Lisa’s Blog

A recent blog reader asked:"Do you know of any free downloads (listen and repeat type, if those exist)? I think those would help me a lot since I pronounce the individual words and short phrases really native-like but when I talk for a few minutes or say longer...

I found this interesting article on Career Builder. It confirms what I say to my students over and over again. Don't speak so fast. Not only will your accent be stronger, but you might be perceived as insecure or not careful about details. There's nothing wrong with...

reader wrote: "Thanks very much for putting up this wonderful blog. I have been in the US for more than 7 years. My accent now is somewhat of a hybrid between American and Indian. Still at times I end up pronouncing some words (out of no where) in my native accent...

I was inspired to write this because of what happened with one of my accent reduction students today. First I want to tell you about my personal experience with speaking French.When I go to France, the first few days that I am there it’s a struggle to get the words...

1. Pick a topic that you can speak about for three to four minutes. Record yourself giving this speech. Listen to the recording and write down all of the errors that you have heard in your speech. Then, re-record the same speech, and try to correct the mistakes that...

Yesterday my student said to me that he had a client in “Newport Bitch.” I told him not to use bad language in my office!!! Of course, he meant “Newport Beach.” He told me that his American client laughed a little when he said that word in front of him. Have you made...

In an effort to sound more American, some of my students try to imitate the speech of their native speaking friends, colleagues or spouses. While this is generally a good idea, you need to be aware of the fact that some native speakers may not be such great role...

Here’s something that will help some of you quickly improve your accents.Do a little self-diagnosis of your individual speaking style. Here are three questions to ask yourself:1. Do you tend to speak quickly in you native language?If yes, you probably speak fast when...

A majority of my students are educated professionals. They are MBA’s, engineers, research scientists, lawyers. Some of them had already achieved a level of success and professional respect in their native countries before coming to the US. Others got their graduate...