Foreign Accent Modification
At Tip of the Tongue, our Foreign Accent Modification program is designed to help those who speak English as a Second Language to improve the intelligibility of their speech. Our services are intended for those individuals who comprehend English well and have basic expressive vocabulary and sentence structure skills, but who have difficulty making themselves understood. We have worked with doctors, engineers, IT professionals, college students, professors, actors, business people, and others. All have achieved noticeable improvement in their intelligibility while speaking English, and many have improved their English grammar skills. Sometimes people ask if it is possible to lose their accent. The point of foreign accent modification is not to lose the accent entirely, because that is rarely possible. Instead, the point of our sessions together is to minimize the accent so that the speaker becomes entirely intelligible to native speakers of English. It is not necessary to lose an accent entirely in order to become 100% understandable, but small changes can make a big difference!
When working 1:1, our program is fully individualized to address the client’s unique needs. We are also available to conduct structured classes for groups. In addition to articulation and word/sentence stress, we often address elements of American English vocabulary, sentence or question structure, and grammar to enhance communication effectiveness. Other important aspects of intelligibility include rate of speech, word and sentence stress, tone of voice, and vocabulary. We help our clients in all of these areas as part of our accent modification program.
In our practice, we utilize workbooks such as Compton P-ESL or Rules for Understanding the Linguistic Elements of Speech (RULES). For those who would benefit from practice with words and language related to medical fields, we can work from Medically Speaking: Accent Modification for the Medical Profession. These workbooks or e-books come with CDs or MP3s for practice at home or in the car. If we determine that one of these materials is appropriate for a client, we ask the client to purchase the program to use during therapy. We also use other materials for instruction, such as articulation picture cards, word lists, and iPad articulation programs, although clients are not asked to purchase these materials.
People often ask us how long they should expect to attend sessions to become better speakers of English. The answer is different for every client, but as a guideline, individuals should expect to attend a minimum of 12 weekly sessions to address the most basic concerns. After that, many people choose to continue their sessions at Tip of the Tongue, as they recognize the benefits of our sessions together. When a client is attempting to reach a particular goal in a short amount of time, sessions can also be scheduled more frequently than once a week.
Improving their English language skills at Tip of the Tongue helps foreign speakers make themselves understood by friends, neighbors, and others; do better and get ahead at work; and feel more confident whenever they speak.
Call Tip of the Tongue to discuss how we can be of help to you.
When working 1:1, our program is fully individualized to address the client’s unique needs. We are also available to conduct structured classes for groups. In addition to articulation and word/sentence stress, we often address elements of American English vocabulary, sentence or question structure, and grammar to enhance communication effectiveness. Other important aspects of intelligibility include rate of speech, word and sentence stress, tone of voice, and vocabulary. We help our clients in all of these areas as part of our accent modification program.
In our practice, we utilize workbooks such as Compton P-ESL or Rules for Understanding the Linguistic Elements of Speech (RULES). For those who would benefit from practice with words and language related to medical fields, we can work from Medically Speaking: Accent Modification for the Medical Profession. These workbooks or e-books come with CDs or MP3s for practice at home or in the car. If we determine that one of these materials is appropriate for a client, we ask the client to purchase the program to use during therapy. We also use other materials for instruction, such as articulation picture cards, word lists, and iPad articulation programs, although clients are not asked to purchase these materials.
People often ask us how long they should expect to attend sessions to become better speakers of English. The answer is different for every client, but as a guideline, individuals should expect to attend a minimum of 12 weekly sessions to address the most basic concerns. After that, many people choose to continue their sessions at Tip of the Tongue, as they recognize the benefits of our sessions together. When a client is attempting to reach a particular goal in a short amount of time, sessions can also be scheduled more frequently than once a week.
Improving their English language skills at Tip of the Tongue helps foreign speakers make themselves understood by friends, neighbors, and others; do better and get ahead at work; and feel more confident whenever they speak.
Call Tip of the Tongue to discuss how we can be of help to you.
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Tip of the Tongue Speech and Language
Chesterfield, MO
(636) 220-8200
rjb.tott@gmail.com
www.gotospeech.com