Accent Correction/Reduction for Speakers of English Whose First Language is Spanish

How important is correct pronunciation? Let's say you're applying for a part-time job and you ask a prospective employer, "How many hours can you give me?" Depending on how "hours" is pronounced, you could be asking a legitimate question or inquiring about an outrageous fringe benefit involving prostitutes. Accent Correction/Reduction aims to ward off this type of potential faux pas by instructing Spanish speakers for whom English is a second language in the myriad sounds of English consonants and vowels. Presented by Dr. Elliot Glass, this two-volume series is unlikely to win any awards for production values; however, as a practical tool it gets the job done. Viewers will not only hear the vowels, consonants, and combinations, they will also see how the mouth is shaped to make each sound. Recommended, with some reservations. Other languages for which video sets are available include: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai. For a more comprehensive (though more expensive) treatment, libraries should consider North American Spoken English--Feeling Phonics (VL-3/95). Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)