What some of our clients have to say about us:
These lessons were a tremendous help in improving both my pronunciation and my confidence in myself. Thank you, Haya.
Luz, Chile
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The key steps to improving your speech are to become aware of your errors, to learn how to overcome them, and to keep practicing. Ever since my first class with Haya, she has helped me realize what my “personal errors” are and given me tips to correct them. By continuing to practice (easy to do as part of daily life in the USA), my speech has greatly improved and people understand me so much better than before. Thank you a lot, Haya!!
Xiangming, P. R. China
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I was very interested in improving my speech and reducing my accent. The program helped me to identify the sounds I should work on. I became very aware of my weak sounds. Overall, I would definitely recommend this course.
Svetlana, Belarus
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I am so glad that I decided to reduce my accent and I feel so lucky that I found Speech Improvement Group. After living in the U.S. for fourteen years and building a decent professional career, my English was fluent and grammatically correct (well, most of the time). Nevertheless, I was still getting the eternal “Where are you from?” question from strangers and new colleagues, which was often accompanied by a puzzled look and difficulty understanding my speech. Finally, there was a point when I realized that although I could think without an accent, I could not speak without an accent, and this was hindering me professionally. The next day I called Haya.
The accent reduction classes were both challenging (yep, they require discipline and commitment) and fun. I did not even know what I did not know! In my case, Haya identified twenty major auditory errors and thoroughly addressed each of them. I definitely hear the difference in my speech now — and so do my family, friends, and coworkers. My only regret is that I did not take the classes several years earlier. Thank you so much, Haya — for your patience, professionalism, and sense of humor! Your classes did make a difference in my professional life, and I enthusiastically recommend them to all your future students.
Marianna, Russia
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Haya does a fantastic job of analyzing each and every error in your speech and setting a detailed week-by-week plan to correct these errors. There are errors in your speech that you don’t realize until you actually listen to yourself and hear the difference when compared to unaccented American English. These errors are almost impossible to fix by mimicking since only a speech pathologist can tell you why you are making an error in a particular sound.
The course helped remove up to 90% of accent errors I had in my speech. Common mistakes that made it difficult for me to be understood in daily conversation have been eliminated. After taking the course, I have yet to have someone misunderstand what I am saying or ask me to repeat myself. That being said, you do have to work diligently on the assigned homework to reap the benefits of the program. I found it to be a fun, enjoyable experience where I learned about the science of speech pathology while eliminating problems in my accent that have bugged me in social and work situations for so long. I highly recommend this course even if you think you have minor issues with your accent. The course will pay for itself when you avoid the awkwardness of being misunderstood all the time! I had researched some local speech therapists before settling on Haya and did not find them to be as professional and organized. This course is good for work as well as social situations.
Gaurav, India
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Working with Haya was a worthwhile experience. At the beginning I was not sure about taking speech classes to focus on my accent. I thought that my accent would disappear after some years of speaking English regularly. I have been living in the United States for many years and yet I still have to repeat myself to peers, friends, and coworkers because of some mispronounced word.
Since day one, Haya made me realize the amount of mistakes I was making whenever I spoke in English. Although I had a lot of errors, Haya explained every single one of them to me, and taught me how to fix them. She knows a lot (and I mean a lot) about pronunciation techniques, different types of accents, sounds, and speech practices. The class is funny, entertaining, focused on your goals, and easy enough for you to make progress quickly. Don’t get me wrong, although the class is easy, you do have to put an effort in it and practice your sounds and pronunciation. Something that I learned was that your age does not matter (I was the youngest student, according to Haya) as long as you are committed to make a little effort, accept Haya’s advice, and concentrate on your goal of not having to stare at other people’s confused face whenever you speak. I have noticed a lot of improvement in the way I talk. I highly recommend this class!
Victor, Venezuela
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This course has taught me to pronounce better and to project my voice, and I find that communication is easier for me now. People used to often ask me to repeat myself, but that hardly ever happens anymore. I fit in better socially because I can avoid the frustration of interrupted conversation. My opinions are heard without my accent and with more respect.
It was a great decision to enroll in this course. My instructor did an outstanding job in understanding my difficulties and helping me, while at the same time making me comfortable with my accent. I highly recommend this program!
Samanmalie, Sri Lanka
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The course is excellent. The instructor designed the course for my personal needs. I started to notice changes in my pronunciation a few weeks into the course. Now I get “say that again” less and less by the day. The course is given in an informal setting and the instructor is wonderful and ready to assist students. I recommend this course to anyone who needs to improve their pronunciation and overall spoken English.
(Anonymous), Ethiopia
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I manage an enterprise sales team at a large software company and precise, one-time communications is required for effective team performance. I am a native French speaker and chose [Speech Improvement Group] for an accent correction training. I enrolled in the program with a fantastic trainer named Gabriele Nicolet.
At the end of the program, my accent and the level of comprehension of my speech have increased dramatically. The level of my confidence in communicating with my team, peers and leadership has gone through the roof. Today “full word production” and “voice projection” are my best friends. Thank you Gabriele and [SIG] for a job well done.
Louis, Haiti
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Haya is an excellent teacher for accent reduction in English within VA/MD/DC area. She has helped me in detecting wrongs and mistakes which the South Asian people generally make in pronouncing English words. She also taught me the lip and mouth techniques for pronouncing certain words and letters. I can undoubtedly say that her teaching style has greatly benefited me in reducing my accent.
Minesh, India
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It was a pleasure having Haya as a teacher. Her ability to help and teach the American English accent is outstanding. I have improved a lot with her help and patience. Since day one, she helped me realize the mistakes I was making and ever since I have been able to communicate better. Her lessons are fun, vivid and creative. I learned so much about correct pronunciation, intonation and linking sounds of American English. It is definitely a useful and worthy experience for a person like me who has struggled so long to speak correct American English. I definitely recommend this course to everybody.
Ethiel, Puerto Rico
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The Speech Improvement Group program and instructional methods have resulted in a noticeable improvement in my speech. Haya is an excellent teacher and a professional therapist. I had a strong accent. Haya was able to quickly identify my weak areas and then develop a program that directly addressed my specific areas for development. Before this course, I didn’t even realize what my specific problem areas were in my English speaking skills and had a difficult time communicating with native English speakers. They couldn’t easily understand me, and I also had a difficult time understanding some speakers. I still have some work to do, but by the end of my time in this course, I have had a noticeable improvement in my speaking and listening, and my Thai accent is gradually becoming less prominent.
At the end of each session, I received a customized assignment and an audio file with exercises focused on my problem areas. It was wonderful to take this course. I enjoyed it very much and I would definitely recommend Haya for anyone who wants to reduce their accent and who wants to speak English more clearly.
Kannika, Thailand
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