What are some of the reasons students work with you?

• They’re concerned about being misunderstood in important conversations.

• They know they have pronunciation issues, but have no idea how to fix them.

• They've tried to fix their pronunciation problems with YouTube videos, with no success.

• They don’t fully participate in work meetings because they’re concerned about being misunderstood.

• Performance review feedback suggests improving communication skills.

• They know that excellent communication skills are vital for career advancement.

• They feel anxious doing presentations at work.

• They love language and have always wanted to study pronunciation.

• They're motivated and ambitious and care about how they sound in English.

• They want to develop better connections with colleagues and friends, but feel their accent gets in the way.

• They want their English to sound as sophisticated as they sound in their native language.

• They want to be able to fit into their informal workplace culture.

• They're tired of being held back in life by the way they speak.

What results do clients get from working with you?

• More confidence in general and a sense of accomplishment

• An understanding of the components of accent, the specifics of their challenges, and how to fix them

• New, integrated pronunciation habits

• Big reduction in communication breakdowns

• Greater ease in connecting with and understanding native speakers of English

• Livelier and more engaging involvement in work meetings and presentations

• Greater effectiveness and more powerful contributions at work

• Compliments from friends, family, and colleagues on their progress

• Improvements in their overall experience of their daily lives at work and socially

• Less stress, since the constant, underlying insecurity related to language is gone

You can listen to client before-and-after Speech Samples here.

Tell me about working on Zoom. 

• I’ve been teaching on Zoom for years and think it’s an excellent platform for accent reduction work for the following reasons.

• An important part of accent reduction is learning new habits in moving your mouth to make sounds correctly. Being able to see yourself and me side-by-side on the screen is the most effective way to do this.

• Audio and video recordings, notes I write on the Whiteboard, and the transcript of any words we each write in the Chat feature, are provided for each lesson..

• The Share the Screen feature allows us to share docs, which is great for presentation practice.

How often do you meet with clients?

Each lesson hour is 50 minutes and clients typically have one lesson per week. Meeting regularly builds momentum, support and provides accountability. Some clients prefer 2 lessons per week, or even more. My lesson package is 16 lessons and scheduling is flexible. Clients do not need to select a fixed day and time each week at the beginning of the series. Many students continue with additional lesson packages in order to develop advanced speaking skills, such as greater nuance in managing conversation, pitching ideas, and presentation skills in general.

How much homework will I have to do?

My work is a process of teaching you the structural components of the Standard American English accent, pointing out the habits you need to change, and guiding you to develop new habits. To support that process, you will have weekly homework assignments that involve practicing with recordings. My clients are busy, ambitious people, so homework is short, targeted exercises. I recommend daily practice sessions of at least 15 minutes. Of course, the more you practice, the faster you’ll improve. In the first lesson, I teach you effective practice strategies and how you can easily use your phone for practicing.

I’m a female engineer and work in a tech company. I was told in a training that I should lower my voice to sound more masculine, but this feels strange to me. Can you help with this?

Yes! I’ve been successful helping smart, ambitious females working in majority male industries to develop their accent, voice, presence, and presentation style so that they speak clearly, confidently, powerfully, and naturally. I strongly believe that this is more effective than coaching clients to mimic a style of speaking that is inauthentic. Click here to find an example of this kind of transformation on the Speech Samples page.

I've lived here a really long time and I still have an accent. Can you really help me change my accent? Maybe I'm too old to do this work!

As long as you are eager to learn, have a positive attitude, and are willing to take my feedback and practice between lessons, you will make improvements. Having an accent is basically a series of habits. If you are willing to change, open-minded, and willing to practice, I can help you develop new habits and let go of those that aren't helping you speak clearly.

Some of the Speech Samples on my site are from middle-aged students who've lived in the states for 15 or more years. I once taught an 80-year-old Vietnamese gentleman who had been working so hard for decades to support his family, that he couldn't take his first English class until he was 79 years old! He worked hard and made improvements. It's possible.

I want to work with you, but I'm embarrassed because I think that my English isn't good enough! How can I know if my English level is good enough to work with you?

The best way to find out for sure if working with me will be a good fit is to schedule a free 30-minute consultation. Usually when students say their English is not good, it's because they feel embarrassed by their accent and not always because their English level is really low. It's best if students are at least at a high beginner level to work with me on Zoom. Any level beyond that is definitely fine! Don't be shy; let's talk about it in a consultation.

Can you help me do better presentations at work?

I have extensive experience coaching students to do effective and engaging presentations. I gained valuable experience helping artists and designers present their creative projects clearly and confidently. I also have experience coaching international graduate students and broadcast professionals to speak clearly and conversationally on camera (TV and video), including working on green screen, conducting interviews, doing demonstrations, and news reporting. I’ve successfully coached many students in developing the emotional nuances in their English that are appropriate for the given context.

I think my company will pay for private lessons. Can you help my manager understand how you work and what we would do in lessons?

Of course! I can send your manager a professional, detailed proposal that will help him or her know me, how I work, what our goals will be, how we'll accomplish them, what results to expect, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. I'm happy to talk to your manager, too, and to provide written progress reports once we start working together, if they'd like. I understand that your manager wants to be sure that the money they invest in your lessons will be spent wisely and that you'll get good results, so I’m happy to provide written support..

Can I meet you first before deciding to work with you?

Yes! Click on the Contact Us button to set up a free 30-minute Zoom consultation to discuss the details of working together. I offer this consultation so that we can get to know each other, so you can learn the details of how we'd work together, and to see if it feels like a good fit. Click here to learn about Zoom.