Professionals with Accented Speech

Strong, clear communication is extremely important in many professional fields, such as medicine, business, education, and law. When an individual who speaks English as a second language is not clearly understood due to a moderate to severe accent, many communication problems may arise. For instance, the listeners may become impatient and not be willing to take the extra time necessary to understand the message. There are many professionals with accent speech.

Medical Field

Critical mistakes may be made, especially in the medical field. For example, if a patient does not fully understand a doctor’s orders for treatment or dosage of medicine, their health could be compromised.

Clear communication is critical, not only to prevent serious mistakes but also to ensure that patients and staff are able to understand each other. Accent Reduction has many benefits, including:

• Better communication between patients, colleagues, and staff.
• Elimination of mistakes arising from misunderstandings with regard to treatment, dosages, and instructions.
• Enhanced confidence between patient and professional.
• More efficient use of time when patients do not have to ask for information to be repeated.
• More effective presentations in meetings.

Education

Within the area of education, students may have difficulty grasping the material presented by a professor who has a strong accent. The students may feel it is impolite to ask the professor to repeat themselves, and therefore, learning is hindered.

Many professors in American universities are non-native speakers of English. While they are respected experts in their fields, their expertise may not be recognized when students and colleagues have difficulty understanding them. Accent Reduction has many benefits for educators, including:

• More clear communication in lectures, helping students grasp the material more quickly and more thoroughly.
• More interaction between professors when students are not perceiving a language barrier.
• More efficient and effective use of time when students do not need to ask for material to be repeated.

Law

In the realm of law, clients may not be willing to hire an attorney that is difficult for them to understand. Additionally, communication problems may occur in the courtroom if the judge and jury have difficulty understanding an attorney.

Good communication with clients and in court is a critical element of an attorney’s work. With Accent Reduction, non-native speakers or English speakers with regional accents can achieve:

• Improved communication with diverse clients.
• Better presentations in court.
• Being understood more easily on the phone and in meetings.
• Increased confidence level between attorney and clients.

Business

A person with a strong accent may be misunderstood over the phone, in meetings, and during presentations. Miscommunications may slow down or hamper the process of achieving business goals, making sales, and getting repeat business.

In the competitive world of business, it is important for employers and employees at every level to be able to communicate clearly in English. The many benefits of Accent Reduction include:

• Reduced misunderstandings between employees, and between employees and supervisors.
• Increased sales on the phone and in the field when salespeople can be clearly understood.
• Better communication in meetings and presentations.
• Business can be conducted more quickly and efficiently.
• Greater likelihood of repeat business from clients and customers.

Enrolling in an Accent Reduction course with a trained, professional speech pathologist who specializes in Accent Reduction is an excellent way to learn how to speak American English more clearly and decrease miscommunications. A well-trained and experienced speech pathologist will be able to do a precise and in-depth evaluation of the speech of their clients, discovering the specific sounds that differ from Standard American pronunciation, as well as determine grammatical and intonation areas that could be improved upon.

An individualized course will be set up to address the specific needs of the client. The client can expect to recognize the differences in their speech from that of Standard American. They will learn how to produce the targeted sounds in words and at the sentence level and begin to incorporate these new sounds into their everyday speech. Grammar and intonation issues can also be improved in the program.

Working with a qualified speech and language pathologist specializing in Accent Reduction, either in person or online, can be one of the most beneficial steps a person who speaks English as a second language can take to improve their spoken American English.

About Derra Huxley, Speech and Language Pathologist

I am a California-licensed Speech-Language Pathologist in Los Angeles. I earned my Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Northridge. I work as a Preferred Trainer with LDS & Associates – Accent Modification Program, and I am a member of CORSPAN (Corporate Speech Pathology Network). I collaborate with people of all ages to improve their communication and pronunciation skills in schools, hospitals, and private practice settings. To learn more or to contact me, complete this form or reach me at 818-421-7444. I look forward to hearing from you!