I am a Speech Language Pathologist with over 25 years of experience in a wide variety of settings, populations, and age groups. Most of my career has been spent in healthcare environments, which has given me insight into interpersonal communications skills and has stoked my interest in accents. I saw firsthand how accented speech can impact effective and efficient communication. 

I earned my Bachelor of Art in Speech Pathology from Loyola University in Baltimore, MD and Master of Education in Speech Pathology from the University of Virginia. I have worked at several hospitals in Baltimore, including the world renowned, Johns Hopkins Hospital. It was my position at Johns Hopkins that led me to live and work with a patient in Switzerland. I was fortunate to be able to not only live with my patient at the time, but also her family and staff from around the world. This is when I started using my skills as an accent trainer informally, as it was a multi-cultural household with English being the common language. The staff, with various native languages asked me to help them with their English pronunciation. In turn, they would teach me some basic words in their native language. I experienced firsthand how challenging it can be to produce a word with the correct accent- sounds, intonation, and stress patterns. Once I returned to the United States, I continued working in the health care environment but never lost the desire to help others looking to widen their repertoire for accents. 

We all have accents, and they are a part of us. By definition an accent is a way of pronouncing words that occur among people in a particular country or region speaking the same language. Accents are a natural part of language...we all have them…they can be a source of pride and can reflect more than just a geographic location.  Accents are beautiful and add to our identity as individuals. Not all accents impact or interfere with effective and efficient communication. An accent is noticeable when someone is speaking with listeners who are unfamiliar with the speech sounds and patterns even though they are speaking a common language. No accent is better than another. Sometimes accents can make communication more difficult which can negatively impact self-esteem, social interaction, job performance, career, or educational advancement. For these reasons, as well as many more, an individual may seek to learn to modify their accent by learning new variations on how to produce the sounds and patterns of a language in order to be understood more easily; to have the listeners focus on the content of what is being said rather than how it is being said.

My interest in accents started years before my career in medical Speech Pathology began. I was born and raised in Long Island, New York which is known to have a strong regional accent. When I chose Speech Pathology as my major as undergraduate, I was told that I would need to neutralize my accent. I took lessons from a graduate level Speech Pathologist who taught me how to neutralize my accent. It was then that I learned how to "code switch"; I could turn my Long Island accent on or off depending on the situation I was in. I didn't eliminate my Long Island accent as that was a part of me, but I did learn how to move easily between my Long Island accent and a more neutral Standard American English accent. My husband and son are the first to point out when I do switch back to my Long Island accent with certain words and phrases!

I also saw the impact of accented speech and its impact on effective and efficient communication when I traveled in France. I had prided myself in knowing French as I had studied French in school for 8 years. In spite of knowing the grammar and vocabulary of the language, I did not sound natural. I would get sideways glances or asked to repeat myself, I didn’t understand why people couldn’t quite understand me as I was speaking their language. Now looking back, I realize that I was speaking French through my filter of pronunciation rules that I use naturally in English…which meant I was speaking in English accented French or French with an English Accent. It was frustrating at the time, although it was only for a vacation. Having had that experience, I realized that if I were to move to a French speaking country, I would seek out a pronunciation specialist to help me speak French with natural pronunciation so I could be understood and sound natural. I would need to learn the rules of that accent and practice in order to achieve my goal.  

I was looking to alter my career path from working in a clinical setting helping individuals with speech, language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. I had a strong desire to work with individuals who have worked hard on learning English and now want to work on refining their accent, to further open doors, and bring more opportunities into their lives. I decided to start my own business of Refined Accent to coach individuals in their pronunciation of American English. Over the years my interest in accents has grown, which led me to take several courses to build on my knowledge and expertise; I am certified in the Compton - PESL, LDS, and the Rupp Method. Having these certifications in addition to my clinical training and experience gives me a well-rounded background to best serve my clients. 

I enjoy working with highly motivated individuals who are looking to enhance their personal and/or professional lives. If any of the above resonates with you, reach out to me and see if we will be a good fit, to help YOU achieve YOUR goals to REFINE your ACCENT. I will share my expertise and provide strategies to lead you towards your goal. However, this process will take time and commitment from YOU…you will need to practice the provided assignments on your own time. I want to help you achieve your goal efficiently and effectively…that will require us to work together. I will be your coach, but the bulk of the work will fall on you to achieve your goal.