Frequently Asked Questions

Everyone speaks with an accent. All cultures use intonation differently. Your specific accent is the unique cultural style of speaking and intoning the music of your language. Speakers usually bring their intonation from their first language into their American Speech.
A person’s accent depends on many factors, but usually fall into two groups: Regional accents and Foreign Accents:
Regional accents (or dialects) – for example, people from Texas sound different from New York
Foreign accents – for example, someone who was raised speaking English will sound different from someone raised speaking Spanish and then learned English as an adult.

Accents are a natural part of spoken languages and reflect the unique characteristics and background of a person. Many people take great pride in their accents. However, some people may have difficulty communication because of their accent. Those difficulties include:
– People not understanding what you are attempting to communicate
– Avoiding social interaction with people who may not understand you
– Frustration from frequently having to repeat yourself
– People focusing on your accent more than on what you are trying to say

These types of communication problems might have negative effects on job performance, educational advancement, and everyday life activities. It may also affect your self-esteem if you are having difficulty communicating due to an accent. A Speech Pathologist can provide services to speakers who want to modify or reduce their accent, including:
– Non-native English speakers
– Native English speakers who want to reduce a regional accent
– Business and medical professionals who want to improve their communication skills
– Actors who need to learn a new accent or dialect for a role or performance

YES! All thats required is a PC or a Mac with a good internet connection and the ability to run the selected videoconferencing software.

Customized programs available include:

• Private Instruction:

Like enlisting a personal trainer to help you get the best possible results at the gym, our private accent reduction courses offer the most optimal training in American English pronunciation. Personalized one-on-one training helps our clients reach their maximum accent modification potential as quickly as possible. Sessions typically last 60 to 90 minutes.

• Small Group Workshops:

Participating in small group workshops is interactive, affordable, engaging and efficient in modifying your accent. Group courses provide a collaborative environment in which participants learn from both the trainer and the other students in the class. Course time is shared with participants receiving the same customized evaluations, reports, materials, and personalized instruction. Sessions last 90 minutes.

All online courses are offered online through easy to use video conferencing software.

Depending on your preferences and geographical location, you can choose the most optimal and affordable program to suit your schedule.

• Online course
• On-site instruction at your workplace

Additional travel costs will be included for on-site training, based on mileage.

The Root CAUSE of Pronunciation Difficulties

Certainly, the ability to SPELL English words correctly is critical for your writing skills, but it can also become a major obstacle to your effective speaking skills. WHY? This is because English spelling is UNPHONETIC. Many words are not spelled the way they SOUND. All consonants and vowels can be used for spelling several different sounds in American English. This causes frequent pronunciation problems for non-native English speakers.

The other factor to consider is whether a certain SOUND is part of your language’s repertoire of sounds, or your “speech bank”. Many American English consonants and vowels do not even EXIST in your own native language.

So there are two major reasons for “accented” speech:

1. You incorrectly predict how to say a word because of it’s spelling

2. Your pronunciation is inaccurate because you are applying the pronunciation rules from your native language –rules that don’t apply in American English

People choose to reduce their accent for many different reasons; most often business professionals seek to improve listeners perception of them. Studies indicate that many people will stop asking “what?”, or ask for clarification after the second time, at which point the situation becomes socially awkward.

• Business opportunities via telephone can be adversely affected when a listener is unable to understand an accented speaker; they do not have the visual model to assist with understanding.
• A listener can be easily distracted by a person’s accent, which can interfere with the course of conversation or take them away from the primary message when trying to conduct business or negotiate a contract.
• People incorrectly assume that if a person can’t speak the language, then they must also have difficulty understanding it. These misperceptions can create problems with a person’s credibility, or can negatively impact one’s professional advancement.