Accent Modification By Voicetoword.ca

Do you have difficulties in understanding and/or being understood

? The ability to participate comfortably in a conversation depends upon language and context. Understanding the culture, being familiar with the topic and concepts being discussed, knowing the idioms and vocabulary being used - all these increase the ease with which communication takes place. But if I find it difficult to understand your pronunciation, I may lose interest, get frustrated, misunderstand and, unfortunately, misjudge you.

All of us have an accent, regardless of where or when we learned a language. In Canada, we have a predominant accent which most people are familiar with and find easy to understand. If your accent is very different, many people will find it difficult to understand you, even if you have been speaking English all your life. Accent reduction is an important step for improving communications.

Language is like music - the individual notes fit together and take on a completely new feeling and meaning. Many people think, if they can pronounce the sounds, they have done all they can do. But like music, you must learn how to move between the sounds, run words together, use stress and intonation, reduce or drop vowels and parts of words and in this way, begin to harmonize with your conversation partner.

In my opinion, when prospective employers ask about "Canadian experience", they want to be sure of two things: that you know enough about Canadian cultural norms and that your language skills are good enough for comfortable, efficient communication. If we have to struggle to understand each other, it is uncomfortable, inefficient and possibly, dangerous.

Most people will never be able to completely eliminate a foreign accent. But with some time and commitment, it is possible to moderate your pronunciation enough so that you can be easily understood. The speed with which you improve and the degree of improvement depends on several factors:

The quality of instruction


Your openness to change


Your desire to improve


The time you spend in focused practice


Your innate ability


So what is the first step? Find a good teacher! Computer software is useful for teaching individual sounds but not very effective for creating the awareness you need for more fluid speech. Classes can be a good starting point but refining your accent may require private instruction. Either way, you must be open to change and willing to put what you learn into practice. Moderating your accent may involve adjusting your public image, your self perception and your personality. Be open, use the tools provided by your instructor and be patient - your pronunciation can and will improve.

Voice to Word Consulting is committed to improving the communication skills of non-native speakers - to optimizing personal and organizational success by refining the way people speak.

For more details please visit us at http://voicetoword.ca

by: Heather Chetwynd

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