Accent Reduction is not the most accurate description of the training we provide but it is the most widely used terminology. When you think about it, everyone has an accent of one kind or another. In reality, we are training our clients to modify their speech patterns from their current accent to what we refer to as “Standard American English”. This “standard” has been set due to the widespread availability of television and radio over the last century. Although accents across the U.S. are varied, this “newscaster accent” has been  adopted as a nationwide standard, understood by all English speakers. Consequently, this is the standard we base our trainings on at the Accent Reduction Center.

How does Accent Reduction Training work?

English pronunciation training requires a different skill set than learning the English language. Although both require a significant amount of practice, pronunciation training is based on four key components.

• First, you must be able to hear the difference between the correct sounds and the sounds you are making.
• Second, you must learn the correct physical movements of the mouth.
• Third, you must practice in stages or levels (words, then sentences, then structured conversation, then conversation) making sure all along the way that you are practicing the correct movements.
• Fourth, you must understand and practice the supplementary features of language such as intonation, rate, linking, word stress, sentence stress, and common reductions.

Your personal trainer is there every step of the way constantly analyzing and making adjustments to your course to make sure you are practicing correct techniques that fit your needs. Our trainers use a variety of materials and  activities to keep this process fun and interesting while getting you as much  practice as possible.