Over the years, I’ve taught a wide range of individuals—from CEOs and doctors to students and retirees. Some struggle to make any progress after months of lessons, while others excel within weeks. Through this experience, I’ve learned that talent has very little to do with it. Students often think a tutor is a “magic bullet” …
Accent reduction is an industry built on frustration. Despite spending large sums on private tutors, students often fail to achieve even 10% of their desired results. They learn the theory, but the sound doesn’t change. Why? Because learning English phonetics is easy. Changing your accent is hard. The “Academic Theater” Trap Most language schools sell …
Why Understanding Phonetics Isn’t Improving Your Accent Read More »
“Received Pronunciation” (RP) is one of the most marketed terms in the English language teaching industry. If you search for an accent coach online, almost every tutor claims to teach it. However, there is a significant discrepancy between what is advertised and what is delivered. While many teachers claim to teach RP, their own accents …
Received Pronunciation or Standard British English? Read More »
British English pronunciation relies on a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables. A key feature of Received Pronunciation (RP) is that sounds are aspirated from the front of the mouth. But what does this mean in practical terms? The Trap of Trying Too Hard I remember teaching the plosive sound /t/ to a Japanese student …
A common observation is that the sounds of Received Pronunciation (RP) are aspirated from the front of the mouth. But how is this actually achieved? Most phonetics books focus entirely on the positioning of the articulators (the mouth, tongue, lips, and teeth). For some students, this visual guide is enough. However, what is intuitive for …
English language learners often make the mistake of putting too much emphasis on their pronunciation output and not enough on their input. Both are important components of the learning process, but it’s crucial to find a balance. It’s important to understand how each individual sound is produced, but that’s just one aspect of the journey. …
Improve Your Pronunciation by Listening to Audio Books Read More »
Students often ask me how long will it take to see a significant improvement. This is the wrong question. The variable isn’t time; it is sequence. Many students make the mistake of judging their progress by their ability to speak (Output). However, in language acquisition, you cannot have high-quality Output without high-quality Input. The Input/Output …
Having previously spent almost a decade living in Japan, I can affirm that Japanese speakers tend to encounter extreme challenges with English pronunciation. A prevalent issue among Japanese learners is the struggle to differentiate between the sounds /l/ and /r/. In Japanese, a sound that falls between these two English sounds is utilized, as evident …
English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers Part I Read More »
The term “Neutral English” has become a buzzword in the accent training industry. While there is no official definition, in the context of professional communication, “Neutral” usually refers to Modern Received Pronunciation (Modern RP). Why do we call it neutral? Because it is the accent with the least amount of regional interference. The Purpose of …
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the standard for international communication. It is not about sounding like “The Queen” or a politician. It is about removing the regional interference from your speech so that you can be understood by anyone, anywhere. Achieving this requires more than just “listening and repeating”. It requires a mechanical breakdown of …