a website to find more information about him and his teachings but can't find it. Does anyone know of one?

Excellent Book., 02 Aug 2008
This is an excellent book for finding your real voice. Roger Love is an entertaining, encouraging coach, who makes you feel confident about your voice (I especially like that he gives a little word of encouragment at the end of each exercise on the CD).

I've suffered for years with having a quiet voice, and people not hearing me when I talk, but have never known how to change this without shouting. This book has taught me about how my voice works and made me realise that I can change it for the better. I record all of the exercises as I do them, and after listening back to them have realised that my voice isn't as bad as i've always thought it was (i've always been embarrassed about hearing my own voice in the past).

I'm still practicing with this book, but it has increased my confidence in my voice already. If you want to improve your speaking or singing voice, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Not only will it help your voice improve, you will have fun whilst doing it.

Does exactly what it says on the tin!!, 19 Mar 2008
This will change the way you sing, and think of your voice. It is effective within weeks of doing the excercises, and it is really exciting to find your new voice emerge!!!

Excellent Item, 30 Jan 2008
I only like to sing for pleasure but wanted to improve the strength of my voice. The book helps you to understand the body and the parts it uses when singing so it's quite informative and you start to understand what's happening in your throat and stomach and it does help you get it right but there are some bits that I wasn't too fussed on reading. The CD is great because you may feel silly doing the exercises but stick with them because over time you really do improve. I'm extremely pleased with the results. I have even noticed my speaking voice much stronger, louder and confident, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Follow The Instruction And Get A Free Voice :-D, 19 Nov 2007
Forget who wrote this book and how brilliant you may think they are. Something either works or it doesn't. Well in this case, it works! But you must give the system and yourself a chance. It's not a 'quick fix' system, so find the time, do the exercises, follow the steps. Do this and you will find a new lease of life for your voice, and your confidence.
Everything you need to "set your voice free" is this book. Highly recommended.

An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

A breath of fresh air for both singers, speakers and actors, 25 Sep 2008
I totally agree with all the positive comments I have heard about this book. Within hours of reading this book I noticed a difference in my singing. Within days I have made an incredible change in both my singing and speaking voice, consequently my personal confidence has never felt better. He is a great psychologist as he knows how to make difficult learning areas fun - the cry exercise has me in tears laughing when I do it, but find a change in my voice after I have done it.
Robert Love knows how to teach properly, he gets to the point and knows exactly where problems lie and how to uproot them. Great teaching.
I've searched for a website to find more information about him and his teachings but can't find it. Does anyone know of one?

Excellent Book., 02 Aug 2008
This is an excellent book for finding your real voice. Roger Love is an entertaining, encouraging coach, who makes you feel confident about your voice (I especially like that he gives a little word of encouragment at the end of each exercise on the CD).

I've suffered for years with having a quiet voice, and people not hearing me when I talk, but have never known how to change this without shouting. This book has taught me about how my voice works and made me realise that I can change it for the better. I record all of the exercises as I do them, and after listening back to them have realised that my voice isn't as bad as i've always thought it was (i've always been embarrassed about hearing my own voice in the past).

I'm still practicing with this book, but it has increased my confidence in my voice already. If you want to improve your speaking or singing voice, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Not only will it help your voice improve, you will have fun whilst doing it.

Does exactly what it says on the tin!!, 19 Mar 2008
This will change the way you sing, and think of your voice. It is effective within weeks of doing the excercises, and it is really exciting to find your new voice emerge!!!

Excellent Item, 30 Jan 2008
I only like to sing for pleasure but wanted to improve the strength of my voice. The book helps you to understand the body and the parts it uses when singing so it's quite informative and you start to understand what's happening in your throat and stomach and it does help you get it right but there are some bits that I wasn't too fussed on reading. The CD is great because you may feel silly doing the exercises but stick with them because over time you really do improve. I'm extremely pleased with the results. I have even noticed my speaking voice much stronger, louder and confident, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Follow The Instruction And Get A Free Voice :-D, 19 Nov 2007
Forget who wrote this book and how brilliant you may think they are. Something either works or it doesn't. Well in this case, it works! But you must give the system and yourself a chance. It's not a 'quick fix' system, so find the time, do the exercises, follow the steps. Do this and you will find a new lease of life for your voice, and your confidence.
Everything you need to "set your voice free" is this book. Highly recommended.

