Breaking the Accent Barrier [VHS]

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VHS Movie Reviews of Breaking the Accent Barrier [VHS]

Movie Review: an excellent instructional tool if used carefully
Summary: 5 Stars

The man who made this video basically has two things to teach: the underlying "melody" of English (he calls it the "jump up and step down" melody of a basic declarative sentence); and the correct position of the mouth when speaking English.

For teachers who have been struggling to teach their students single sounds, plus a few rules about intonation and stress, and getting limited results, this video can be a breakthrough. I have found it particularly effective with students whose native languages are syllable-timed and who speak tone languages.

The actual video is pretty dull. It's a head shot of one man, plus, occasionally, a few printed words...no action, no pizzaz. Also, it requires students to make sounds that they may consider silly or embarassing (e.g. "aaah-eeee") But if you believe it can help your students, and you take the time to sell it really hard, it can make a dramatic improvement in those students who put genuine effort into it. Among my own students (high-intermediate level college ESL students) typically about half the students really love it and believe that they learned a lot. The others tend to tolerate it pretty well -- mostly these are students whose pronunciation wasn't much of an impediment to communication in the first place. Each time I use it, I have a few students whose pronunciation is improved very dramatically -- from nearly incomprehensible to OK, or from "very foreign" to "practically American."

Educational VHS Video