Pronunciation and Grammar Resources

Top Pick: Grammar in Use (American English) by Raymond Murphy (available on Amazon)

English Grammar in Use has been a key resource for intermediate-level  ESOL classrooms for over 35 years. What I like about this resource is it covers a variety of intermediate topics with clear explanations and examples and provides realistic practice exercises. The 5th edition, which came out in 2019, includes updated examples and exercises.

Clear Speech, 4th Edition by Judy Gilbert (available on Amazon)

Clear Speech does a great job of going where few other pronunciation resources do. The organization is clear and follows a natural language approach to segmentals and phonemes. The part I love most is the suprasegmental focus on sentence stress, intonation patterns, emphasis, and reduction. Again and again this resource has helped my students make real progress in pronunciation and clear communication.

I have mostly used Clear Speech 3rd edition, which is available at a reasonable cost on Amazon. However supplies are limited, so you may prefer to purchase Clear Speech 4th Edition.  Generally, the two editions are very similar.

English Pronunciation Made Simple is an older resource, but I still love it and use it almost every day. It covers all key sounds of American English with clear examples and exercises that are both fun and helpful.

The parts that are most helpful to my students are the sections about ‘what happens if you make a mistake with this sound’ and the minimal pair practice exercises. Plus, the book has a good sense of humor that keeps students engaged.

New copies of this resource can be hard to find, but a good used copy will do as well.