How to Train to Become an Accent Reduction Coach
Accent reduction coaches work to make a client's voice clearer and more understandable, and improve their business and social skills. A person with a heavy New York or Chicago accent may have no problems in their birth city, but can be misunderstood by people in other parts of the country. Immigrants from India, Spain, Mexico, Russia or other countries may have mastered the English language, but speak with such a heavy accent that Americans listening can't understand them. That's where an accent reduction coach can help.
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Instructions
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Study linguistics or the natural use of language. Accent reduction coaches, like voice teachers and other professionals dealing with improving clients' vocal quality, need a firm grounding in the mechanics of speech. This includes learning about grammar, syntax, phonetics, how the brain represents language and how children first learn language. The study of how people acquire a second language, or the study of language as it relates to different societies, may also prove helpful to an accent reduction coach.
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Learn about speech pathology or the anatomy of language and the voice. Speech pathology deals with the physical functions that lead to speech. A speech pathology student studies how the body processes speech. How do the lungs, vocal cords, tongue and jaw move to form certain words, pronunciations and inflections? This knowledge helps an accent reduction coach change certain habits that impede their clients from having crisp, authoritative voices.
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Listen to different accents and determine how to adjust them. People from New York, Boston and Chicago have strong, identifiable accents that some people find unpleasant, but most listeners find Southern accents charming. An accent reduction coach has to determine how to lessen or negate an accent.
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Tailor your training to teach people who speak English as a second language. Workers from India and other countries often work in customer service jobs dealing with American clients. Their accents occasionally tend to be so thick that people can't understand them, a frustrating situation for both parties. Learn as much as you can about the culture and vocal patterns of people in the country your client comes from.
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Apprentice as a vocal coach. Study with an accomplished accent reduction coach, or work as his assistant. You can also get your start as a speech teacher or vocal coach in a high school or college, or coach actors on how to improve their voice or use different accents.
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