I just returned from the annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching conference in Montreal last night. It was fulfilling as always. I met new faces, caught up with old ones, and most importantly, continued to learn from the researchers trying to better understand what is important for learning a second language (not just English) and how to best teach these methods to others.

In sessions with new clients, many will be very surprised when I point out the slight differences between their productions and what they are trying to say. One client said to me, “I had no idea people were hearing, ‘I scraped my niece’ instead of ‘I scraped my knees.’” Can you hear how the first word is pronounced with an “s” and the second is pronounced with a “z” at the end? Another client told me about how he confused his team when he said, 'the other company was light in their thought process’ instead of being ‘right in their thought process,' substituting an “l” for an “r.”

If a client cannot discriminate between two sounds, it will be difficult for him or her to produce both sounds accurately. For this reason, in the initial training of sound production, we work on auditory perception. We use words in contrast to make explicit the difference for each of the consonants and vowels used in GAE.

Can you think of examples of minimal pairs in your native language? What about in English?

Duolingo keeps users motivated with its gaming model. Users can challenge themselves by setting daily goals to gain a certain number of XPs (experience points) when they complete a certain number of lessons everyday. They can also challenge others by viewing their progress, or share their progress with someone such as a teacher.

​A couple of weeks before we were all supposed to meet, my dad and husband competed with even greater intensity than usual. I would receive texts from both reporting that they were receiving emails about one passing the other up and vice versa. Nighttime was particularly competitive as they would each try to gain the lead after the other went to bed.

My dad has a natural gift for foreign languages, but my husband told me that he has always struggled learning languages. Learning French was quite a feat for him, especially when it came to French pronunciation, which is extremely difficult for many American English speakers.

While my mom teased them that they could only stay things such as, “I have a red apple in my pocket,” by the time my former exchange student and her family came, they worked really hard and accomplished a lot. They were able to independently read and write some basic sentences and understood quite a bit when my former exchange student and her husband spoke to their boys. My husband thought it was pretty funny that parents from all over the world seem to say the same things to their children. My friend would say, “Just a minute. I’m talking. Wait a second. I’m talking to Ellen.” - universal good parenting!

While neither my dad nor my husband were ready to work on improving their accents (they still needed to work on basic language and grammar skills), I was reminded how much dedication it takes to learn a language. Kudos to those of you who have already accomplished this. I know many of you already have a good vocabulary and understanding of English grammar. What an accomplishment! Now you only need to polish your conversational skills by seeking accent modification services. If people still have trouble understanding you, you are very close to changing that. Have no fear! You have come to the right place. Your ability to improve your accent is only a call or email away.

1) What type of instruction do you provide? Online only or in-person? Class setting or individual?
The setting you choose is important. The more individual training you receive, the more likely you will be able to improve at a faster rate. By working one-on-one with someone, your instructor can tailor each session to your needs only. You will not have to work on sounds that you do not need to work on or wait while an instructor is working with another client. Learn more about why working one-on-one, in-person with an instructor can be helpful.

2) What are your qualifications for teaching me how to change my accent?
While not required, many people who teach accent modification have a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. They have received training that will allow them to evaluate, treat and track your progress accurately. They can provide you with appropriate help and feedback that others have not been taught. They have read the latest research to know which treatments are most effective.

3) How will you evaluate my speech?
The instructor should talk about terms such as speech perception, articulation, stress and intonation, all of which are important in order to reduce your accent.

4) What methods do you use to teach?
An instructor should be able to tell you what types of activities you will do together and explain why he/she is teaching using those methods. In other words, he/she should be using methods that have been proven (through research) to be effective. He/she should also teach you in an organized, systematic way.

5) Will I have to do homework?
The answer should be, absolutely/yes. In order for you to generalize your speech, or say new sounds while you’re talking without having to think too much about how to make those sounds, you will need to practice consistently.

6) How will you measure my progress?
Instructors should take data each week so that they know how much more accurate you are able to say each new sound in increasingly difficult contexts and whether they can begin to assign you harder tasks. They should be sharing this data with you so you know how quickly you are making progress. This will also help you know how much improvement you have made at the end of your time with your instructor. 

 7) How long will it take to change my accent (The #1 question everyone wants to know)?
If an instructor promises he/she can change your accent in 5-7 sessions, be careful. Unless you have a very mild accent, it is highly unlikely you will be able to change your accent that quickly. It takes time to learn new sounds, time to practice them and time to generalize them so you can say these sounds without having to think about how to say them. 

If the potential instructor is unable to answer all of these questions to your satisfaction, it should be a red flag and you should look elsewhere. 

If you need any clarification about the answers to these questions, please feel free to contact me so that I can explain in more detail.

PS - My next post will be in two weeks, as I will be taking some time off. Thanks for reading!