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If you are a foreign born professional, we would like to hear from you. We are very interested in the story of how you are overcoming self-doubt and learning new skills.
We would be happy to feature your story in a future issue.
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trOur Mission is to help our clients transform their accents from a communication barrier to a charming cultural flavor using "listener friendly" speech that is as close to Standard English as possible for them.
Order Mastering Meaning from Amazon.com or Lulu.com today online. The price is reduced from $19.99 to $10.00 + S & H and applicable sales taxes.
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We provide the map but each client has to make the journey himself or herself!
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Triangle Speech Services is the private, professional practice of Judith L. Bergman, a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) who specializes in foreign accent and regional dialect modification and related communication skills. I offer customized, individual tutorials to corporate-sponsored and self-enrolled individuals who speak English fluently but with moderate to severe accents that create challenges and frustrations in the workplace.
I recently saw the wise and funny Pixar movie, "Inside Out" which I highly recommend to all readers and do take your kids and teens. In this movie, an eleven year old girl and her loving mom and dad are all challenged by their move from Minnesota to San Francisco. The "workings" of the girls feelings and thoughts are represented by clever cartoons named Joy (previously the dominant feeling in her happy life growing up in the mid west), Sad, Fear, Disgust and Mad who take turns "at the controls" in her mind. The writers represent core values, memories, even a "train of thought" and adults will find plenty to think about, even as the younger movie goers enjoy the action.
We all have "conversations" within ourselves "controlled" by beliefs and feelings. What to believe? How do we make decisions? How do we deal with our own fears,memories,anger etc. Well, I'm a speech-language pathologist, not a therapist or counselor. However, lately I've been feeling frustrated and, yes, even upset by some of the "wishful thoughts" of my clients who, in fact, in other areas of their lives are very, very smart and very, very rational.
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Reducing a Foreign Accent: Common Sense Responds to Wishful Thinking
Wishful Thinking: "Please help. I depend you. You my Guru." [Actual words as spoken by a client whose English is so primitive that I should have referred him for ESL training before accepting him for accent modification.]
Common Sense: Accent modification training begins where ESL (English As a Second Language) training ends. It is the instructor's responsibility to screen out individuals who do not use prepositions, past tense verbs, pronouns etc. and who have trouble processing routine instructions. I have assumed that if a foreign born individual has been hired by a large American corporation even just to do technical work, that his English is adequate. I was wrong!
Common Sense: Your instructor has been trained as a clinician, not a magician! I provide the map; the client has to make the journey. I can't reprogram your speech muscles and change your long standing habit patterns. I can show you what to do and how to practice. The rest is up to you!!
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Practice, practice, practice with patience and persistence!
Wishful Thinking:
"I'm very smart. I already know how to speak. I don't have to practice a whole hour five days a week for three to six months. I can remember what to do if I just practice a lot right before my next lesson and those sound and syllable drills are a waste of time, so I'll skip them."
Common Sense: How long did it take you to become really good at soccer so that you could move skillfully without stopping to think? How many years and how many hours did you spend with a coach at soccer practice before you became a valuable team member on a highly skilled team? What was the function of your coach? Did he give you feedback? Did he show you what you needed to do to improve? Yes! But who was it who actually had to do the work? You! Did your coach keep attendance? Did he encourage you to keep trying and not to give up?
For readers who are or were not soccer players, think of a piano teacher, a dance instructor, a voice or singing instructor or any other type of teacher who works with students to develop complex skills involving coordinated movement patterns and to make them effortless habits so that "the dance is dancing the dancer." No matter how experienced and skilled the instructor is, the student must be determined and totally committed to doing what it takes to succeed in reaching a realistic goal.
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We invite you to click on Triangle Speech Services to visit our informative website. Our goal is always to provide information, inspiration and encouragement since these are essential components of any successful learning experience. If you are seriously considering enrolling yourself or an employee in an individual tutorial with us or simply want to talk to us about our programs, please contact us through the contact page of our web site. We will be on our annual Massachusetts vacation the first two weeks of July and have two to four potential clients already lined up after we return. We are no longer automatically accepting almost anyone who wants to work with us, can afford our fees and lives close enough to come to in-person sessions during normal business hours twice a month. A potential client will need to score at least 80 (16/20) on a very, very basic multiple choice grammar screening test and converse in fluent (although accented) English. Sincerely,
Judith L. Bergman M.A. CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist and Corporate Speech Trainer
Founder & Director of Triangle Speech Services |
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