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

A breath of fresh air for both singers, speakers and actors, 25 Sep 2008
I totally agree with all the positive comments I have heard about this book. Within hours of reading this book I noticed a difference in my singing. Within days I have made an incredible change in both my singing and speaking voice, consequently my personal confidence has never felt better. He is a great psychologist as he knows how to make difficult learning areas fun - the cry exercise has me in tears laughing when I do it, but find a change in my voice after I have done it.
Robert Love knows how to teach properly, he gets to the point and knows exactly where problems lie and how to uproot them. Great teaching.
I've searched for a website to find more information about him and his teachings but can't find it. Does anyone know of one?

Excellent Book., 02 Aug 2008
This is an excellent book for finding your real voice. Roger Love is an entertaining, encouraging coach, who makes you feel confident about your voice (I especially like that he gives a little word of encouragment at the end of each exercise on the CD).

I've suffered for years with having a quiet voice, and people not hearing me when I talk, but have never known how to change this without shouting. This book has taught me about how my voice works and made me realise that I can change it for the better. I record all of the exercises as I do them, and after listening back to them have realised that my voice isn't as bad as i've always thought it was (i've always been embarrassed about hearing my own voice in the past).

I'm still practicing with this book, but it has increased my confidence in my voice already. If you want to improve your speaking or singing voice, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Not only will it help your voice improve, you will have fun whilst doing it.

Does exactly what it says on the tin!!, 19 Mar 2008
This will change the way you sing, and think of your voice. It is effective within weeks of doing the excercises, and it is really exciting to find your new voice emerge!!!

Excellent Item, 30 Jan 2008
I only like to sing for pleasure but wanted to improve the strength of my voice. The book helps you to understand the body and the parts it uses when singing so it's quite informative and you start to understand what's happening in your throat and stomach and it does help you get it right but there are some bits that I wasn't too fussed on reading. The CD is great because you may feel silly doing the exercises but stick with them because over time you really do improve. I'm extremely pleased with the results. I have even noticed my speaking voice much stronger, louder and confident, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Follow The Instruction And Get A Free Voice :-D, 19 Nov 2007
Forget who wrote this book and how brilliant you may think they are. Something either works or it doesn't. Well in this case, it works! But you must give the system and yourself a chance. It's not a 'quick fix' system, so find the time, do the exercises, follow the steps. Do this and you will find a new lease of life for your voice, and your confidence.
Everything you need to "set your voice free" is this book. Highly recommended.

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Excellent Advice from a Pro, 14 Oct 1998
I thought I knew how to speak -- doesn't everyone? But Susan Berkeley really showed me how to use my voice more powerfully. She has great practical tips (like standing and focusing on one spot when making an important phone call) that really do work! I loved this book and have recommended it to others. Whether you want to come across as more intelligent or pursasive, this a terrific guide. And Susan is a great teacher too.

Fantastic! If you can speak, you need this book NOW!, 12 Oct 1998
This book rocked my world in terms of how to use my voice to persuade people to my way of thinking. I never realized my voice---and just my voice---could seduce or sedate people. I'm not talking about the words you use so much as the voice you use to express those words. In other words, how do you SOUND? And if you are feeling like crap, what can you do to make yourself sound like you are up? This author covers it all, including how to overcome stage fright. I urge anyone who speaks more than 5 minutes a day, to anyone at all, whetehr on the phone or in person, to grab this book. At only $15 a copy, it will probably save your butt and help you win friends and influence people with your voice alone.

An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

A breath of fresh air for both singers, speakers and actors, 25 Sep 2008
I totally agree with all the positive comments I have heard about this book. Within hours of reading this book I noticed a difference in my singing. Within days I have made an incredible change in both my singing and speaking voice, consequently my personal confidence has never felt better. He is a great psychologist as he knows how to make difficult learning areas fun - the cry exercise has me in tears laughing when I do it, but find a change in my voice after I have done it.
Robert Love knows how to teach properly, he gets to the point and knows exactly where problems lie and how to uproot them. Great teaching.
I've searched for a website to find more information about him and his teachings but can't find it. Does anyone know of one?

Excellent Book., 02 Aug 2008
This is an excellent book for finding your real voice. Roger Love is an entertaining, encouraging coach, who makes you feel confident about your voice (I especially like that he gives a little word of encouragment at the end of each exercise on the CD).

I've suffered for years with having a quiet voice, and people not hearing me when I talk, but have never known how to change this without shouting. This book has taught me about how my voice works and made me realise that I can change it for the better. I record all of the exercises as I do them, and after listening back to them have realised that my voice isn't as bad as i've always thought it was (i've always been embarrassed about hearing my own voice in the past).

I'm still practicing with this book, but it has increased my confidence in my voice already. If you want to improve your speaking or singing voice, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Not only will it help your voice improve, you will have fun whilst doing it.

