Nothing! Accents contribute to our global diversity. However, people with accents often express feeling held back professionally and/or socially.

Your accent may make it hard for others to understand you, especially on a videoconference or phone call, or in fast-paced situations. In today’s highly competitive job market, clear communication is an asset high on every employer’s priority list.

Your native accent will always be a part of who you are. You can switch back into your original accent whenever you want—but eliminating the “hard edges” of your non-native accent will make for a much smoother cultural and professional transition.

Developing a new accent is a key communication tool for living in the United States, but it does not mean your cultural identity is lost. However, you should be comfortable with the idea of speaking with an American English accent before starting accent reduction training.

Standard American English (SAE) is not native to any U.S. region. SAE is considered the most neutral, least distracting way of speaking American English.

Fluent and gentle, SAE highlights resonant, open vowels, and intonation that rises and falls smoothly. English is a stress-timed language that alternates constantly between stressed and unstressed words. Actors, radio broadcasters, and public speakers use SAE because it’s clear and easy on the ears.

Health insurance does not cover accent reduction classes. However, it often covers speech or voice therapy if you have a speech, language, or voice disorder. Many of our team members are licensed speech-language pathologists and can help guide you in the right direction.

Some employers will cover our services as part of their personal development or continuing education programs. Ask your employer or HR specialist, and let us know how we can help.

You can learn a few good things from videos and books.  However, to experience meaningful change, most people need consistent feedback. A professional instructor specializing in accent reduction is the best person to determine if you are hearing and producing sounds correctly. Many of our students have tried learning on their own but decided to go for private instruction once they realized they weren’t getting feedback or proper direction.

We have been devoting ourselves to the focused specialization of accent and voice improvement since opening our NYC doors in 2011. Our instructors, a team of licensed speech-language pathologists and communication specialists, are all U.S. natives and have extensive experience in accent reduction, voice improvement, English language enhancement, and presentation training.

Each of our instructors is a Masters-level graduate and has completed an intensive and ongoing AccentsOff training program.  Each holds a unique and complementary background in the arts (e.g. music, acting, writing). Since 2011, we have been working with clients from a broad range of professional industries.

In addition to highly personalized instruction, you will receive lifetime access to our unique library of hundreds of home practice texts and audio files.

That will depend on your goals, frequency, and how developed your accent is. Most people take sessions once or twice a week, and start noticing changes during the very first class.

Developing a new way of speaking is a step-by-step process. If you think about how long you’ve been speaking with accented English, then you can appreciate the time and effort of learning a new accent. Some clients have graduated from our program with extraordinary results in less than 20 sessions.

The instructors at AccentsOff use a unique approach that teaches you how to speak clearly by listening in a careful, natural, and relaxed manner. Our methodology includes ear training in combination with articulatory placement and oral posture adjustment. Our goal is to give you the resources and support you need to see the change immediately and keep the progress going during home practice. We encourage you to take risks and experiment. Our goal is to help you learn the American English accent at a comfortable pace, with long-lasting benefits.

We are based in New York City and meet our clients in our Midtown office or on Zoom. We offer flexible scheduling 7 days a week, including weekday evenings and weekends.

We offer live private and semi-private instruction. Most clients take 45-minute classes once weekly. Sign up on your own, or meet us with a friend or colleague. (For HR departments interested in group classes at your location in the NYC area, please contact us to learn more.)

We begin with a complimentary evaluation to determine how long we estimate it will take for you to achieve your goals. Most clients work with us for several months. See our Fees page for more information.

We have performed in-depth research on some of our competitors and see that they have a few nice program features (like games and exercises) but in the end fall short in the areas of accuracy, customization, and conversational carryover. Since clear conversation is the goal for most people, it should also be the focus during the class. If you want to take it to the next level and have your training pay off in conversation, you may want to consider us.

You’d be surprised how many foreign-born professionals feel insecure about having an accent! And if your employee is difficult to understand or is shy about communicating, that is a sure sign that an accent reduction program would be helpful.

If you have hired foreign-born staff members, consider speech and accent training as part of your onboarding package. These skills help employees get comfortable in the workplace, speak more persuasively and effectively, and get up to speed as quickly as possible.

We emphasize daily practice and provide lifetime access to our unique library of home practice materials. We can also help with upcoming presentations and written communication.

The first step is to meet you or your employee for a Zoom Discovery Call.  The call takes about 20-30 minutes and is free of charge. During this initial meeting, we will find out more about your needs and discuss in detail how our accent reduction and speech improvement programs work.

After that, we will set up a complimentary, 1:1 speech evaluation, where we map out and analyze the accent or speech pattern. This helps us design each individual student’s personalized curriculum. Finally, we will present you with a written proposal. Once payment is received, your employee and the instructor will set up a weekly class schedule.

Have a question you don’t see in the FAQs? Simply contact us here.

The first step is to meet you or your employee for a Zoom Discovery Call.  The call takes about 15-30 minutes and is free of charge. During this initial meeting, we will find out more about your needs and discuss in detail how our accent reduction and speech improvement programs work.

After that, we will set up a complimentary, 1:1 speech evaluation, where we map out and analyze the accent or speech pattern. This helps us design each individual student’s personalized curriculum. Finally, we will present you with a written proposal. Once payment is received, your employee and the instructor will set up a weekly class schedule.

Have a question you don’t see in the FAQs? Simply contact us here.