• At Refined Accent, my goal is to expand the repertoire of your sounds, you won’t be eliminating sounds, but rather learning new sounds and the rules that go along with speaking English. This will allow you to speak as naturally and confidently in American English as you do in your native language.

• Some people use the terms accent reduction, accent modification, and pronunciation training, interchangeably. I prefer to see my approach as expanding communication abilities, allowing you to “code switch.” You can choose when or in which settings to use your newly learned American English pronunciation sounds.

• I have over 25 years of experience as a Speech Pathologist in a variety of settings and populations. I am certified in 3 different approaches/methods of accent training; Compton PESL, LDS and the Rupp Method.

• I really enjoy developing relationships with my clients. I enjoy guiding my clients towards achieving their goals. I also highly value cultivating relationships and can empathize as well as motivate individuals.

• Confident communication is the key to success in life. By investing in your communication skills, you will be empowering yourself by increasing your confidence with clear and natural sounding pronunciation. The first step is to decide that you are worth the time and energy it will take to make your speech and eventually, perhaps, the quality of your life better. Why take the chance of missing out on an opportunity in business because someone misunderstands you? Or in the case of medicine, a patient or colleague misunderstands your communication, which could ultimately result in an unfavorable outcome.

• Are you a non-native speaker of English?

• Do you feel like you know the grammar and vocabulary, but people still have a hard time understanding you because of your pronunciation?

• Do people frequently ask you to repeat yourself?

• Have you ever noticed that listeners may just nod their heads but not engage in conversation with you? Without asking for clarification, do listeners ignore your message or wrongly assume that they understand your message?

• Do you feel as though you are not advancing in your education or career as much as you desire, regardless of having the confidence in your knowledge/experience?

• Do you feel that despite sharing a common language you feel isolated?

• Do you avoid social situations because people may not understand you?

• Do you find that people focus on your accent rather than on the content of what you are saying?

• Do you experience frustration because of communication breakdowns?

• Have you ever experienced a critical misunderstanding or situation related to your accent?

The benefits of improving your communication skills can be limitless, but here are a few that people have mentioned:

• increase the effectiveness and accuracy when speaking in social, business, or medical settings

• increase your confidence when communicating in American English

• increase your awareness and self monitoring skills of your speech

• increase patient/staff/customer satisfaction ratings

I offer several options to meet your needs. If you are not sure which program is right for you, please contact me for a free 15-20 min phone consultation so we can figure that out together. The following packages are offered for individual & small group (2-3 people) sessions:

• The Basic Package includes 12 sessions: generally, for people who have mild accents and only need to work on a few aspects of their speech; sounds are pretty close to the target sounds: rarely experience miscommunications.

• The Standard Package includes 20 sessions: generally, for people who have mild-moderate accented English and need to work on several to many sound changes; language and pronunciation errors are noticeable but understandable; may experience miscommunications.

• The Premium Package includes 32 sessions: generally, for people who have many sounds that are not immediately understood; they may also have significant language needs; often experience miscommunications.

For Corporate Clients I offer customized options to meet their organizations specific needs.

• I use a well-organized and structured approach to teaching American English pronunciation. It provides detailed placement and movement instructions for each sound as well as instructions on stress patterns, intonation, linking, and reductions.

• My clients will have access to a robust e-learning site that incorporates extensive training content, including video tutorials and practice activities. It is easily accessible from a desktop or mobile device, so practicing is easy, which can lead to greater improvements.

• My clients will have access to this e-learning site for up to 12 months, so once you have completed your sessions you will still have the ability to continue practicing.

• All sessions are currently via Zoom except by request at an onsite location for corporate clients. My clients can be from anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your home or office or anywhere in-between.

• Each package starts with a comprehensive evaluation of your current communication abilities. I will be listening to your pronunciation of sounds, grammar and vocabulary in sentences and conversation. Once the evaluation is completed, a customized plan will be created as a guide for the weekly sessions. During these sessions we will be using the e-learning site to focus on your particular needs.

• I will tell you the truth here, learning a new speech pattern is not easy…it will take time and commitment. But if you are here, reading about American English pronunciation, YOU have already done something hard…YOU have learned at least one language besides your native language. YOU already know that YOU are capable of doing difficult things.

• It really depends on YOUR current communication abilities in American English as well as YOUR commitment to practice. Some people, depending on individual situations, may take longer than others.

• I will be committed to YOU and will strive to help YOU achieve YOUR goals as effectively and efficiently as possible. We will be on this journey together. I will not only guide you; I will be your biggest cheerleader and do whatever I can to help you be successful…but in the end it comes down to YOU.

  How much are you willing to do to achieve your goal?

• I have flexible hours to meet your needs. Currently day and evening options are available. If a time that works best for you is not currently available, please reach out and we will see if we can find a time that works for both of us. All scheduling is by appointment only.

• No, although I am a licensed and certified Speech Pathologist, my role in Refined Accent will be strictly related to second language pronunciation and overall communication improvement. If you believe you have a speech, language, or communication disorder please let me know and I can give you a referral.

• No. An accent is not a disorder that requires therapy, so this training is not eligible for insurance coverage.

• Some companies may pay for or reimburse employees for this type of training, check with your company to see if they will cover your program costs.

• Payments are accepted via Stripe, which allows my clients to choose their preferred form of payment. (A secure platform for credit or debit cards, digital wallets, Google or Apple Pay, bank transfers, Alipay, and WeChat.)