What you'll learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to speak American English in a much clearer and confident way because you have a much better American English pronunciation.
You shouldn't have to worry about how you are speaking but be able to concentrate on what you are saying.

Course content

7 sections • 29 lectures • 1h 5m total length

Introduction to the Course1:28
Welcome to accent reduction made fast and easy!
This course is for you, if you speak English but want to sound better and want your friends and colleagues to understand you clearly.
I've been working with accent reduction and American communications for the past 16 years, so in this class, we're going to go through the sounds and word stresses that I found foreign-born speakers have the most trouble with. I speak 5 languages myself and know what it is like to work on getting a good accent!
The course is divided into short segments which will walk you through the vowels, consonants and more of the sounds which are troublesome like the Rs & Ls the Vs & Ws and the THs, not to forget words with er, ir and or - like word, world, work that a lot of people can't really say well.
We will also focus on the syllables in words which need stress on them, so you don't put the "emphasis on the wrong syllable".
Once you've gone through all parts, and have practiced them well, you will definitely notice improvements and see that you've reached your goals and can feel good about your speech.
Oh, just to let you know, I've also put together some documents you can download as well, which will give you even more material to practice.
So have fun, get started soon, because the more you practice, the faster you'll have the results you want.

The Long Vowel A2:34
This lecture is about the long A sound. Note that by making the long /a/ sound, you should realize that it is really a mixture of two sounds: /a/ and then going up with you voice - /e/, so it sounds almost like /ayeee/.
The Long Vowel E1:54
The long E is in many words, you really have to make an effort to say it correctly - and the main thing is to move your mouth to a smile while you say the sound.
Long Vowel I1:36
Long Vowel O2:04
The long O is only said correctly if you make a round, open mouth. Watch my lips and how I speak with an open, rounded mouth.
Long Vowel U1:29
The U sound is actually quite easy to say for most people. Again, you have to have the correct mouth position and can't make the sound if you do it behind closed teeth.
Short Vowel A1:16
The short vowel A is one of the hardest to make. Please practice it until you are sure you are saying it correctly. It does make a difference!
Short Vowel E1:12
Be sure and practice this sound a lot as well. I added more words for you to use for practice on purpose.
Short Vowel I1:05
Short Vowel O1:25
Short Vowel U1:44

Important Consonants for Asian speakers: R L W V T S - R sound2:04
The consonants are extremely important and if you leave them out, people will have a hard time understanding you.So take this to heart and work hard at saying them correctly.
Important Consonant L1:40
When you make the L sound, the most important thing is to curl up your tongue and - with the tip of your tongue - touch the back of your front teeth - and then say the sound L.
Important Consonant W1:48
Important Consonant Sound V2:14
The V sound is the hardest for Indian speakers of English. If you pay attention that your teeth touch your bottom lip [or to begin practicing it, bite your lip], you will make the V sound.
Important Consonant T2:01
The T sound is important, as are all consonants, in being understood easily. For my Indian clients, try to say it a bit softer.
Important Consonant S1:41
Voiced and Voiceless Consonants: B D V.. //S SH CH T...2:03
Especially for Indian speakers of American English and for Spanish speakers of English it is important to know how to say the voiced and voiceless sounds differently. Listen carefully to the differences and imitate them.

Difficult Sound Variation - AW2:17
Difficult Sound Variation - X3:03
Making the X sound is difficult for many non-native English speakers, but it really makes a difference if you leave it out or if you say it correctly. So go ahead and try to learn this X sound too.
Difficult Sound Variations- ER, IR, UR, OR1:49
The ER sound is a surprise for many people because it can be written in such different ways; nevertheless, it is the same sound. There are many words with the ER sounds, so once again, please practice these sounds. I've also added a couple of other exercises as homework so you will have plenty of time to practice.
Difficult Sound Variations - J, CH1:45
The J and CH sounds are used very frequently in English and for Indians, Italians, Spanish speakers of English they pose quite a few problems. There is a list of words in the video plus another set in the supplementary materials.
Difficult Sound Variation - ED1:48
The ED sound is particularly difficult for Brazilians and also sometime for Spanish speakers of English. It doesn't really make too much of a difference if you don't say the sounds 100% correctly, but if you want to reduce your accent, say the sound the way it is supposed to be said.
Difficult Sound Variations - OW, OU, OI3:26
The OU, OW sound can be really trick and if you don't say it correctly, it comes out sometimes as a really "bad" word, so be careful. This is an important sound to be able to say. The OI is a lot easier and I included it just because it belongs in this sound group.
The SCHWA Sound: again, celebrate, experiment, occur, support2:14
The Schwa sound is only included here for people who are interesting in the study of language; and for those of you who would email me asking why I didn't include some short vowel sounds. These are, in fact, just Schwab sounds. I assume you would say them correctly even if I hadn't pointed the Schwa sound out.

Concluding statement [encouragement!]1:11
Well, we have come to the end of this course and I just want to congratulate you that you came this far and I am sure you will be much better understood at this point if you practiced diligently!
If you make a mistake, so what? People will still understand you. Just make sure to keep up with your practice and don't let it slide when you get too comfortable. It is important that you make the correct sounds part of your regular speech and that you won't have to think about them anymore.
Check back to Udemy once in a while, I am quite sure I will expand the course to include other areas that you will hopefully point out to me in your emails.

Requirements

You need to dare to speak American English daily [and people in the US don’t care about your mistakes!!] and also commit to studying hard. If you do, your pronunciation [and you] will shine.
I've also included homework materials which are different from the main materials in the videos, be sure to work with these as well.

Description

This course is about how to learn to say difficult sounds in English quickly and to reduce your accent audibly. We will cover the most important phonics/sounds that my clients - from India, China, France, Russia, Brazil, Spain and so on - have the most problems with doing business in the US/Silicon Valley. You don't have to go through all the lectures, just pick the areas you feel you still have to work on and practice the words diligently. You will see the slides that go with the video and most of the time, I also uploaded additional practice materials. If you work on your English pronunciation consistently, you will see results really fast.

Who this course is for:

You need to know some spoken American English already to benefit from the course. But, since this is an American English speaking course with lots of examples, if you practice a lot, you will be successful and will master American English.

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction to the Course1 lecture • 1min

Vowel Sounds10 lectures • 16min

Important Consonants7 lectures • 14min

Voiced and Voiceless TH Sound2 lectures • 5min

Difficult Sound Variations7 lectures • 16min

Syllable and Stress Rules1 lecture • 11min

Conclusion1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: