If you’re reading this, you already have some interest and knowledge of “accent reduction”. Playing accent imitation games is a fun, effective way to practice. You may know about phonetics and how languages have their own unique libraries of sounds. Maybe you’ve heard of “prosody”: the umbrella term for the accent features of intonation, stress,…
3 tricks to get accent practice in today
My students sometimes get worried that they’re not practicing enough. “I will confess right now – it was a crazy week.” “I don’t know how to fit this into my schedule.” “I was really bad.” Working on your accent reduction exercises is like me going to the gym. The amount of cognitive dissonance flying around in…
How to lose an accent
Many people come to us asking “How can I lose my accent?” We train them how to lose an accent without losing their identity. I’ve even had a lovely woman from Brazil come in requesting that we “kill it”. First of all – there’s nothing wrong with having an accent. Accents reflect diversity and cultural…
25 Nightmare Words
In the years of working on American English pronunciation with clients from all over the world, we see certain words come up again and again that are simply DIFFICULT to pronounce well. But these 25 nightmare words are especially challenging for non-native speakers. Americans have their own lists of “Most Mispronounced Words” (e.g. “expresso” for…
T’be or Not T’be: The Connectors
T’be or Not T’be: The connectors that make your American accent more natural. Sometimes we meet a new client who wants to improve his or her American accent, but who already has very good English pronunciation. During the initial interview, a minute or two might go by where no traces of consonant or vowel substitutions…
To Russia With Love
We have clients from every corner of the world. Our map has pins from the northernmost part of Russia to the southernmost tip of South America. And of course the pronunciation issues we hear are as varied as the sounds a human can make. To Russia with love: How Russians pronounce American words We find…
Inside the Russian Accent
We have clients from every corner of the world. And of course the pronunciation issues we hear are as varied as the sounds a human can make. How Russians pronounce American words We find accent variations even within countries, especially the vast area of Russia and its neighbors. However, many Russian speakers share speech patterns…
Accent tips for Spanish speakers
We see many accent modification clients from all the various Spanish-speaking countries, mostly from Spain, Columbia, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Although each country’s accent has a slightly different flavor, there are many common features in areas of pronunciation, stress/rate/rhythm, intonation, and oral posture. Here are 6 accent tips for Spanish speakers to improve your American…
Not Going on Holiday
I often hear non-native American English speakers using the term “going on holiday.” Let’s take a look at this. “Holiday” is an interesting word and you’ll see it pop up all over the place at this time of the year. However, Americans never say they’re “going on holiday”. Nor do we say “going on holidays”…
Pace Yourself! How Americans really speak
I haven’t written an article in a while. I was in Italy for a couple of weeks and the trip messed with my “pace”. Slowed down my world in a warm and lovely way. Arrivederci-for-a-while to my usual fast-as-a-New-York-minute productivity. Meglio tardi che mai. Better late than never. This is where espresso/caffeine has its purpose. Speaking…