Hiring a teacher to reduce accent is the best way to go. Even though books and CDs can tell you how to pronounce, they cannot hear you back, and you end up practicing the wrong sounds over an over again.
Through the initial test, Alia made me aware of my pronunciation mistakes (and they were very consistent with the ones people from my country make). She developed a practice plan, and through exercises and drills, we started addressing my accent issues. Alia was very patient and fun to work with! We laughed a lot at my poor tongue struggling to distinguish between such simple words as “leave” and “live”!
You should keep in mind that no teacher can do your drills for you and the success of the class depends on how much you yourself practice in between lessons at home or when commuting in your car (I bought a voice recorder and taped the drills which help me practice at home).
Best of luck!
E. Panchenko -Russia
Hey Alia,
Thanks a lot for a great session earlier today! I can't wait to fix something that's been broken all my life.
Z. Farooqui -India
I studied with Alia and she gave me the training I was looking for. The things that were most important to me were
- Catch my mispronunciation
- Explain to me why it is wrong
- Show me the correct way to pronounce it
- Practice with me until I am able to hear it and correct it
- Have flexibility in scheduling lessons
- Study in a stress free environment
Alia showed me my mispronunciations in a way that made me feel comfortable and she taught me to hear the difference between the correct and not correct sounds. She was patient and took whatever time I needed to understand and pronounce the word with the American accent. When an emergency came up and I could not come to the training, she allowed me to reschedule instead of just counting it as a missed session and a money loss.
The environment is comfortable and fun and I would like to sign up for another session. I want to continue my lessons with her until my pronunciation really improves.
S. Liu -China