Does exactly what it says on the tin!!, 19 Mar 2008
This will change the way you sing, and think of your voice. It is effective within weeks of doing the excercises, and it is really exciting to find your new voice emerge!!!

Excellent Item, 30 Jan 2008
I only like to sing for pleasure but wanted to improve the strength of my voice. The book helps you to understand the body and the parts it uses when singing so it's quite informative and you start to understand what's happening in your throat and stomach and it does help you get it right but there are some bits that I wasn't too fussed on reading. The CD is great because you may feel silly doing the exercises but stick with them because over time you really do improve. I'm extremely pleased with the results. I have even noticed my speaking voice much stronger, louder and confident, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Follow The Instruction And Get A Free Voice :-D, 19 Nov 2007
Forget who wrote this book and how brilliant you may think they are. Something either works or it doesn't. Well in this case, it works! But you must give the system and yourself a chance. It's not a 'quick fix' system, so find the time, do the exercises, follow the steps. Do this and you will find a new lease of life for your voice, and your confidence.
Everything you need to "set your voice free" is this book. Highly recommended.

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Excellent Advice from a Pro, 14 Oct 1998
I thought I knew how to speak -- doesn't everyone? But Susan Berkeley really showed me how to use my voice more powerfully. She has great practical tips (like standing and focusing on one spot when making an important phone call) that really do work! I loved this book and have recommended it to others. Whether you want to come across as more intelligent or pursasive, this a terrific guide. And Susan is a great teacher too.

Fantastic! If you can speak, you need this book NOW!, 12 Oct 1998
This book rocked my world in terms of how to use my voice to persuade people to my way of thinking. I never realized my voice---and just my voice---could seduce or sedate people. I'm not talking about the words you use so much as the voice you use to express those words. In other words, how do you SOUND? And if you are feeling like crap, what can you do to make yourself sound like you are up? This author covers it all, including how to overcome stage fright. I urge anyone who speaks more than 5 minutes a day, to anyone at all, whetehr on the phone or in person, to grab this book. At only $15 a copy, it will probably save your butt and help you win friends and influence people with your voice alone.

Ideal Introduction, 20 Nov 2007
In the preface to the first edition, Catford explained that he had written, not just for students of linguistics, but for actors, language teachers, the deaf, and many others. Anyone interested in learning the basics of phonetics and, above all, in learning how to pronounce the many sounds of the world's languages, will find this the ideal introduction.

An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

A breath of fresh air for both singers, speakers and actors, 25 Sep 2008
I totally agree with all the positive comments I have heard about this book. Within hours of reading this book I noticed a difference in my singing. Within days I have made an incredible change in both my singing and speaking voice, consequently my personal confidence has never felt better. He is a great psychologist as he knows how to make difficult learning areas fun - the cry exercise has me in tears laughing when I do it, but find a change in my voice after I have done it.
Robert Love knows how to teach properly, he gets to the point and knows exactly where problems lie and how to uproot them. Great teaching.
I've searched for a website to find more information about him and his teachings but can't find it. Does anyone know of one?

Excellent Book., 02 Aug 2008
This is an excellent book for finding your real voice. Roger Love is an entertaining, encouraging coach, who makes you feel confident about your voice (I especially like that he gives a little word of encouragment at the end of each exercise on the CD).

I've suffered for years with having a quiet voice, and people not hearing me when I talk, but have never known how to change this without shouting. This book has taught me about how my voice works and made me realise that I can change it for the better. I record all of the exercises as I do them, and after listening back to them have realised that my voice isn't as bad as i've always thought it was (i've always been embarrassed about hearing my own voice in the past).

I'm still practicing with this book, but it has increased my confidence in my voice already. If you want to improve your speaking or singing voice, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Not only will it help your voice improve, you will have fun whilst doing it.

Does exactly what it says on the tin!!, 19 Mar 2008
This will change the way you sing, and think of your voice. It is effective within weeks of doing the excercises, and it is really exciting to find your new voice emerge!!!

Excellent Item, 30 Jan 2008
I only like to sing for pleasure but wanted to improve the strength of my voice. The book helps you to understand the body and the parts it uses when singing so it's quite informative and you start to understand what's happening in your throat and stomach and it does help you get it right but there are some bits that I wasn't too fussed on reading. The CD is great because you may feel silly doing the exercises but stick with them because over time you really do improve. I'm extremely pleased with the results. I have even noticed my speaking voice much stronger, louder and confident, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Follow The Instruction And Get A Free Voice :-D, 19 Nov 2007
Forget who wrote this book and how brilliant you may think they are. Something either works or it doesn't. Well in this case, it works! But you must give the system and yourself a chance. It's not a 'quick fix' system, so find the time, do the exercises, follow the steps. Do this and you will find a new lease of life for your voice, and your confidence.
Everything you need to "set your voice free" is this book. Highly recommended.

