C.J. Childs -- Foreign Accent Reduction
in Houston, Texas
New Public Group Classes in autumn (I've added one more) -- or book your own classes
C.J. Childs -- Foreign Accent Reduction
Houston, TX 77098
United States
ph: 832-287-0494
charlsie
About my Audiocourse (currently, McGraw-Hill's top-selling ESL text)
Improve Your American English Accent
McGraw-Hill liked this course well enough to take over its publication and distribution, and today it's currently their best-selling ESL material. But I developed it because, of all the very good commercial helps available on the market, none of them was organized in the order that I liked best. As with my classroom instruction, this audiocourse focuses on the core features that have the greatest impact on oral communication in American English (a summary of the contents is given below). Each of the six thirty-five-minute lessons contains sections on several important aspects of spoken American English, and each builds on the information that came before it, so that we are gradually putting all the critical pieces of the puzzle together. I like the result. My students from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America tell me there's a lot of useful information for a very nominal price. I hope you will like the course, too. In the right-hand column are some of the nice things people from all over the world have said about my audiocourse.
I'm very glad McGraw-Hill has put the course on three CDs with labeled tracks, so that users can easily find the section they want to review.
I don't sell my audiocourse on this site, but you can find it in bookstores all over the world, including Barnes & Noble and Borders; and on the internet, including Amazon.com.
a summary of the contents of each 35-minute lesson
Session One: 4 vowels, one probably new to you; dividing words into syllables; syllable stress; two ways to group consonant sounds, how they effect spoken American English, and how they might be different from the sounds in your first language
Session Two: 3 more vowels; 3 different ways to make consonant stops; how to link words as the natives do; 3 ways to pronounce -s/-es endings; where to put the stress in some common phrases
Session Three: 2 more vowel sounds; 3 different ways to pronounce -ed endings; a new American way to pronounce d and t; stress changes in some common word endings; a new, (important) way to pronounce unstressed vowels
Session Four: 2 more vowel sounds; reducing less important words, especially pronouns and helping verbs that begin with h; some very common (and popular) contractions; stress change in another common suffix
Session Five: stress change in another common suffix; reviewing non-stress; linking vowel sounds together; changing the sounds when familiar sounds are linked together
Session Six: important pitch changes for declarative sentences, yes/no questions, information questions, and choice questions; pitch and stress changes when a subject has already been introduced; breaking the rules of stress for purposes of special emphasis
Some compliments from users of the audiocourse, Improve Your American English Accent:
...the most affordable and effective program I have ever used with my university students...well organized and well presented...above all the others...My students have demonstrated noticeable improvement in a very short period of time...[T]hey enjoy the program...
[T]his could be the best book on the market.
...when you finish, you will feel great [and] more confident...about your accent because it is gone...
...No frills, but quite a thrill!...It's the perfect course to take in your car during rush hour. And it's unbelievably cheap...Definitely a great bargain.
...simple...awesome...teaches you correct American English pronunciations...intonations and expressions so that others can understand you.
...the way each lesson is structured, not too long, not too short...and I do feel that I have improved several aspects already...I do recommend this course.
...one of the easier to follow books on the subject which keeps things simple enough so that you won't feel bored...[I]f you are looking for a program you can carry around on your CD/mp3 player, this is certainly it
[M]y students liked it. I'm sure they will be buying it.
C.J. Childs -- Foreign Accent Reduction
Houston, TX 77098
United States
ph: 832-287-0494
charlsie
