Question:

I speak in English at work, but it is not my first language. I feel uncertain about how I sound and which words to say. Will your program boost my confidence?

Answer:

In short, YES! Many of my clients have told me that one of the biggest benefits they received upon completion of my programs is an increased confidence in their speaking skills.

Let’s explore some reasons why and then let them speak for themselves.

 

You will be able to say industry words and names of colleagues correctly by practicing patterns of syllable stress

Many times, when speaking North American English, it is difficult to know which syllable is stressed in a word. Not using the correct rhythm when speaking adds to the difficulty in being understood by others.

My students spend quite a bit of time learning the basic patterns of syllable stress in words and how to transfer that to everyday words they might say. This can include the names of colleagues, industry terms, geographical places, and more. Knowing the stress patterns of words can alleviate the fear one has in saying those “big” words. Instead of rushing through them, hoping for the best, you will develop confidence to say them correctly. The true meaning of your message will be heard.

You will know how to use emphasis in your message that will help convince superiors of their successes or needs at work

Building upon stress patterns within a word, my students also learn stress patterns within a message. Native speakers of English intuitively know there are certain types of words within a sentence that receive the most stress. This is typically tied into grammar, being the last most important word of the message. That is usually a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. Less often is this the first word in the message. Knowing which word to emphasize adds additional meaning to your message because just like dynamics in music, intonation patterns for this bring highs and lows to your words. Those highs and lows tell your listener what your intent is even without having to hear each and every word clearly.

You will have confidence to place orders in restaurants and coffee shops without fear of saying something incorrectly or not being understood

Think about where you are the least confident speaking.  Is it around others?  Is it when expectations are placed to say things just like those around you?  Think coffee shops and restaurants.  Baristas and restaurant workers hear their menu items being spoken countless times throughout the day.  Coffee shops and restaurants are noisy places.  Put those two variables together, and you might be a little stressed about your English speaking skills when you place an order.  Some of the menu items may be words that you aren’t familiar with or have much practice saying.

My students have confidence to use their skills in their everyday lives, in situations such as this.  They can transfer pitch fluctuations, stress patterns in messages, and nuances of vowels and consonants in English to any speaking situation because they have put in the time for learning and practice.

I like to emphasize role playing with my students so that we can make our practice relevant.  I create scripts that are loaded with a pronunciation rule or English feature (can we say idioms!), and we practice these taking on both speaker roles.  It’s a fun way to see how these principles learned come to life, and it’s a functional way to help my students transfer and maintain their newly learned skills.  The more one practices, the better they become at the skill they are learning.  That holds true for speaking English.

You will know how to make vowels and how to adjust your jaw, tongue, lips along with which vowels you might say differently than NAE

My students know more about vowels than the average English language learner.  A good portion of their instruction centers on vowels.  I dive deep into the various vowels of North American English, the features of those vowels, and which ones my students need to perfect as they are different from their first language. We learn features about how to physically say vowels, in terms of how to shape our tongue, jaw and lips. We also learn about tension and duration of vowels to further distinguish them.  Knowing these key features helps reinforce the ear so that my students become their own coach, analyzing their speech and making adjustments in real time.  Talk about a boost in confidence.  This is the key.  If you can listen to yourself and adjust your speech based upon the feedback you receive from others, there is no reason to not be bold and take on any speaking challenge you might have.  The power is in your hands at that point.

You will work on speaking and English development in functional work situations

As mentioned before, I like to work on roleplaying using scripts targeting my students’ individual goals.  That might include a series of idioms or a series of phrasal verbs we’ve been working on.  By putting them into a script, you can see how these expressions are used naturally in conversation.  It’s pretty scary to decide to use an expression that you’ve heard before and not have the confidence you put it in the right context.  I address that in my programs.

Furthermore, my students and I also work on presentations, lectures, and talks that they will be giving.  Putting all goals into practice is the best way to boost your professional speaking skills.  Practicing with feed-back in the moment, correcting and trying again does wonders to boost your confidence.  This is really where it’s at.  Taking nuts and bolts and creating a beautiful product is the overriding goal of my programs.  My students that have done this know they are all the better for it.  They can approach speaking situations required of them with a new found confidence.  It no longer matters that they speak with an accent because they have tools to use when needed in order to be understood.

I’ll let my students speak for themselves

“This program has provided me with the confidence to engage in meaningful conversations, conduct presentations, and express myself effectively in various professional and social settings. I am proud of the progress I have made, and I am excited to continue utilizing my enhanced English proficiency to achieve my academic and career goals. “

Professor

“I would recommend this program because “It would help them to feel more confident and understandable.”

Mental Health Professional

“My coworkers understand me without repetition of what I have already said. I’m happy finishing this course! I have a plan to take another one.”