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Excellent Advice from a Pro, 14 Oct 1998
I thought I knew how to speak -- doesn't everyone? But Susan Berkeley really showed me how to use my voice more powerfully. She has great practical tips (like standing and focusing on one spot when making an important phone call) that really do work! I loved this book and have recommended it to others. Whether you want to come across as more intelligent or pursasive, this a terrific guide. And Susan is a great teacher too.

Fantastic! If you can speak, you need this book NOW!, 12 Oct 1998
This book rocked my world in terms of how to use my voice to persuade people to my way of thinking. I never realized my voice---and just my voice---could seduce or sedate people. I'm not talking about the words you use so much as the voice you use to express those words. In other words, how do you SOUND? And if you are feeling like crap, what can you do to make yourself sound like you are up? This author covers it all, including how to overcome stage fright. I urge anyone who speaks more than 5 minutes a day, to anyone at all, whetehr on the phone or in person, to grab this book. At only $15 a copy, it will probably save your butt and help you win friends and influence people with your voice alone.

Ideal Introduction, 20 Nov 2007
In the preface to the first edition, Catford explained that he had written, not just for students of linguistics, but for actors, language teachers, the deaf, and many others. Anyone interested in learning the basics of phonetics and, above all, in learning how to pronounce the many sounds of the world's languages, will find this the ideal introduction.

Not comphresive and not really that useful, 14 Nov 2007
I was disapointed by this book, i can find more information with a 20 second search on google than i could plodding through this book looking for something even similar to what i wanted to know.

I do not recommend this book as a reference it is poor and seems to be sadly lacking in alot of common phrases which really should have been included.

Very disappointing, 15 Jan 2007
I found this book very disappointing. It was far from comprehensive, missing out many phrases and sayings I was interested in, and also included a lot of single word definitions that could be obtained from any good dictionary. Beware that it is published in the USA, and consequently is heavily biased towards Americanisms.

amazing, 11 Feb 2003
This book is briliant. It gives good descriptions of the origins of words and phrases. I found quite a few phrases I didn't even know exsisted. Every phrase that I wanted to know about was in there. This would be a great book for anyone with an interest in the english language.

An introduction to African-American history and oratory, 28 Sep 2008
I picked up a copy of this book to explore a growing interest in American oratory and, in particular, the rise of Barack Obama in the American policital stage and his potential place in history.
My knowledge of the history of the USA, along with many other British students attending school in the 1980's, starts and ends with the American Civil War and the plight of Native Americans. However, I am deeply moved by the speeches of Dr King - this book includes one of his most famous speeches which, rightfully I feel, is familiar to us all and, in particular, what it meant for the thousands of Americans stuggling for the same basic rights as others.
The speeches within this collection are a fascinating insight to the history of Civil Rights in the USA and are themselves a chronicle of the desperately slow-moving and, at times, regressive politics surrounding the recognition of the rights for African Americans.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history, an interest in American politics as well as anyone concerned with the power the majority can have over the majority - relevant to us all.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

A breath of fresh air for both singers, speakers and actors, 25 Sep 2008
I totally agree with all the positive comments I have heard about this book. Within hours of reading this book I noticed a difference in my singing. Within days I have made an incredible change in both my singing and speaking voice, consequently my personal confidence has never felt better. He is a great psychologist as he knows how to make difficult learning areas fun - the cry exercise has me in tears laughing when I do it, but find a change in my voice after I have done it.
Robert Love knows how to teach properly, he gets to the point and knows exactly where problems lie and how to uproot them. Great teaching.
I've searched for a website to find more information about him and his teachings but can't find it. Does anyone know of one?

Excellent Book., 02 Aug 2008
This is an excellent book for finding your real voice. Roger Love is an entertaining, encouraging coach, who makes you feel confident about your voice (I especially like that he gives a little word of encouragment at the end of each exercise on the CD).

I've suffered for years with having a quiet voice, and people not hearing me when I talk, but have never known how to change this without shouting. This book has taught me about how my voice works and made me realise that I can change it for the better. I record all of the exercises as I do them, and after listening back to them have realised that my voice isn't as bad as i've always thought it was (i've always been embarrassed about hearing my own voice in the past).

