Accent Reduction FAQ's

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail that I sent in response to a prospective student's inquiry. This reply answers the above questions and more:

October 2, 2007.

Dear ______:

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As far as the types of people I work with: I've had college students and working professionals. I've worked with Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, and Indian people. I conduct classes and private sessions in English only. So students should be proficient enough in English to understand me.

As far as improving one's English pronunciation, I think the following ingredients are needed in the success formula:

1) A patient, sharp, encouraging teacher to point out pronunciation mistakes and help you make corrections.

2) An efficient speech system that teaches you how to make sounds correctly and make corrections yourself.

Note: You will need to keep building your "pronunciation vocabulary" by listening to native speakers (be careful whom you listen to though) and looking up words in the dictionary. We will go over pronunciation in class also.

And,

3) A hard-working, persistent student.

Of the three ingredients, I think that the third one is the most important.

Let me be honest with you:

A Chinese accent is not easy to reduce. You won't be able to speak "perfect" English after only 5 class sessions. You can start improving your pronunciation though.

As non-native English speakers, we need to worry about pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, etc., when we open our mouths. This is something that many native speakers don't completely understand and appreciate. We have to work extra hard to be heard and respected as citizens of this society.

I've worked hard to break the Asian stereotype: that of a shy and quiet Asian female immigrant. Over the years I've spent thousands of dollars and much time taking classes and private lessons on voice and speech, voiceover, theatre, speaking, etc. I am the speaker that I am today because I had more drive than most people to work on my speech and was willing to make the investment in time and money to keep improving.

Besides correcting your pronunciation, I will teach you a speech system that you can use for the rest of your life. After finishing the class, you will need to keep practicing (either by yourself and/or with a private tutor) so that the new speech habits will become part of your life. It's like playing the piano; if you don't practice, your lips and tongue will become "lazy" again. I myself still read aloud and practice exercises from time to time in order to keep my chops sharp (many professional actors still take classes). How much you can improve is really up to you. The more efforts you put in, the more rewards you will get.

You know those ads that state something like: "Eliminate your accent in 30 days!"? Now that's a sales pitch.

I hope that my lengthy but honest answer has inspired you rather than discouraged you.

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Best of luck to you,


Accent Reduction Coach