There are many resources that are available to help you improve your American accent, and today I want to give you a few tips on which resources I recommend to all of my clients.
The first resource is a free one - native speakers of American English. If you live in the United States, then you most likely interact with native speakers regularly. Or you can listen to native speakers on TV, the radio, or podcasts. Use these as opportunities to compare your pronunciation to a native speaker’s - pay attention to how they speak, and then imitate them! Immerse yourself in the American accent - that is one of the best ways to learn how to speak like an American.
I like to use TedTalks (ted.com) as outside resources when I work with clients. TedTalks is an organization that has thousands of short presentations on its website. You can filter the results based on length of presentation, language, and topic of the presentation. There are thousands of presentations on its website, so if you wanted to watch a presentation about the proper way to use a paper towel...or about the future of artificial intelligence, you can do that. Just be sure to find a presenter who is a native speaker of American English.
The website youglish.com is also a great, free resource. You can type in any word or phrase that you want to practice, and youglish will provide you with hundreds of short videos of people saying that word or phrase. Just be sure to click “US” for American English.
If you like to study by yourself, I offer free, weekly English pronunciation lessons on YouTube. You can also access the videos on my website. And I also post free printable resources on my website to help with English pronunciation.
But if you want a more comprehensive experience, I’d recommend finding an accent coach who can work with you.
I offer accent reduction courses that are customized to your specific needs. My courses include a thorough speech evaluation, customized training sessions, and homework assignments with consistent feedback on how you are doing. I can meet with clients one-on-one for private sessions, or I can meet with a group.
If you are interested in working with an accent coach, please contact me!
Thanks so much for watching! And I'd love to hear from you - contact me to learn how we can work together to perfect your American English pronunciation!
