General American Accent

Services

General American Accent

Do you need to sound more confident and be easily understood by all the people you work with? Have you grown tired of having to repeat yourself to native speakers of American English?

At Taylor Speech & Language, I will help you to eliminate that self-conscious feeling when you speak or when you find yourself avoiding certain words because of your fear of pronouncing them incorrectly.

Learn to Pronounce the General American Accent

with

Dr. Reid Taylor

Taylor Speech & Language

(201) 345-7174

Professionals who speak with the General American Accent are more easily understood by their students, colleagues and patients. Listeners experience less difficulty while following instructions. Colleagues quickly understand your contributions at meetings and conferences. Listeners have no problems working more closely with you when they fully understand what you are explaining to them.

At Taylor Speech & Language, you will receive:

A Free Speech Screening/Consultation: During our initial phone or Zoom consultation, I will use that opportunity to learn about your specific concerns about your speech. I will listen carefully to your speech to determine your unique needs with regard to your speech-sound productions and intonation and the degree to which each varies from the General American Accent, also known as the American style of English. This session will conclude with recommendations about what a 12-week program will entail and its cost.
A 12-week Program: A detailed instruction and practice plan will be developed for you to keep you on track for progress and to maintain motivation.
PDF Worksheets and Audio Files: You will receive and save practice materials for practice anywhere and anytime, so you can stay committed regardless of your busy schedule.
More Than Just Speech-Sounds: You will also get instruction and practice on Rhythm, Linking Words, and Syllable Stress because these speech features are very important to being easily understood in the American style of English.
Common Word Practice: You will learn to pronounce the most common words in American English. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to improve your speech. Each week, you will focus on a new set of common words in addition to your goal speech-sound.
Optional Student Practice Library: For an additional charge, you may have access to over 300 training videos and downloadable PDFs and audio lessons for practice between live sessions with me.

What I can assure you of is that you will understand and overcome your greatest pronunciation obstacles, expand your vocabulary, be more easily understood, AND you will feel more confident about speaking with the American style of English.

Contact me (Dr. Taylor) at (201) 345-7174 to discuss your specific needs and to get answers to any questions you may have.
Complete your 12-week program.
Hear the improvements in your speech. Get the learning, practice, and training that you need to improve your spoken American Style of English in real-life conversations!

Learn to Pronounce the General American Accent

with

Dr. Reid Taylor

Taylor Speech & Language

(201) 345-7174

About Accents

The term "accent" refers to the way a group of individuals who speak the same language sound when they speak. This is natural for all language communities. Speaking with an accent does not mean that a person has a speech or a language disorder.

Some accents are influenced by national origin (National Origin Accents). Sometimes, when I person speaks English as a second language, the way they sound is affected by the way they speak their primary language. For example, a person speaking English whose native language is Spanish will sound different from an individual whose native language is English.

Some accents are influenced by the area or region of a country that a person comes from. For example, people who were raised in Brooklyn may sound different from people who come from Georgia. Each individual was raised in the United States, and each speaks English; but they sound different from one another. The way they speak English is influenced by Regional Accents.

Ask Yourself a Few Questions

Do your listeners look confused when you speak to them?
Do your listeners frequently ask you to repeat yourself or say something another way?
Do your listeners ask you to write down what you were trying to say?
Do your listeners just nod or say, "mmm-hmmm" without adding to the conversation?
Do you sometimes make speaking errors that offend others (such as "dog" for "Doug)?
Do you say single words clearly, but saying sentences is not understandable to listeners?
Do you feel for confident communicating in writing than speaking?
Do you prefer to communicate by text/e-mail rather than by telephone?

If you answered "Yes" to any one or more of the above questions, your accent may be getting in the way of clear communication with your colleagues or others in your world. Contact Taylor Speech & Language to arrange for an assessment of your accented speech.

Which Foreign-Born Speakers of English Could Benefit from Accent Coaching?

Teachers (preschool through higher education)
Computer Programmers
Real Estate Professionals

Corporate Executives
Medical Professionals
IT Professionals
Actors

Clergy
others