Course Details

The course is directed at non-native English speakers who speak English but who find themselves not easily understood. The majority of problems that non-native speakers have with being understood is the way they pronounce the sounds that make up the words of the English language. This is in part because not every language shares all the same sounds as are in English. For example, a native French speaker's 'r' sound is nothing like the English 'r' and there is no sound in English quite like the French 'r'. The way that pronunciation is typically taught in language classes isn't particularly helpful in that it is usually taught by repetition: the teacher demonstrates how words are pronounced by pronouncing them and the student repeats. Sometimes clarification of the sound is made by reference to similar sounding words in the native language. In a voice training/drama context it is quite different. Each word is made up of vowel and consonant sounds and to make these sounds correctly the organs of articulation - the tongue, lips, soft palette and so on - must be moved correctly. What happens when the movement is explained and demonstrated, and you experience using the organs of articulation correctly is that it becomes much easier to pronounce words and also to hear the words more accurately. Once the individual sounds are mastered, not only will you be more understandable but you will also find that each word flows easily into the next and speaking in sentences will be smoother and easier. All the sounds of the English language are covered in the course and this would be one part of increasing your confidence in speaking English, the others parts being breathing, and delivery skills, both of which are also covered. The course will also teach you to use the phonetic symbols that are shown beside the words in any good dictionary, so you will be able to look up the pronunciation of any word that you might need and be able to pronounce it correctly and with confidence.