Executive Language Tutors

18/02/2018

17/08/2016

Taking Elocution lessons and learning to speak English with eloquence and refinement for career or personal development is the aim of many people today.

However, some people may detect little improvement after following an elocution training programme or having taken accent reduction classes. Why?

Because of several neuroscience and psycholinguistic factors affecting speech and language acquisition. For guidance, we outline several questions which the learner should consider before taking elocution classes or accent reduction lessons.

How old was the learner when he or she first learned English, if English is a second language?

Where did the learner learn English and how immersed in English was the learner?

Did the learner suffer from any speech impairment or speech sound dysfunction in his or her native language, and was the impairment successfully corrected?

Does the learner have any difficulties in hearing?

Although the learner may not have any hearing disabilities, there may be weaknesses in the learner's listening and sub-listening skills. For example, the learner may not be able to distinguish the most important and common English vowel sound of the schwa 'er'

Aural training, or ear training, is the first step towards developing British English Elocution or acquiring a British English Accent as messages are sent from the ear to specialised areas on the cortex of the brain telling the brain the English speech sounds which the ear has identified. Next, the brain sends a message to the articulation muscles saying 'reproduce the sound which you have heard'. The articulation muscles, which we call 'motor', then proceeds to carry out the instruction sent from the brain. However, if there is a weakness in the learner's listening ability, then there is a likelihood that the English speech sound reproduced will be inaccurate resulting in poor pronunciation or articulation.

It is for this reason that our Professional English Communication - Elocution Classes and Accent Reduction Lessons are delivered on a one-to-one basis and focus in the initial stages of development on building specialised listening skills.

More importantly, we undertake a thorough Initial Assessment of the learner's personal needs and weaknesses with each of our programmes specially designed to target the weaknesses identified in each learner.

However, many learners may prefer to be independent learners, managing their own development programmes and training budgets. Therefore, we have designed specialised training resources in British English Elocution and Accent Reduction.

'Easy Elocution Audio and eCourseBook' download has now been released which targets the development of important listening skills and the accurate reproduction of the most important English vowels.

As Easy Elocution Audio and eCourseBook are downloads, we have been able to make this specialised training resource affordable.

For further details about 'Easy Elocution Audio and eCourseBook visit:

http://www.executivelanguagetutors.com/elocution-lessons/easy-elocution-accelerated-elocution-lessons-video-ecourse-book/

Accelerated Elocution Lessons, Elocution Lessons Adults, Elocution Lessons Children, Accent Reduction Classes - Executive Language Tutors, London

15/04/2016

Would you like to appear on TV?

We have been approached by a television company for Channel 4 which wishes to produce a documentary on learning Elocution.

The documentary will follow learners receiving elocution classes with the approach of 'before', 'during' and 'after' elocution training.

If you are interested in participating in the documentary, then please could you contact us at the email address below:

[email protected]

Thank you.

14/01/2016

Why do Indian speakers find difficulty in speaking English?

Speakers of South Asian languages may find difficulty in speaking English due to several factors.

Firstly, the South Asian language phonological system differs from English. There is a different emphasis given to the distinctions of vowels and consonants. In English, there are 22 vowels and diphthongs, and 24 consonants. However, in Hindi there are only 10 vowels and over 30 consonants. Therefore, Hindi speakers learning to speak English may find difficulty in producing English vowels sounds, such speech sounds which are non-existent in their own language.

Secondly, Hindi speakers have sets of aspired and un-aspirated consonants.

Thirdly, Hindi speakers may use the dentals and the blade of the tongue resting behind the teeth for the production of /t/ and /d/. The use of these articulators may produce the speech sounds /th/ and /dh/.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is the rhythm and stress timing of South Asian languages compared to English. English is a 'stress-timed' language, i.e. word stress is marked and unpredictable. South Asian languages are 'syllable-timed' in which stress is not as important as rhythm.

From evidence-based practice, other features have emerged which may cause difficulties in Accent Reduction Lessons for Indian Speakers or Elocution Classes for South Asian Speakers. These features are the rapid rate of speech delivery, respiration and jaw movement.

If you are an Indian or South Asian speaker wishing to take Accent Reduction Lessons or Elocution Classes in order to improve the clarity of your spoken English, then it is important to find a qualified teacher who is aware of the difficulties which you may face, and the distinct differences between the speech sound systems of each language.

28/12/2015

Is British accent acquisition and accent reduction an art or a science?

At Executive Language Tutors, our training programmes are specially designed and developed from research findings in the sectors of speech and language - neuroscience, psycholinguistics and socio-linguistics. Therefore, our approach is evidence-based practice from the perspective of speech and language science.