Accent Reduction Classroom

The Schwa Sound in American English

In order to reduce your accent effectively, it is absolutely critical that you learn to use the schwa vowel sound. In this post I will explain what the schwa sound is and why using the schwa will improve your accent. What is the schwa sound? The schwa sound is the most common vowel sound in North American English. The schwa sounds like “uh”. It is pronounced with the mouth and tongue in a very relaxed position. The schwa sound can be represented by any vowel. The IPA symbol for schwa is /ə/.

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American English Pronunciation- Why Do You Have an Accent?

Most non-native English speakers have an accent when they speak English but they don’t understand why and they don’t know what steps they can take to change this. In this article I will tell you why you have a an accent when you speak English. Then I will explain four things you must do if you want to reduce your accent.

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Syllable Stress in American English Words

In this lesson I will explain why syllable stress in words is so critical to correct American English pronunciation and I will tell you the rules for using syllable stress correctly when you are speaking.

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Introduction to Sentence Stress and Intonation

In this lesson you will learn how content, function and focus words affect the rhythm of spoken English. You will also learn to use the two most common sentence intonation patterns in American English.

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Accent Reduction Classroom

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