Zeller Accent Reduction

If you send me a message, we can chat for a 5-10 minute phone consultation to discuss your personal goals, and go over an outline of the course and how it works. After that, during our first session I will conduct an assessment of your speech in order to identify the greatest areas of need, and where the biggest changes/improvements can be made. Please also let me know of any specific areas you would like to focus on, and we can decide together how to adjust the training.

I work full time as a Speech/Language Pathologist in the public school setting, working mainly with school-aged children with developmental disorders/delays. I have also taught ESL (English as a Second Language) in the past, in both Boston, MA as well as in Japan. My graduate coursework included courses specifically aimed at phonetics/phonology and the sounds/patterns of languages.

MA, Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University

BA, Communication, Minor, Linguistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Certificate of Clinical Competence, American Speech-Hearing Association

Speech-Language Pathology Services Credential, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing

TESOL/TEFL Teaching Certification, Oxford Seminars

After an introductory assessment, a 5 week or 10 week course is suggested to identify and practice improvements in all aspects of accent (sounds, patterns, intonation, stress). After completion, additional training sessions are of course available if the client wishes to continue with more practice. Please send me a message for more information about pricing!

I started teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to college-aged students in Boston just after graduating college (2010). My boss at the time asked if I would be interested in teaching an Accent Modification elective course, and at that time I wasn’t completely sure what it was. I soon realized that many of the students were very interested in mastering an English accent that was understandable not only to Americans and other native English speakers, but to their nonnative English-speaking peers/coworkers/friends as well. It was teaching accent that made me interested to pursue speech language pathology as a career, and I very much enjoyed helping to found a small Accent Clinic during graduate school.

Most of the clients whom I have worked with have had speech/accent goals related to improving communication in their professional life. I've worked with clients ranging from businessmen/women, college professors, medical professionals, students, and small business owners. My clients' backgrounds range from all over the globe - Japan, China, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, Morocco, France, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, India, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and more.

I worked with a professor who came from Taiwan. He is a brilliant man who is locally-famous in his field, teaches classes of 100-150 students, participates in interviews with local news outlets, and works with graduate/PhD students - many of whom are also international, nonnative English speakers. His students had a very difficult time understanding him in large lectures, and he also had a tough time communicating with students when collaborating on research. After a semester-long course working on his accent, he felt much more confident communicating with coworkers and students, as well as giving interviews with the media.

When you’re looking for an accent tutor, think about what their background is - think about educational background, work and professional life, as well as your compatibility to work with that person.

I would like students to think about the reasons why they would like to change their accent. What are you personal goals in finding an accent tutor? Where is it interfering with your life the most? What contexts? Do you know of specific “errors” that you make? Do others already point out specific mistakes that you make?