WHAT IS <I>SPEECH LAB</I>?

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WHAT IS SPEECH LAB?

Speech Lab is a speech improvement program contained on five audio cassettes. The recordings are based on Speaking Clearly: Improving Voice and Diction, 4th Edition. However, if you are using the 5th edition, this correlation guide will tell you what page the exercises are on as well as what words have been changed in the fifth edition of the text. The cassettes may be played on an ordinary cassette player or can be used in a language lab.

WHY USE SPEECH LAB?

We've all seen televised competitions where world-class skaters, gymnasts, or divers perform incredibly complicated and dangerous routines. How can they perform the same exact sequence of moves, time after time, with almost no variation? Sure, they make mistakes, but few and far between. Have you ever wondered what goes into perfecting such routines? One thing is certain; athletes don't start with the finished product. They build their routines move by move, starting with the simplest. After mastering the simple moves, they add more complex and difficult moves, while still practicing the first. By the time athletes are ready for serious competition, their routines are second-nature to them.

To a certain extent, improving diction is a little like learning a complicated gymnastic routine. When you are successful, you have mastered a complicated routine, one that requires fine auditory discrimination and precision muscular control, and you perform it spontaneously. You achieve success in much the same way as the gymnast, too. First you master the simplest moves, then you increase the level of difficulty and complexity until you have mastered your target sound.

That's how the Speech Lab program helps you master your precision diction routine. The recorded drills for most target sounds start with exercises to help you produce the target sound accurately. Then you advance to single words under headings of "Beginning," "Middle," and "End" that indicate where in the word the target sound is located. The word level is followed by phrase and sentence levels.

Level 1 drills contain the target sound in contexts that are fairly easy to produce. In level 2 drills, the sound occurs in more difficult sound contexts, so don't start Level 2 drills until you have mastered Level 1. Level 3 drills are more difficult, usually dealing with troublesome sound combinations and contrasts. Don't attempt Level 3 until you have mastered Level 2.

The speakers who recorded the drills provide models for you to imitate. After each word, phrase, and sentence there is time for you to say aloud what you heard. If your tape recorder has a language-lab feature, you can record the words and sentences you say on tape. Later, you can listen and compare your production with the models. This "ear training," will help you build accurate auditory sound "pictures." Having accurate models of speech to imitate will save you time and effort, as well as increase your chances of success.

The pauses in this edition of Speech Lab are slightly shorter than in previous editions. This is the result of speaking with many students and teachers who used the previous editions of Speech Lab. They told us that most students don't play the tapes in a language lab, but simply repeat aloud after the reader, and therefore do not need long pauses. In addition, it is our belief that students progress more rapidly when repeating more quickly and with less hesitation. An added bonus of the shorter pauses is that we were able to devote an entire side of one cassette to drills on vocal expressiveness.

Tips on Using SPEECH LAB:

1. Work in a setting where you can speak in a loud, natural voice: your room, your car, an empty classroom, someplace quiet.

2. Play and practice the drills again and again, until you've thoroughly reinforced the desired sound.

3. When you hear a chime you've reached the end of a drill. If your recorder has a "cue" or "search" feature, listen for these chimes while you fast-forward to find a particular a drill.

4. Each heading lists the 4/e TEXT PAGE, cassette side, and a 5/e text page. If you are using the fifth edition of the text with the tapes, you will find that some of the words and phrases have been changed. The changes have been indicated in this correlation guide. As you listen to the tapes, be attentive to the changes. Some of them are slight changes but they are very important.

5. Some drills have been shortened so that we didn't have to break them in the middle to change cassettes. The instructions will tell you if that's the case; just complete the drill on your own.

6. Use the text to visually reinforce unfamiliar sounds.