Accent Reduction - Types of Accent Reduction

Types of Accent Reduction

Two distinct types of accent reduction coaching are available: the type of coaching targeted at telemarketers generally focuses on helping people to say scripted speech with a more "native-like" accent, while the type of coaching typically offered to business people is usually geared towards assisting people to minimize miscommunication in spontaneous, conversational speech. The reason that this distinction is important is that while it is sometimes possible for adults to say limited pre-rehearsed phrases with little or no accent, most experts agree that adults cannot learn to speak with no foreign accent in live, everyday speech (see Pennycook, 1999, ). Therefore, a person who receives coaching targeted at scripted situations will sometimes achieve very good results when reading from a script, but will not usually improve in real, everyday speech. On the other hand, a person who receives training targeted at everyday speaking situations will experience a reduction in miscommunications in live, speaking situations. When choosing an accent coach, it is important to pick a coach who understands the type of coaching needed.

Read more about this topic:  Accent Reduction

Famous quotes containing the words types of, types, accent and/or reduction:

    The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences. We must widen the range of topics and goals, the types of situations we offer and their degree of structure, the kinds and combinations of resources and materials, and the possible interactions with things, peers, and adults.
    Loris Malaguzzi (1920–1994)

    Our children evaluate themselves based on the opinions we have of them. When we use harsh words, biting comments, and a sarcastic tone of voice, we plant the seeds of self-doubt in their developing minds.... Children who receive a steady diet of these types of messages end up feeling powerless, inadequate, and unimportant. They start to believe that they are bad, and that they can never do enough.
    Stephanie Martson (20th century)

    I lost my ridiculous accent without acquiring another
    John Ashbery (b. 1927)

    The reduction of nuclear arsenals and the removal of the threat of worldwide nuclear destruction is a measure, in my judgment, of the power and strength of a great nation.
    Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)