Yes
This is our specialty. We believe that this is the aspect of accent
that really makes you understood by others.
Yes
Some
Some
Yes
Learning Format
Membership Program- Audios, Videos, Workbook, Awareness Journal, Live Online
Classes, Recorded Classes
Book, CD’s
and/or
24 Week Private Training
DVD
and/or
90 Minute Group Training
DVD, CD, and Workbook
Software
Offers Pronunciation and Accent Assessments
Yes, included
Available for an extra fee
Available for an extra fee
Yes, done with software
Provides Continuous Live Feedback
Yes
Included as Question and Answer Help Sessions and Live Group/
Private Coaching Classes
Available with Private Training
No
Yes, but done with software
Employs Professional Accent Trainers to Work with You
Yes
Hires only people with Speech Language Pathology training or substantial
Phonology training and a teaching English as a second language
background.
Yes
May Have a Speech Language
Pathology or a teaching English as a
second language background.
Yes
Speech Language Pathologists
Yes
Speech Language Pathologists
No
All training done by software
Understands How Your Cultural Background and Native Language Affect Your
American Accent
Yes
All of our trainers have substantial cross-cultural and foreign language
backgrounds. We understand what you are going through and how to get you
from your current style of speech to a new one.
Yes, Some
Unsure
Unsure
Promises Quick Results
Yes and No
Promises to give best training possible so you can start seeing results
immediately, but realizes it takes time, professional help, and daily
practice to "sound American."
No
Yes
Nice instructions on pronunciation, but in reality it is up to you to put it
into practice. This takes time.
Yes
Says you can lose your accent in 28 days, but admits that it's almost
impossible to do in that time period.
No
Our Overall Opinion of the Program
Of course we love the American Accent Workshop because we have
spent years trying to find the right combination for you. We focus on
pronunciation, accent, and live help and feedback. We find that the biggest
complaint about buying other books, CD's and DVD's is that even if the
training is good, you still don't know if you are doing it right. We want
you to get awesome training and the support you need along the way.
But we realize this
course is not for you if you aren't willing to put a little time into it
and/or
are looking for some magic
way to change your accent. If you are ready to get started, we are ready to
help you succeed.
We like that this program really focuses on intonation but wish there was a
little more on pronunciation. Overall it's a very good course and highly
beneficial. But you do need to be a more advanced speaker of English to keep
up with the CD's. They are spoken pretty quickly. We can recommend the
book American Accent Training for anyone who is interested in finding out
what word and sentence intonation is. But keep in mind, unless you
sign up for a 6 month course or pay for an assessment, you may be just
guessing at how you are doing.
The trainer on the DVD does a great job at explaining how to pronounce each
sound of English. You may have some eye openers (or should we say ear
openers) on pronunciation, but not enough information on intonation.
We don't agree with their statement that "pronunciation equals
accent," although we definitely think it should be an important part of
accent. You can learn a lot about how to pronounce all of the
consonants and vowels in this program, but you will want to make sure that
you are doing them correctly. You will have to sign up for one of their
group classes to get that.
The CD and DVD in this program also focus on pronouncing the sounds of
English and there is only a little information on intonation. The training
really "gets to the point" and shows you how to move your mouth to make each
sound. There is also a bit of drilling to practice with, but not a lot
of explanation. You may be someone who enjoys this, but we personally feel
that most people benefit from more explanation. Lose your Accent in
28 Days is a very catchy title, but it's kind of like Lose 30 Pounds
in 30 Days. Very few people will actually do it.
We actually love this software and highly recommend it in addition to
a live program. What we like is that you can get feedback anytime you want
by recording your voice and letting the software tell you how you are doing.
And you can practice things over and over again and watch how much
you improve. The big drawback is that it is a piece of software
and doesn't have the ability to recognize the subtleties that the human ear
can. It also sometimes tells native English speakers that they don't sound
"native" enough. Could this really be true?