How to start accent reduction?

In order to reduce a heavy accent, we need to identify what creates it. A qualified speech tutor would be able to analyse your speech and tell you the following:

• Which English sounds are the most difficult for you.

• Which English speech patterns you need to work on to sound fluent and more like a native English speaker.

Four most common reasons why someone has a heavy accent:

1. Not all English vowels and diphthongs exist in other languages, you might struggle to pronounce them correctly.
2. There are 5 long and 7 short vowels in English. Long vowels do not exist in all languages and there is a tendency to shorten them. This can create a problem for others to understand you.
3. Bad articulation. In other words, weak consonants or incorrectly pronounced consonants.
4. Your intonation could be very difficult to follow, you might break phrases and make pauses in the wrong places.

Practice one of the most difficult English long vowels with this video:

How can I get rid of my accent?

In order to reduce an accent you need to:
1. Learn and practice how to pronounce English sounds using received pronunciation (RP) - RP is also sometimes called the Queen’s English, Oxford English or BBC English.
2. Do articulation exercises to make your consonants clear and crisp.
3. Speak in phrases rather than in separate words, while knowing how to correctly link words together.
4. Learn the patterns of English intonation and vocal techniques.

Accents are individual and to understand your individual reasons we recommend that you book your speech analysis. To book your speech analysis email oriana_r@hotmail.com

Who developed our method?

Our method was developed by Linda James, LARM, R.A.M. Dip. Ed. Linda has been teaching speech (Received Pronunciation), which in the past it was called the Queen’s English, Oxford English or BBC English) in leading London drama schools for more than 20 years and accent eradication to foreign professionals for more than 30 years. She is also a trained actress and has worked extensively in both theatre and television, including "Only Fools and Horses," "Keeping Up Appearances" and many others. 

Learning the RP has several stages:

The first stage is to make sure that you put your lips, tongue and jaw in the right position for the learned sound. If you fail to do so, the sound will not be precise and may be different altogether. Follow the instructions on the speech organ position given at the beginning of each lesson. Pronounce the sound several times, looking in the mirror to make sure you do it correctly.

When you have just started working on a sound your speech organs are not trained; therefore, they might not go automatically for a correct placement.  When you use the mirror, you can see yourself and adjust lips and jaw positions. When it comes to the tongue position, you need to think about its position and adjust it. When you feel that your sound is correct, start pronouncing the words, sentences and verses in the lesson.

The second stage is aimed at helping you learn a sound by repeating and imitating after the teacher. This exercise will help you to make the sound as correctly as possible and train your speech organs for the particular sound. The more you repeat, the better your pronunciation becomes.

The third stage gives you an opportunity to practice the sound on your own with our  accent apps and books. You will be hearing yourself and mastering the sound. This stage is essential before recording yourself. We recommend that you practice each sound for about 20-40 minutes a day, with little breaks in between.

The fourth stage involves recording yourself and listening to the recording. It helps you to see whether you have progressed in mastering the pronunciation and to identify where you still make mistakes.

The fifth stage focuses on eliminating mistakes. Correctly repeating the words where you made a mistake will help you avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.

The sixth stage has the purpose of helping you incorporate the learned sound in your everyday speech. It’s about paying attention when you speak. We say: think before you speak and slow down for the period of mastering your speech.

If you speak fast, you are likely  to speak in your autopilot mode, with your accent. After the lessons you will be able to correct yourself. This stage is also trying to find the learned sound in the newspapers, on the radio, on TV and when people are speaking English. 

Our Partners who buy our books

Get Rid of your Accent for Beginners, ISBN 9780955330063, Get Rid of your Accent Part One, ISBN 9780955330001, Get Rid of your Accent Part Two, Advanced level, ISBN 9780955330018 and  Get Rid of your Accent for Business Part Three, ISBN 9780955330025  are now stocked by Bertrams and Gardners! Copy and paste the ISBN number to order and get details.

Colleges that teach with our books

Linda and Olga, authors of the books, have been conducting workshops for teachers and students in many colleges that teach English as a foreign language. The books and apps are an invaluable resource for them.

"Clearly, the authors of the book have collected years of experience and expertise to create this practical and effective tool for speech study."  Joe Windley, Head of Speech, Central School of Speech and Drama, London