Overview of the Foreign Accent Modification Course

This Foreign Accent Modification Course is designed to go beyond other available American English consonant and vowel sound materials. This Course uses techniques specifically designed to modify foreign accent, rate of speech, intonation (rhythm), vocabulary, grammar and sentence word order. Telephone usage problems that may be encountered on the job are included. This Course utilizes real life recorded sessions which provide a cost effective, time managed method of accomplishing foreign accent reduction. The purpose of this Course is to help one sound more “Americanized” on and off the job.

Note: Speech-language pathologists may wish to refer clients to this course if: clients cannot afford to see you for face-to-face services in the near future, you cannot schedule clients into your caseload in a timely manner, you would like your clients to have some training before you begin working with them, or you would like to give your clients a resource for reinforcement after you have worked with them.

Determining your Need for the Foreign Accent Modification Course

Determining whether this course is something from which you can benefit can be accomplished in many ways. The “Your Need?” area covers several aspects in helping with self-analysis of consonant and/or vowel sounds that one needs to learn. You can reach this area by going to the “Your Need?” menu link located on the menu at the top of the page.

Structure of the Course

This Course requires approximately 24 hours to complete. Unlike many of the courses offered on this website, the Foreign Accent Modification Course is not as structured and requires work to be done on your own. Audio and visual materials are provided online, in a real-time, step-by-step fashion. There are points in this Course when individuals are expected to be self-disciplined and put forth the time and effort required to successfully practice supplementary consonant and vowel sound production materials. Downloadable handouts are designed to be kept for future reference after the time period for your Course instruction has expired. It is the learner's responsibility to download them during the time allotted before the Course's expiration.

How the Foreign Accent Modification Course Differs from any Other Programs Sold on the Internet

While commonly available foreign accent modification programs utilize recorded tapes emphasizing "how sounds are produced by the lips, tongue, teeth or palate," this course does more---as tapes alone are not sufficient. Typically, individuals who speak with a strong foreign accent will require instructional techniques addressing additional factors. These include rate of speech, intonation (rhythm), grammar, word order and telephone skills used in America. This unique Internet course encompasses these areas in an interactive manner. Computer technology and the Internet now provide a cost effective and efficient manner of improved presentation. The content has been validated in practical client training by a speech-language pathologist with over 30 years experience.

Information you should know before purchasing the Foreign Accent Modification Course

This Course may be taken by one person, alone, but is better accomplished with a partner. One desirable training partner would be one from a different country than you, so that you each have different sound errors. Another possibility would be a partner for whom American English is their native language. This program can be taken in parts, whenever you desire, but more success is realized when people do this Course by the Immersion Method. For example, eight straight hours in one day in one week, the second eight hours in one day the following week, and finally, the third eight hours in one day, two weeks after completing the second week’s lessons.

You will have the option to take a Pre-Test before you start the Course, and a Post-Test and Evaluation form after you finish the Course. This will help you to evaluate your success in learning the materials presented in the Foreign Accent Modification Course.

There are certain materials and items that are recommended, but not required, for this Foreign Accent Modification Course that are not supplied by Talk Business-Online. They are useful and are recommended to help you maximize your learning and remind you to use the newly learned skills in your everyday life. The materials/items are listed below:

1) “Pronounce it Perfectly in English” by Jean Yates, Barrons Educational Series Publisher Tapes or some other commercially available American English pronunciation tapes
2) Cassette recorder, preferably with headphones
3) Sense Cues Kit, English Sense Cues Kit only #W702, from http://www.interactivetherapy.com/New%20Merchant/corporate%20speech.htm