Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

(TESOL)

Breaking the Accent Barrier (Videotape) by David Alan Stem

Review by: Denise C. Babel
TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Winter, 1993), pp. 775-776
Published by: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3587426 .
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used phoneticalphabet. On severaloccasions,one symbolis used to repre-
sent two differentsounds. This obviously breaks convention with the
typicalone sound/onesymbolcorrespondenceof a phoneticalphabet and
furtherdetractsfromthe program.
In sum,thoselookingforcomputersoftwareto aid in the pronunciation
of English, especiallyone that is communicativein nature, will have to
look elsewhere.

GABRIELA R. SOLOMON
LosAngeles
ofCalifornia,
University

Breaking the Accent Barrier (Videotape). David Alan Stem.

Los Angeles: Video Language Products, 1991.

M"Do itthewayI do iton thetape,"advisesDavid Sternin his 1-hourvideo,

BreakingtheAccentBarrier.Throughout,Sternconveysenough empathyto
calm a nervous newcomer to English. The video itselfconsistsof eight
manageable lessons(threeon intonationand fiveon musculature)in which
viewers are given ample opportunityto practice with on-screen visual
reinforcement.
Unfortunately,viewerswill soon encounter frustration,for the video
is fullof inconsistencies.The firstoccursin theintroductionto theviewer.
Here Stern stressesthe role of suprasegmentals(especiallyintonation)in
solving accent problems, dismissingthe need for learners to focus on
individualsounds. Althoughcurrentliteratureon theteachingof pronun-
ciation is in accord withthisphilosophyto some extent,it recognizesthe
importance of focused drilling in a speaker's attainmentof targetlike
production. In fact,at the conclusionof the video, a three-cassetteaudio
series focusingon the "correctpronunciationsof difficultAmerican En-
glish sounds" is promoted. This apparent inconsistencyin philosophyis
not furtherexplained.
Anotherproblemarisesin theaccompanyingDrillSheets,an inadequate
attemptat providingpracticebeyond the video. The three-pagebooklet
simplyrepeats the instructionsand practicesentenceswhich appear on
screen.The claim made here,thatthisprogramis forall speakersof ESL,
is belied by the program's verybasic nature. Certainly,studentsat any
but the beginninglevels would take exception to the oversimplifiedde-
scriptionsof English intonation.Further,in the muscle-trainingsection,
viewers are reminded to keep their lips "lazy and relaxed"; however,
throughoutthe presentation,the authorexaggerateshis own enunciation
withtensed lips.
The program's most consequential problem lies in its central premise
that "effectiveAmerican speech jumps up and steps down." This is ex-
plained as follows:Pitch "jumps up" on an early importantword inside
each thoughtunit,then moves down incrementally at everysyllable,with
the mostsignificantdecrease in pitchoccurringon the finalword or idea.
Stern asserts that this "is the patternthat gives listenersthe impression

BOOK NOTICES 775

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of American speech music." In fact,such an oversimplification does not
account forunfinishedstatementsor yes/no questions.Furthermore, Stern
ignores the role of intonationin reflectingthe grammaticalfunctionof
individual words or in conveyingattitudeor emotion. Given the basic
inadequacy of Stern's premise,it is hardlysurprisingthatthe intonation
patterns depicted graphicallyoften depart from the actual intonation
being modeled.
Despite itsbest intentions,thisvideo programis a superficialintroduc-
tion to English prosody and vocal musculature.Had the basic 'jump up,
step down" patternbeen depicted as a buildingblock upon whichother,
more complicated,intonationalpatternsfindtheirfoundation,themateri-
als would be more praiseworthy.As it stands,BreakingtheAccentBarrier
presentsfartoo manyshortcomingsto be catalogued in theessentiallibrary
of ESL resource materials.

DENISE C. BABEL
University LosAngeles
ofCalifornia,

Erratum
In Sarah Benesch's commentary,"Critical Thinking: A Learning
Process for Democracy,"whichappeared in Volume 27, Number 3,
the followingsentence on page 546:

Short(1989), forexample,refersto analysisas synthesis

and clarifica-
thinkingskills.
not critical,
tionas cognitive,

should read:

Short(1989), forexample,refersto analysis,synthesis,

and clarifica-
thinkingskills.
not critical,
tionas cognitive,

We apologize for this error.

776 TESOL QUARTERLY

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