Accent
Modification:
How do I
improve the
way I sound in
English?
:
Ronit Oz M.A.
CCC-SLP
054-805-8094
Some Clients Include…
•
•
•
•
Several Knesset Ministers and Members
Hi-Tech companies
Law firms
Singers and actors
If your English is good but your
pronunciation is unclear then your
MESSAGE WILL NOT BE UNDERSTOOD
Am I too Old?
• Can I change my accent
• Will I sound better
• Will I improve
SOKOLOW V. PALESTINE
LIBERATION ORGANIZATION
Where do you start?
• Record and analyze you speaking in English
• Create a program around your needs
Success Depends On You!
Standard American Accent—
“An accent without an accent”
W
Tips and Exercises
• Feel Strange
• Very technical
• Learning how to move your mouth muscles
What is an Accent?
Sounds and Rhythm of your 1st language
carried over to your second language
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybcvlxivscw
Improving your accent requires:
English Sounds
• 56 sounds in English
• Most common difficult sounds for Israelis
Position = Tongue must be positioned between
your front teeth while releasing air
Common TH mistakes
• D
• T
• Z
TH words:
They
The
This
three
thing
with
think
thank you
there
TH Phrases:
Thank you note
sore thigh
thin slice
think often
third birthday
very thirsty
number thirteen
turn 30
number three
thumbs up
Thursday night
TH sentences:
I need to think about that.
Give methth
three things.
Thank you so much for doing
this.
Please put the present on the
table.
I have three wonderful brothers named
Theo, Matthew, and Garth. Theo is
thirteen, Matthew is twenty‐three, and
Garth is thirty years old. Even though
we are all in different phases of life, we
enjoy doing all the same things. It
doesn’t matter whether we are doing
something fun or nothing at all, we
have a great time together!
VOWELS EE VS IH
Position: EE - tongue is high
IH- tongue is lower
Common mistakes
• EE IH are interchanged
• IS vs. EASE
• LIVE vs. LEAVE
Common mistakes:
Live-leave
Will-wheel
List-least
Is-ease
Hit-heat
Sentences:
I live in Tel Aviv. I will leave soon.
I will come soon. His wheel is flat.
Please give me the list.
He is a very nice person.
Our company took a hit.
Tongue Position for the R sound
Common R mistakes
• R the Hebrew Resh
Read
Write
Relax
Roll
realize
What is a Syllable?
• A syllable is part of a word.
* Words can have 1 or more
syllables.
Common mistake:
• Saying all the correct sounds
BUT putting the stress on the
wrong syllable.
How many syllables?
Law
contribute
Contract
cooperation
Legal
court
Protocol
finance
Controversy
category
navigate
RULE
Nouns with 2 syllables:
Stress is always on 1st syllable
Ex: courthouse, table, contract, legal
Verbs with 2 syllables:
Stress is always on 2nd syllable
Ex: appear, prepare, suspend
• We do NOT say every sound
in each word otherwise we
sound robotic!!
We only stress words the
important words=longer, louder
and higher pitch.
Mistake:
Every word gets same stress.
Go to the store and buy
milk.
I had a bad day at work.
Our company is global and
has many employees.
• RULE: When you slow
down – it gives your mind
time to catch up with
your mouth.
sSome humor…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om9EhbB
o1Yc