Small Talk: More Jazz Chants (Oxford American English)

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Vital to a Good ESL Program
Review: From the first moment I heard these everyday conversations put to classic jazz music, I knew that I would be using Jazz Chants as long as I was involved in ESL. As the author of American Accent Training, I use Jazz Chants in conjunction with Dr. Seuss for a well-rounded accent program. The songs are catchy, and students find that the rhythms and patterns become ingrained in their memories far more effectively than with text study. They are constantly amazed that "Americans really talk this way!" and "I can actually hear the speech music!" Mere words cannot convey what a wonderful series of exercises this is. Carolyn Graham is a musical genius.

Rating:
Summary: Exellent teaching pronunciation book for ESL/EFL learners
Review: I am a Korean MATESOL student studing in the US. I have heard that Grahamn's Jazz chant is very good ESL source,and I have used her chants in my classes in Korea. The Jazz chant is very helpful in teaching rhythm and flow that English cotains. However the Jazz chants I have used before was just chants. They didn't have any guide lines. However,what drove me to attempt to write review of this book is that while I was looking for a book for pronunciation micro teaching, I happened to find this book in the library(Actually I didn't know this book was what my professor recommanded in class until I went over my notebook couple of minutes ago!) This book is very well organized and presents clear lesson points. It is definately wonderful to teach oral skills to English learners with fun. Not only does this book present chants but also has written exercises. I strongly recommand this book to ESL/EFL teachers.

Rating:
Summary: Very American!
Review: These chants not only demonstrate the intonation and rhythm of American English, they are American culture at its best. If you have been speaking American English all your life, you hear yourself and laugh because the small talk chants are so typically American. I have used the chants and worksheets with beginners and intermediate students in the upper elementary grades. The students have enjoyed them and the worksheets that go with them. At first, it's hard for everyone, but the students get the hang of it and look forward to new ones.