Surgical Assistant

“As a foreigner English speaker I was always conscious about my accent and if I am understood by native speakers. Sometimes it had a negative effect on my self-esteem when I was having trouble communicating because of my accent. This program helped me to understand better the differences between vowel sounds and which area of the mouth creates the sounds. It helps a lot to be understood by native Americans. “

Interior Designer

Question:

Why can’t I speak proficiently? I’ve been an English language learner for a long time.

Isn’t it enough to know the word meanings, grammar and sentence structures of English to speak it well?

 

Answer:

Knowing a language and speaking it proficiently are not the same thing.

 

Language

A language is made up of word meanings and rules.  These rules govern grammar and sentence structure.  Having a solid foundation in word meanings, grammar rules and sentence structure is critical.  It is the foundation for communication, whether it be in conversation or print.  Being able to understand written English and to produce it in writing are necessary skills to survive and succeed professionally.

 

Consider this

Speaking English proficiently involves much more.  One must know the sounds of the language and have an awareness of how they are produced.  Even better is having an understanding of how speaking those sounds is different from one’s first language.

 

Furthermore

Speaking English proficiently also involves having a command of intonation (i.e. pitch, stress, rate, and fluency).  Intonation is part of every language, but the patterns for each component may differ.  When speaking English, we vary our pitch both within a word and across our message. The highs and lows, starting points and ending points of our pitch convey subtle meaning to our listener about what we are saying.

 

There are somewhat predictable stress patterns to the words we say and the emphasis in our message.  Our speech clarity is directly related to whether or not we say a 3+ syllable word with the correct stress pattern.  If we don’t, our listener is left scrambling to understand us.

 

We emphasize the point of our message by stressing the ciritical word within it.  There are rules about how this is done that aren’t part of learning the language.

 

Lastly

Our speech rate and fluency impact how natural we sound and how well we are understood.

Some non-native speakers of English speak quickly, running phrases together into clumps of unintelligible words.  Others speak haltingly, releasing all word endings and shortening the vowels within words making the overall message sound unnatural.

 

Speech rate and fluency can be learned and controlled as one speaks.  It is done by utilizing pausing at critical points within the message and by blending words together.  There are techniques to learn how to do this proficiently which may not be taught as part of learning the language.

 

In conclusion

Knowing the language is essential to communication.  It is the foundation.  Speaking proficiently and being undersood involves much more.

 

One can have an excellent command of the language and experience communication barriers because they haven’t learned the pronunciation of the language.

 

The good news is pronunciation can be achieved.  It can be mastered.

Find a good pronunciation coach and work towards speaking English proficiently.

 

 

 

Question:

How is SpeechTraining4ESL’s program different from watching a YouTube video or reading a book?

Does personalized coaching in effective English communication result in different outcomes from a DIY approach?

Answer:

A DIY approach to most anything seems to be the norm nowadays. Whether it’s fixing your washing machine, replacing a brake light on your car, or finding a fitness routine to try, we have access to information at our fingertips. We can find answers and tutorials for just about any topic, and that even includes learning a language

 

CONVENIENCE

It is convenient to be able to use your phone to watch a video or read an explanation of English grammar. Googling how to say a particular word solves a problem in the moment you need that information. Looking up a word you want to say in English by consulting an online dictionary in your native tongue eases the communication barrier at just the right time. We all have become accustomed to fast, easy solutions without much effort. The convenience of 24/7 information cannot be understated.

 

CONSIDER THIS

But I would like you to consider this. When it comes to learning effective English communication, whether it be pronunciation, grammar or word meanings, how much do you remember of what you looked up on the internet? How much do you truly put into practice and retain over time? A quick fix is just that: a fast solution for the moment, easily obtained and quickly forgotten.

 

WHAT DOES MY PROGRAM OFFER?

In order to answer the question posed above, let me tell you what my program includes. Compare it to a DIY approach, and decide if they are even compatible.

Individualized coaching in effective English communication takes into account principles of learning: modeling, repetition, relevance, scope & sequence, and feedback.

 

MODELING

When we learn a new skill, we need to see it or hear it from someone else. It needs to be modeled for us, and the model needs to be equivalent to the community in which the skill is needed. In other words, if you are wishing to speak English clearly and naturally, you need to hear models of speech that are similar to where you live. If you reside in the states, that means models of North American English. You may have learned English in your home country from a native speaker of your first language. That’s a model that is not similar to where you live now. Or maybe your model was a British English-speaking teacher. If you live in the states, you know that our pronunciation and word usage is quite different from that spoken in the UK. Modeling matters.

 

REPETITION

You may be thinking, well I can get an appropriate model from YouTube, and that is true. But do you get multiple opportunities to practice, repeating a skill so that you will remember it? That is hard to do if you are your own instructor watching or reading about communication in English. A personal communication coach will design your program to include multiple opportunities to practice in multiple situations until that skill becomes automatic. It’s hard to make that happen yourself.

