FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I typically work with my clients on a weekly basis for hour long lessons at prices that range from $90 to $125 per hour.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
My work with non-native English speakers who learn a new language as an adult, focuses on changing the unconscious habits that govern the sounds produced. Each of my clients begins with an free language assessment online. This online recording uses practice words and reading passage are phonetically balanced to specifically test the most important areas of spoken American English. Then I analyze the recordings and present a full personal speech assessment to my clients for free before our first session. Based on this assessment I recommend a personalized 8-10 session program that will not only improve the target sounds, but also work to improve your complete word production, voice projection, and phrasing skills. New habits or the reshaping of old habits can only be accomplished with practice and repetition. An 8-10 week program provides the most concise and effective results for my clients to achieve their goal to improve pronunciation. I work with my clients one-to-one over the phone because when I meet with them in person or when we use Skype they have a tendency to feel like their practice is more of a performance. It is important for us to work on developing new speaking skills using your natural voice. Plus, it is your ears and your mouth, not your eyes, that help improve your pronunciation. Your grammar and vocabulary are very good. It is clear to me that you have a strong command of the English language. However, without working with a professional speech coach, your accent will stay the same. I know that together we can help you shed the distracting sounds that signal to friends, colleagues and clients that you are not a native English speaker. Let's get started working to improve your pronunciation. We can start as early as next week.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I am certified by the Institute of Language & Phonology as an Accent Modification Specialist. This certification is very specialized to specifically help improve spoken English. I work with individuals from around the world to help them improve their pronunciation and neutralize their accented speech, regardless of their native language and culture.