This has happened to several of my accent reduction coaching clients.

When this happens I teach them how to use American English intonation patterns.

Intonation is the melody of spoken language. It’s the way we use stress and pitch in phrases and sentences. The way you use intonation sets the TONE of your message; friendly, blunt, uncertain and more.

You can’t really learn intonation well from a book. The best way to learn this is to take a pronunciation or accent reduction course.

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I call this “accent reduction coaching” and I teach primarily over Skype video.

In my course I teach you the syllable stress rules, linking rules, intonation patterns and vowel and consonant sounds that you need to use in order to speak American English more clearly.

Most of my clients are professionals working in IT, finance, engineering and academics. Using Skype, I’m able to meet them at times that fit into their busy schedules.

One on one coaching is absolutely the best and most effective way to improve the way you speak American English. To find out more you can visit my website at

Learn American Accent Online

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Here is my response to that very important question.

Most people will never sound like a native American English speaker, but everyone is capable of reducing their accent and making their speech more clear and comprehensible.

Accent reduction training will teach you to make changes to your current speech that will enable others to understand you more easily. This this will make speaking English much more enjoyable for you and for your listeners!

How long it takes to improve your accent depends on a few variables. These include:

1. Your understanding of how your native language affects your accent
2. Your listening skills and ability to hear new sounds and patterns
3. Time you spend practicing in a focused and efficient way

Click here to read more about this topic How Long Will it Take to Reduce My Accent?

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My student, a project manager at an international communications company, said “but Susan, I can’t even hear the difference between these two sounds.”

It’s very common that non-native speakers can’t hear the subtle differences between American English vowel sounds. But native speakers can hear the difference and if you pronounce vowel sounds incorrectly it contributes to your accent and leads to breakdowns in communication.

So, if you can’t hear the difference between sounds such as /iy/ & /I/ (a big problem for many Spanish and Chinese speakers) how can you improve the way you say them?

The truth is that you probably need some help to get started.

An accent reduction coach can tell you exactly what sounds and patterns are contributing to your accent. A coach can teach you how to hear the difference between the vowel sounds in fit & feet and live & leave.

Once you become aware of these sounds (and how they are different) you will begin to notice them in your environment. You will hear native English speakers using these sounds and you will wonder why you never heard them before!

This happens all the time.

Shari from the American Accent Course says that students of accent reduction need

“to recognize and become aware of these new sounds in everyday life.  Then, after you start entering this new world of sound, you need to train your mouth and your brain to consistently use them. ”

I couldn’t agree more!

Professionals who are serious about improving the way they communicate in American English should consider working with an accent reduction coach or taking an online accent reduction course.

A coach or a course will teach you how to hear the difference between vowel sounds and how to articulate these sounds using the correct tongue placement and muscle movement.

Once you can hear the difference you must train yourself to articulate these sounds correctly with focused daily practice.

One good example is the word: OBJECT.
The way you use syllable stress say the word ‘object’ changes the meaning of the word.

When the stress is on the first syllable the word is a noun as in this sentence:
James has many beautiful OBjects in his home.

When the stress is on the second syllable the word is a verb as in this sentence:
Sylvia əbJECTed to her husband’s drinking.

Note that the reduced syllable in the verb form has a schwa (ə) vowel sound. I teach all about heteronyms in my free 4 week accent reduction e-course.

This is a very complete course and I advise you to check it out! You can even download the course immediately if you want to get started now. You can listen to a demonstration audio on the website.

Click here to visit Best Accent Training mp3s.

In my free Accent Reduction E-course I feature a job interview dialog that you can use to practice your pronunciation. Over 4,500 people have taken this course so far. If you haven’t signed up for it yet you can find it by going to the link above.

Participants understand that as adult learners they will never completely speak without an accent but they want to adopt ” a more American way of speaking” so that they can participate more fully in the workplace.

The classes are expensive though. Twelve hours of instruction cost $750.