What is accent modification?

Accent modification is a speech training program that teaches individuals with regional American or foreign accents how to produce Standard American English.

Accent modification targets specific speech sounds and teaches speaking strategies that improve pronunciation and clarity of speech.

Who benefits from accent modification?

Any individual who feels that their personal, professional, or social interactions are impacted by their regional or foreign accent will benefit from accent modification training.

Individuals who speak English with a regional or foreign accent may face unwanted stereotypes associated with their speaking patterns. Accent modification allows individuals to gain access to another way of speaking— a more professional sounding Standard American English.

Businesses benefit exponentially when their employees participate in accent modification services. The improvements in effective communication can lead to increased efficiency in the work place, reduced communication breakdowns, and greater customer satisfaction.

Program Description

Each client’s accent modification program begins with an individualized evaluation. This initial evaluation provides detailed information about specific speech sounds and patterns that are impacting the individual’s ability to be understood.

Following the evaluation, the speech professional analyzes the recordings, and identifies specific goals. This information is used to create a completely personalized program that targets the individual’s communication needs.

Training programs range from 8 to 24 sessions depending on the number of speech targets identified and other concerns (professional vocabulary, public speaking skills, etc.)

Program Results

Most clients can expect to achieve a 50% reduction in communication breakdowns caused by their accents.

This means that they can expect 50% less instances of someone on the other end of the phone asking them to clarify, or having to repeat themselves in a meeting to get their point across. This is measured by a pre- and post-program assessment.

The percentage of reduction that can be achieved largely depends on each individual’s completion of at-home practice assignments between sessions. The goal of accent modification training is to teach clients to control and modify their accents, rather than to completely eliminate them.