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Debra Holtzman

How do I teach accents?

Many people ask me what method I use to teach accents. I have been trained in the Accent Channel method. This method was developed by the wonderful instructor Jessica Kijowski. This uses research-based principles of motor learning and a specialized sequence of goals, lessons, and activities designed specifically for you, to produce permanent speech improvement in the shortest amount of time.


You’ll train your ear to recognize your own mistakes and train your mouth to use the sounds, pronunciation, rhythm, intonation, and other features of American English, or whatever your target accent is. Then, you’ll train your brain to automatically use the new speech patterns in real conversations, so you can sound great in any speaking situation. It’s a proven method that has worked for thousands of students, but it’s not magic. Although you will hear some immediate changes after the very first session, permanent change in your speech habit requires consistent practice and it's up to you to do the work between sessions.


You’ll need to practice, just a little every day. 5 minutes is great, 10 minutes is wonderful, and 15 minutes is amazing! If you put in the time, you’ll hear the improvement and it will be permanent.


I've then created my own take on accents using everything I've learned from the Accent Channel method, with other methods I have learned such as from Sarah Valentine who is a dialect coach for actors, and a variety of courses I have taken over the years specifically from a course I attended taught by the late Sam Chwat who was based out of NYC and variety of books including Accents and Dialects for Stage and Screen written by Paul Meier. I combine that with over 20 years practicing as a licensed speech-language pathologist, and as an actor myself.


If you have any questions about working with me, please reach out! Creating goals together is very important to me. I celebrate all accents, and believe that all accents are beautiful and special!



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