Accent Softening and Elocution Course

Overview

Students will learn the five components of accurate English pronunciation: vowels, consonants, rhythm, stress, and intonation.
The course starts with a linguistic evaluation based on a verbal diagnosis of free speaking, reading text, and reading a dialogue. Based on the evaluation, key areas of focus are determined (both segmental and suprasegmental) to include: pronunciation of individual vowels and consonants, word stress patterns, and intonation patterns, as well as rhythm, linking and articulation.

This course particularly benefits non-native English speakers and native English speakers with a regional accent and teaches them how to speak the Queen's English (RP).

The areas of focus include:

• Pronunciation of individual vowels and consonants:
• Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet
• Practice articulating both long and short vowels
• Learn how to pronounce consonants in all environments: initial, medial, and final
• Tongue twisters & articulation exercises
• Breath exercises
• Word stress patterns:
• Rules of both English and foreign-derived words
• Dividing words into syllables
• Syllable length
• Stressed and unstressed syllables
• Word form stress shift patterns
• Nouns, adjectives & adverbs vs. verbs
• Compound nouns
• Intonation, rhythm, and linking:
• Neutral or "unmarked" patterns for statements and questions
• Contrastive stress and usage
• Content vs. function words
• Rhythm and linking
• Word clustering/grouping and Powerful Pauses

Most importantly: transfer and error correction techniques and exercises to support change!