Let me help you achieve your professional goals.
I offer private, semi-private and group lessons in accent modification (also known as accent reduction) for non-native English speakers seeking to improve their pronunciation of American English, or native English speakers who want to speak more clearly or without a pronounced regional dialect.
Often people refer to this work as accent reduction, but I prefer the terms accent modification or accent training. The process is not one of reducing or subtracting, but simply of learning a new dialect, one better suited to your professional needs. That doesn't mean there's anything inherently wrong with the way you speak! All accents and dialects are beautiful, and it's an unfortunate fact of life that sometimes they can carry stigmas or create stumbling blocks in the professional world. A “neutral” dialect like General American or Received Pronunciation (the standard British dialect) is simply a tool and a skill to be learned, like anything else.
Learning English vocabulary and grammar can be insufficient to get you where you want to be. I can teach you the way native speakers really talk, something you won't get in an ESL class. And for native English speakers with regional dialects, I can help you achieve the clear, neutral, non-regional diction you want. Many people miss out on opportunities because they lack confidence in their communicative abilities or have a hard time making themselves understood. Taking charge of the way you speak can build confidence and open up new doors.
I cater my approach to the individual student. Based on your learning style and experience, we will customize a curriculum designed specifically for your needs. As a classically trained and professionally working actor, I treat speech as the art form that it is. We will make sense of your target dialect with clarity, creativity, and fun. You’ll learn to speak the way native speakers do— not only the individual sounds, but the nuances of melody, resonance, and rhythm that really make the difference.
I am fluent in English and Spanish, and versed in the phonology, grammar and writing systems of many languages, including Russian, French, German, Italian, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Yiddish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. My knowledge of linguistics, phonetics, and orthography allows me to start from your native language's database of sounds and symbols to help you relearn English spelling and pronunciation, and better understand and execute the changes you need to make.
Available online via Skype, or in person in New York City.
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