ACCENT MODIFICATION/REDUCTION
GRAMMAR & SENTENCE STRUCTURE
PUNCTUATION USE
CONVERSATIONAL AND WRITTEN ENGLISH
The benefits of accent reduction or modification
Canada’s work-force diversity has a rich variety of spoken languages with accents. Accent modification will help improve conversational skills, but more importantly, it will improve presentation and professional skills, helping people to speak more effectively, confidently and understandably in any setting or in front of any audience.
Who is it for?
Anyone who feels shy or misunderstood because of their pronunciation or difficulty in forming words (ESL or for ANY reason)
Anyone who doesn’t feel heard, or who wishes to master the art of communicating well in business and social situations
Anyone who has a basic ability in English who wishes to become more articulate or sophisticated in vocabulary and grammar.
Anyone who speaks English but gets asked to repeat words & phrases.
Anyone who feels embarrassed or belittled speaking and writing English and has lost confidence communicating with other people.
Anyone wishing to communicate well without the fear of giving up their identity, roots or understandable aspects of their accent .
JENNIFER’S PROCESS -
THE ASSESSMENT AND 12 SESSION TRAINING
Initial meeting with the client 1:1
The training is always completely individualised, so Jennifer holds a non-judgemental phone, online or in-person assessment meeting with each client. Both Jennifer and the clients’ goals, expectations, steps and methods are discussed and agreed upon. A plan is formulated based on the findings from the assessment and the first session is scheduled.
2. Individualised session content.
The 12 sessions are usually once a week at the same time. As needed, the training evolves through a steady introduction of the following components;
Clear phonemes, vowel and consonant sounds
Intonation and syllable stress
How to ‘run the words together’
Identifying confusing sounds
Mastering new sounds unfamiliar to the client
Reading, improvised conversations and writing in English
Speech for formal presentations and casual conversations
Expansion of grammar and punctuation use (optional)
Increased sophistication of vocabulary (optional)
Techniques for speaking with confidence
Specific homework for the week ahead.
3. A continuous shared progress/plan
A shared doc - a place for useful articles, categorized words, documents for reading aloud and new vocabulary. Updated every week to clarify the specifics covered in the session and to identify homework for the week ahead. Jennifer updates after every session to aid in daily practice and reminders.
There are no instructional video or audio files. Jennifer wants to see and hear YOU to give your specific feedback.
This enables you to make adjustments to the mouth, lips jaw, tongue shape as well as placement of the sounds to bring success without frustration!
CONTACT
Accent Modification for corporations and individuals
How I became an instructor for accent modification.
“ I was born in England and grew up in Sussex. After a few years as a business owner in London, I moved to Ontario, Canada. Whilst I received a very warm welcome, I felt I was an anomaly in a small traditional rural community.
I experienced a necessity to learn some local vernacular as well as new vowel sounds and accents in order to be accepted and understood.
There was some reluctance I felt to ‘change myself’. To adopt new ways to say a word I already used, sometimes felt odd and challenging. As I developed an intense love and pride to be a permanent resident of Canada, I developed my own way to adapt my natural speech, depending on the particular circumstances. I also thought hard about my attitude of the ‘right’ way to say certain words, and studied the history of language. I found it reassuring and encouraging to know that languages, word pronunciations and meanings have changed multiple times over the history of civilisation and it’s a natural part of evolution.
I made a decision to enjoy being understood - rather than to entirely cling to tradition. It made sense; enabling me to embrace new sounds, words and connotations whilst still totally being myself!
I studied singing and musical ear training with The Royal Conservatory of Music and have been teaching singing, music theory and piano for 15 years. This is how I developed my ‘ear’; my ability to hear tiny details of sounds humans can make. It has become a skill I am very proud of.
My ability to hear when a singer is exactly on a particular vibrational pitch, is as clear and easy as hearing when a client succeeds in forming a new phonetic sound.
Accent acquirement or modification coaching is exciting work. My compassion as a teacher, my kind and realistic approach to accent training is often commented on by my clients.
Our sessions are fun and productive - that’s the way I like to work
My goal is not to change who you are. I strive to enable you to bring who you are, with new communication skills acquired through detailed training for your spoken and written words. I believe you can shine and feel confident as well as perfectly understood. This brings your audience to respect and value you for all that you are.”
RATES FOR TRAINING
Initial meeting and assessment (20 - 30 minutes) $59
Single coaching/training session (1 hour) $79
12 session package (valid for 6 months) $699