Accent coach nitpicks My Fair Lady
I was inspired to write this blog post after seeing My Fair Lady on Broadway. Although I saw the film version in high school, seeing this musical live for the first time was a wonderful experience: the music was superb, the set and costume design breathtaking, and I found myself utterly absorbed....
Read MoreSilent Letters Video Blog
In this video blog post, we answer the question: what’s up with English having so many words that are spelled totally different from how they’re pronounced? This vlog is a follow-up to this blog post, which contains lots of examples of words to practice containing silent letters. Stil...
Read MoreThe Most Awe-Inspiring New York Accent Tip
Want to learn how to do the famous New York accent? There are several features that make the New York City accent unique. One of the most key – yet hard-to-master – defining features is that the vowel “aw” can sometimes appear in unexpected places. In comparison to the Standard Americ...
Read More4 Things People with Accents Wished You Knew
As an accent coach, I’ve worked with people from all areas of the world and from all corners of the United States. The people I work with tell me that a major factor that contributes to their seeking out Standard American accent lessons is the desire to have others hear them clearly and focus on ...
Read MoreThe Five Types of “t” Sounds Video Blog
In this video blog post, we answer the age-old question: What’s up with all the different ways to pronounce “t” in English, and how do you know which pronunciation to use? This vlog is a follow-up to this blog post, which contains even more helpful examples of words to practice containing the dif...
Read MoreAn Honest Answer to “Do I Need Accent Reduction?”
Here’s how it goes: I meet someone for the first time, and the question of what I do for work inevitably comes up. I tell them that I’m an accent reduction instructor, and if the person has an accent, the next question is almost always: “What do you think – do I need accen...
Read MoreWhy can’t some people hear their own accents?
In a previous blog post, 5 Myths About Why You Have an Accent, I discussed what causes people to have a foreign accent in American English. Accents are a result of your spoken English being filtered through the sound system of your first language. In other words, your mouth is most comfortable ma...
Read MoreCan you ever completely lose your foreign accent?
One of the most frequently asked questions I get as an American accent instructor is, “Can adults ever completely lose their foreign accents?” This is certainly an important and relevant question for anyone wanting to sound like a native speaker of American English. The short answer is that it is...
Read MoreAmerican /s/ vs. British /z/
In this video blog post, we discuss a small, subtle difference between how some words with “s” are pronounced between American and British English. This tip may be most useful if you are trying to learn an American accent, but are coming from a starting point of being more familiar with British E...
Read MoreConfusing stress in similar words
A stressed syllable is part of a word which is pronounced louder and longer than the other parts of the word. The importance of word stress has been discussed in the previous 2 blog posts – Introduction to Word Stress and Unstressed Syllables. As mentioned in those posts, placing stress on ...
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