Spring Is Almost Here! (But For One Last Snowstorm!)

Well, spring is almost here, although we are supposed to get one last snowstorm.  But who knows, right?   Well, I love to teach, and I love to teach in the evenings, and I love to teach in the evenings via Skype.   I can help you reduce your accent to make you more understandable to Americans, to get that promotion or deal with those clients.   Typically, I do some diagnostic testing during a consult to see where you are and where you want to go.   Then we work together, starting by changing your intonation--the "musical pitch" of your speech--the rising and falling in pitch of your voice--to be more like that of an American.  

At the same time, we work on the rhythm of your English, so you get your stresses--your emphasis--in the right places.  From there I teach you to *stretch* out your vowels so everything comes out with a nice flow.  Then we work on specific problem sounds like the /sh/ sound vs the /s/ sound or the different kinds of /th/ sounds.

Essentially, the training method I use is repetitive drills with constructive criticism and correction.   I demonstrate a sound, and we go through the drills.  You make the sound, and I offer correction and criticism--in very literal terms, such as "put your tongue here" or "drop your jaw".   When the lesson is over, I give you recordings and handouts to practice with between lessons.   You do your homework and come back for the next lesson where we review.  The practice-feedback-practice loop helps you to gradually improve as well as to understand what you're doing wrong and how to do it right.

Sound interesting?  Check out my ESL/Accent Reduction YouTube Channel for some free tips on how to reduce your accent, as well as some cultural tips that may help you do better in America.  Also check out my American Idiom of the Day Twitter Feed for some great info on American idioms and expressions and slang and information and examples on how to use them.

Finally, if you're ready to take the plunge (to "take the plunge" means to take the action you've thought about taking) check out my ESL/Accent Reduction website for more information about me and how to reach me.  Also, feel free to download some of the FREE ESL/accent reduction podcasts on the right  hand side of this blog.

Remember, I can't call you, you have to call me.  Give me a call today.