I'm still practicing with this book, but it has increased my confidence in my voice already. If you want to improve your speaking or singing voice, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Not only will it help your voice improve, you will have fun whilst doing it.

Does exactly what it says on the tin!!, 19 Mar 2008
This will change the way you sing, and think of your voice. It is effective within weeks of doing the excercises, and it is really exciting to find your new voice emerge!!!

Excellent Item, 30 Jan 2008
I only like to sing for pleasure but wanted to improve the strength of my voice. The book helps you to understand the body and the parts it uses when singing so it's quite informative and you start to understand what's happening in your throat and stomach and it does help you get it right but there are some bits that I wasn't too fussed on reading. The CD is great because you may feel silly doing the exercises but stick with them because over time you really do improve. I'm extremely pleased with the results. I have even noticed my speaking voice much stronger, louder and confident, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Follow The Instruction And Get A Free Voice :-D, 19 Nov 2007
Forget who wrote this book and how brilliant you may think they are. Something either works or it doesn't. Well in this case, it works! But you must give the system and yourself a chance. It's not a 'quick fix' system, so find the time, do the exercises, follow the steps. Do this and you will find a new lease of life for your voice, and your confidence.
Everything you need to "set your voice free" is this book. Highly recommended.

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Excellent Advice from a Pro, 14 Oct 1998
I thought I knew how to speak -- doesn't everyone? But Susan Berkeley really showed me how to use my voice more powerfully. She has great practical tips (like standing and focusing on one spot when making an important phone call) that really do work! I loved this book and have recommended it to others. Whether you want to come across as more intelligent or pursasive, this a terrific guide. And Susan is a great teacher too.

Fantastic! If you can speak, you need this book NOW!, 12 Oct 1998
This book rocked my world in terms of how to use my voice to persuade people to my way of thinking. I never realized my voice---and just my voice---could seduce or sedate people. I'm not talking about the words you use so much as the voice you use to express those words. In other words, how do you SOUND? And if you are feeling like crap, what can you do to make yourself sound like you are up? This author covers it all, including how to overcome stage fright. I urge anyone who speaks more than 5 minutes a day, to anyone at all, whetehr on the phone or in person, to grab this book. At only $15 a copy, it will probably save your butt and help you win friends and influence people with your voice alone.

Ideal Introduction, 20 Nov 2007
In the preface to the first edition, Catford explained that he had written, not just for students of linguistics, but for actors, language teachers, the deaf, and many others. Anyone interested in learning the basics of phonetics and, above all, in learning how to pronounce the many sounds of the world's languages, will find this the ideal introduction.

Not comphresive and not really that useful, 14 Nov 2007
I was disapointed by this book, i can find more information with a 20 second search on google than i could plodding through this book looking for something even similar to what i wanted to know.

I do not recommend this book as a reference it is poor and seems to be sadly lacking in alot of common phrases which really should have been included.

Very disappointing, 15 Jan 2007
I found this book very disappointing. It was far from comprehensive, missing out many phrases and sayings I was interested in, and also included a lot of single word definitions that could be obtained from any good dictionary. Beware that it is published in the USA, and consequently is heavily biased towards Americanisms.

amazing, 11 Feb 2003
This book is briliant. It gives good descriptions of the origins of words and phrases. I found quite a few phrases I didn't even know exsisted. Every phrase that I wanted to know about was in there. This would be a great book for anyone with an interest in the english language.

Useful resource!, 31 Jul 2008
This is a very helpful book if you are worried about your childrens communication skills and development. It is clearly written and easy to understand. It contains alot of information without being too heavy.
It can just be opened and dipped into, and it is easy to find the information you need. Everything is presented in an easy to read format, and set out using excellent and realistic examples. It has been very helpful for me. I would highly recommend this book.

This is the book I wanted to write!, 13 Oct 2003
Finishing to read this book, I though: "Well, this is the kind of book I would have like to be able to write". It is nice, clear and very well documented. Readable to parents and any professional in the field. Can I say that I'm a bit jealous!!!!
I will recommand it to students, speech and language therapists, psychologists, neuropsychologists and parents.
Congratulations.

The most accessible book I've read on the subject, 10 Jul 2003
As the parent of a child with delayed communication, I have been eager to read some of the background information about communication development. However, most of the books I have read on the subject are clinical and directed only at professionals working in the field.

I am glad to say that this book could be used equally by parents or professionals. It gives a well rounded look at all aspects of communication development and what can go wrong. The summary pages would be useful for professionals and the excellent drawing and real life examples make it interesting reading for anyone.

I really would recommend this book to anyone with even the most passing interest in the subject. At the end of the book they would certainly want to read more!