What is the price of the Accent Lessons?

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*Accent Consultation -15 Minutes - Free. This is where I get to learn about your accent goals and answer your questions.

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*Accent Evaluation: 50 Minutes - $115.00. 

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*Accent Lessons: 25-Minute Lessons -$57.50 each or 50- Minute Lessons- $115.00 each. 

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Where are lessons held? 

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Lessons are held via Zoom video conferencing.

 

What form of payment do you accept?

 

Prior to attending a scheduled session, you will receive an invoice for your payment for the session. Your payment is appreciated anytime before the meeting begins. All major credit cards and Apple Pay are accepted. Payments are made through Quickbook's secure online platform. 

 

Is there a required amount of sessions? 

 

There is no commitment or requirement to attend a certain number of sessions. All lessons are individually scheduled so that you can pay as you go. You can take as many sessions as you would like. While it is recommended to attend one or two lessons a week, some clients prefer to "pop in" from time to time due to their busy schedules. Typically, individuals take an average of 12-24 sessions, or lessons across 3-6 months to develop their accent and pronunciation goals, however some individuals benefit from less or more sessions depending on their goals. 

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Do you offer any pre-paid packages? 

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Currently, pre-paid packages are not offered. 

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Are there any materials to help carry over our lessons?

 

100%. This is highly important. At the end of each session, you are emailed practice exercise worksheets and audio files for verbal practice. You are given exercises to take your new skills into the real world. Additional resources and materials are recommended as needed. 

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What do you work on in Accent and Pronunciation training? 

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Vowel and Consonant Pronunciation

 

This includes direct instruction, drill and practice. American English has a wide variety of consonants and vowels sounds. Although the English alphabet has 5 vowels a, e, i , o, and u, there are 14 different vowel sounds produced within spoken English. We will target just the sounds that you may be mispronouncing or approximating, and shape them closer to the correct production.  

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Intonation Training

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Intonation is the "melody" of speech. Native American English Speakers utilize unique intonation patterns, also referred to as a rise and fall of pitches. For example, when asking a wh-question, (i.e "Where is the library?")  a falling intonation is used. A yes/no question (e.g. "Did you buy a new car?") will hold a rising intonation. Intonation in one's speech further helps the listener understand by conveying further meaning beyond the spoken word. 

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Syllable and Sentence Stress 

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Learning where to put the syllable stress in words will add to your listener's understanding. In fact, using incorrect stress can make two completely different words sound quite similar. "Committee" is a word that has stress on the second syllable. "com-MIT-tee".  If a speaker puts the stress on the first syllable, however, and says, "COM-mit-tee", that might sound like "Comedy" to a listener. Sentence stress refers to knowing what word in a sentence to emphasize. It is often the word that carries the most meaning. 

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Linking Words

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Instead of producing each word separately and distinctly in a sentence, native English speakers will link words together. For example, instead of saying "hold on" as two separate words, a native English speaker would produce "hol-don". Learning how to link words is key for acquiring the General American accent.  

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