Karen Van Hook, Ph.D.
Accent and Voice Coaching
For both Native Speakers and
Speakers of
English as a Foreign Language
Yes, you can.
You can change your accent. If you speak English as a foreign language, you already know the pronunciation isn’t easy. The good news is that no matter how long you’ve been speaking English, you can learn more native-like pronunciation. You can learn to pronounce even the most difficult sounds of American English correctly. And you can learn to use more of the rhythm and “music” of the native sound, including the voice qualities, if you want.
If you’re a native speaker of British or Australian English and you want a convincing American accent, you can learn to change the way you use your throat, to capture the American voice qualities. And if you’re a native speaker of North American English and you just want to make a change in your sound—to sound louder, deeper, more confident, etc.—that’s usually do-able as well.
What are your goals?
Do you want to sound much more fluent and native-like? Maybe you’re an advanced speaker—everyone understands you without a problem, but you’d like to sound more fluent, natural and confident. Or maybe you still have people asking you to repeat yourself—you’d like everyone to understand you easily.
Or maybe you’re a British actor trying to make it in American television. Whatever your background and whatever level you’re at, you can acquire a more native-like American accent and learn new voice qualities, if that is your goal. The idea of “Chosen Voice” is that it’s not one-size-fits-all: different people want different things for their voices. You choose what goals you want to reach.