 

RELEVANCE

How about relevance? Is watching a YouTube video on pronunciation relevant to you? How do you know? When I work with my clients, we start our program with relevance in mind. I assess my client’s speaking skills and determine which sounds, patterns of intonation, grammar, and word meanings the client needs to work on. It is all interpreted in consideration of the client’s native tongue. How you pronounce English is directly affected by the sound system you learned in childhood, that of your first language. A speaker of English from Brazil will not have equal pronunciation needs to a speaker from Russia, China, Korea, India, etc. Each native language has its own set of rules for how the sounds are pronounced. This is what you automatically learned as a child. Once you speak another language, how you pronounce the sounds of that language is directly tied to the sound system you inherently know. This is what gives each of our our accents. A video or DIY book cannot take this into account.

 

SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

Consider scope and sequence, meaning what skills to learn, in which order, and for how long before moving to the next skill. In my coaching, you will be taught specific skills in an order where new skills build upon ones previously learned. This may look like learning intonation patterns in words, then sentences, finishing with longer messages. It may also look like learning vowels in the order in which you presented the greatest need in your assessment. The roadmap or sequence of what I will teach you is determined by both your assessment and individual desires. It will take into account relevancy to your professional life, immediate needs that will make a big impact for you, and multiple realistic practice opportunities so that you not only learn new skills but master them. A DIY approach does not offer this. You alone would have to determine what you want to work on, for how long, and when you are ready to move on. How would you be able to make those decision without any input from someone else?

 

IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK

This leads me to my last principle of learning that I include in my coaching which is immediate feedback. We need feedback about correctness of the skill we are practicing and tips on how to do it more accurately the next time. Feedback is essential for learning a skill the right way. Feedback is essential for helping you to keep that skill and generalize it into your life so that it becomes a part of you. DIY approaches don’t offer that. You have to give yourself your own feedback, and that really isn’t possible.

 

IN CONCLUSION…

If you compare my coaching approach to a DIY approach, you will see my program provides learning opportunities for you to take English pronunciation, grammar, and word meanings to a level at which you can become a confident speaker of English. My program addresses essential principles of learning. The end result for my clients is increased motivation and confidence so that so they are successful communicators of English in all areas of their lives.

 

 

Question:

I am an immigrant and came to the US as an adult to seek higher education and employment. How will this program help me feel more included with my colleagues at my job?

 

 

Answer:

As an immigrant to this country, you are most likely well aware of communication challenges in education and work spaces.  One must have proficiency in spoken and written English in order to complete courses and job requirements as it relates to both acquiring and communicating knowledge.  One must have a sense of both the casual use of English and the more formal/technical use you would employ in the work setting.  One must know how to use formal and less formal language, understand jokes, use common expressions and the like just to fit in.

 

Maybe you can relate to these situations.

*Imagine you need to speak with your boss about the project you are working on and how you are having difficulty meeting the deadline.  You ask him what he would like you to do, he gives an answer that seems vague and is spoken so quickly you only catch a portion of it.  If you ask him again, you are afraid you may appear weak or he may become angry.

 

*Maybe you want to relate to your peers at work or in your graduate program.  They are friendly to you but it only goes so far.  How can you fit in?  It seems they like to talk about American football, in depth, but this isn’t anything of interest to you.  Maybe you are working on a team together for a project, and you aren’t allowed to give your input, and when you do, someone else takes credit for your ideas.

 

*Or maybe you try really hard to be friendly to anyone you meet, whether it’s at the market, the coffeeshop, your child’s teacher, etc.  You speak up to engage someone in a conversation only to have them ask you what you said.  This seems to happen all of the time, and you can’t figure out why because you are trying your hardest to get the English right.

 

So, will my program help?

Yes!  My program is thorough and deep.  You will have the opportunity to work on the three P’s of English communication: pronunciation of North American English, proficiency of English language skills for writing and speaking, and preparation of presentations/lectures/seminars.

 

By learning pronunciation of North American English, you will learn to speak with clarity and naturalness that will help you be understood when speaking to others in your community.

By learning the common phrases Americans say, perfecting your grammar, and learning formal vs informal ways to get your messages across, you will be ready to engage in conversations with your peers, opening up opportunities for relationships and community building.

And by working on your presentations, your colleagues and superiors will have a solid understanding of your knowledge and expertise, opening doors for your career advancement.

 

 

Perfect your English communication skills

As an immigrant to the United States, you have plans and goals for your life.  Don’t let barriers prevent you from reaching those goals.  Perfect your English communication; let others know the real you by really hearing your message.  Increase your confidence to speak up, speak out, defend your views, engage and be accepted.

 

That is my hope for you in this New Year 2024.