Accent reduction is a type of speech and language training that aims to assist native and non-native speakers of English to improve their pronunciation and intonation to allow them to be understood easily and build their confidence.
This type of training is often used as a way of professional development, allowing professionals to build upon their English skills for ease of communication between clients.
Australia is a very multicultural country meaning that there are people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe living here.
Because of this, you're likely to hear a large variety of accents when you're out and about in Australia - Both from immigrants who have English as their second language, and from Australian's who have accents ranging from clear to quite broad.
If you have a strong accent yourself and feel like you could benefit in your personal or professional life from taking accent reduction lessons, read on to learn more about taking accent courses and how much you should budget for it.
If you also need some general support with learning the English language, discover more about online ESOL lessons.
Reasons Why You Might Want Accent Reduction Classes
Just because accent classes are available to you doesn't mean that you necessarily need them. In fact, nobody really needs to take accent reduction lessons. An important thing to remember before you commit to a course is that there is no true Australian accent!
If you are Australian, you have an Australian accent - simple as that!
You should never feel pressured into changing the way you talk to fit in with others; Your accent might be a connection to your culture or ancestry, and it's important to hold on to these parts of your personality.
However, reducing your accent can be beneficial to many people both personally and professionally, so it's up to you to decide if it is something that would make a positive impact on your life.
There are a few different reasons why someone might endeavour to modify or reduce their accent, here are some of them:
- Professional life - Benefits to communicating with colleagues and clients
- Confidence - To feel more comfortable talking in a group or public speaking
- Personal life - To be understood clearly by everyone on a daily basis
- Bad experiences - Unfortunately some people in Australia still hold prejudices about the way others talk, accent modification can make this a very rare experience for you
Of course, everyone is different and you might have your own reasons for seeking out this training. Whether or not you make good progress in your lessons and reach your goals can also depend on a number of reasons:
- Your motivation to learn
- Your style of learning
- How often do you practice or revise
- Your level of proficiency in English before you begin
Consider your reasons for wanting to start an English speaking course, and then think about how the results would benefit you. After that, another important thing to weigh up is your budget.
The Cost of Taking an Accent Reduction Course
As accent courses aren't specifically academic or offered at university, you will usually need a training provider or private tutor to work and study with near your location.
You might also consider online courses so you aren't limited to one city in Australia, or you could even locate a private speech pathologist who is offering their services in the area.
Because of the different options, it's hard to pin down a price for accent reduction training - But can you really put a price on something that can truly make a positive difference to your confidence and communication skills?
Let's take a look at some of the options available for you to get started, to give you an idea of how much each pathway might cost you.
Taking a Course With a Training Institute
Throughout Australia, there are many different training institutes both online and in-person that can teach you how to get started on your accent modification and you might consider taking a course with them. Let's look at a couple of them.
Ear and Speak
This institute is a well renowned linguistic consultancy company based in Melbourne CBD on Collins Street. With years of experience, Ear and Speak aims to let people feel comfortable and confident in speaking English, for whatever context they need it.
This means that your sessions with this institute will be tailored to your specific needs and goals, as well as your current proficiency in pronunciation and intonation of English.
They mention on their website that:
"Our focus is on helping you speak clearly in the local context. (An Australian accent is not our main focus... unless it’s your goal.)"
If this sounds like it could be for you, this institute offers in-person hour long sessions every day of the week. The price for individuals on weekdays is $142 per session, or $129 per session if you book at least three. At weekends the price is $152 per session or $139 for at least three.
Speak More Clearly
This is an online, mostly self-learnt accent reduction program created by a speech pathologist with 35 years of experience.
Speak More Clearly is a self-taught and paced course that charges a monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription fee for access to over 35 video lessons, over 65 audio lessons, and many other resources.
A monthly subscription fee will cost you around $30, and will give you access to most of the content - but you will only gain access to module 2 of the course after 6 weeks of studying.
A quarterly subscription would cost you about $75 for three months, giving you access to all modules immediately, as well as some extra resources and activities.
Finally, the yearly subscription would cost around $265 for the 12 months. This choice gives you access to all of the course content on offer, including a bonus module on difficult to pronounce English words, and a live instructor leads online class each month.
With the yearly subscription, there is a 90 day money-back guarantee to all subscribers. If the course isn't for you and you get your money back, Speak More Clearly will let you keep the bonus module on difficult pronunciation as a gift.
Working With a Private Superprof Tutor
Another option to consider if you don't want to immediately commit to a full course is to work with a private speech teacher. At Superprof, we work with thousands of tutors all over Australia who are ready and willing to support students to achieve their goals in any subject they require - This includes the English language and accent reduction.
Working with a private tutor can be a cost-effective and flexible way to reach your goals and better your English skills in a comfortable environment. Let's pick a couple of tutors at random to show you an example of what's on offer.
Andrea - Toowong
Andrea is an English language and IELTS teacher based in Toowong, a suburb of Brisbane. She offers her classes both in-person and online, so no matter where you live in Australia, you can study alongside Andrea!
Rated at 5 stars from previous students' reviews, Andrea is an ambassador of Superprof, making her one of our best tutors in her subject. This means that her profile and qualifications have been verified, and consistently good reviews have cemented Andrea as a professional and caring teacher.
For an hour long in-person session with Andrea, you can expect to pay $24, with an added $10 travel fee if you wish to study with her at your own home. Andrea's online lessons cost $20 per hour.
Hon - Gold Coast
Hon is another English language tutor with over ten years of experience in teaching English to students of all ages, backgrounds, and fluency levels.
Hon aims to allow people to use English confidently, prepare for any exams they might have coming up, and to assist people with their pronunciation and accent modification.
Again, her profile and qualifications have been verified and previous students' reviews have left her with a 5 star rating.
Hon charges $60 dollars an hour for her in-person lessons (plus a $10 travel fee), with discounts for booking 5 or 10 lessons at a time. Online classes are $50 per hour and are available to anyone in Australia.
Find English classes Sydney here on Superprof.
Help Available From Speech Pathologists
Another choice you have is to seek out a private speech pathologist or therapist in your locality, and see if they offer sessions to individuals to assist with accent reduction or modification.
Viva speech pathology in Perth is one example of this. They are an adult speech pathology company that offers services in accent reduction and modification, lisps, stutters, and all things to do with your voice.
You can either approach a speech pathologist directly or get a referral letter from your GP before going in for a consult. However, it's very hard to say how much this would cost as each person will be different and may require different levels of care and therapy.
Whichever path you decide to take in your journey towards speaking clearly and being understood, be sure to do some research and ensure that the course you choose is right for you.
Make sure to study in your own time and soon you will see the results you are looking for!
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