The Accent Advantage

Who are those people looking for an individualized program to correct their English speaking accent? My guess is that they were born and grew up in a foreign country, having received higher education in their home country before coming to the US in their 20s and 30s, then find their accent as a huge impediment in their career advancement. If you are one of those people, I would highly recommend you taking Ms. Caryl Benning’s Accent Advantage program.
Here is my experience of the 15-​week program from Sep-​Dec 2012. The first class was a diagnostic assessment, from which Caryl identified the problems of my pronunciation and outlined an individualized syllabus of my course. In the following 13 weeks, Caryl guided me through the fundamentals of speaking US English, such as vowels, consonants and intonations, and corrected my problems in each of these fundamentals. Each class focused on different problems Caryl had spotted in the first class, and Caryl modified the syllabus as she found new problems that needed to be corrected and some problems being overcome as the program progressed. Caryl also prepared two classes with materials specifically designed on the basis of my background so that I could use them in my professional work. The last class of the program was a reassessment and Caryl gave me a final list of problems for my future practice and improvement.
I also like to share some of my thoughts of the program.
First, I believe that Caryl did a great job to point out an array of accent problems in my speaking that I had mostly never been aware of. I was once quite surprised how Caryl could tell the nuanced difference in pronouncing «th» and «s». It seems to be difficult for us that speak English as our second language to tell the difference. But obviously native speakers can easily detect the difference and find it confusing. As a speech & language pathologist, Caryl not only pointed out the problems, but also provided a solution to correct them.
Finding out the problem is just the first step, and how much one gains from the program largely depends on the time and effort he/​she spends after the class. It is utterly unrealistic expectation that one can correct his/​her accent that has been developed for years solely relies on the 15-​week, one hour/​week program. Caryl recorded each class so that I could review it after class. At the end of each class, Carly handed out some homework, some materials for me to practice after the class. Caryl also directed me to some online resources that could help me to learn speaking English. And of course, I tried hard to use what I learned from the class in my everyday life. My experience is that it is all these after class efforts that eventually made the huge difference.
By emphasizing my effort of after-​class practice, I do not mean to diminish the importance of Caryl’s lessons. Probably everyone can, and has practiced on their own by following some materials about English speaking. But practice without being aware of one’s problem can only aggravate one’s accent. The value of Caryl’s program is to help you to find your own way to practice and correct your accent. Practice DOES NOT make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
And lastly, I think the tuition of the program, considering the one-​on-​one setting, is quite reasonable. And now the program finished, I believe that the program is definitely worth the money. So if you are interested in the program, send Caryl an email and take an assessment class, then decide whether you want to take the program. Also expect a waiting list as I could see Caryl’s current schedule is quite full.
Oral communication skill is no doubt the biggest hurdle for an immigrant. Here in Silicon Valley, many immigrants have superb science or tech background, but the potential progress of their professional career is greatly compromised by their accent and inarticulateness. With Caryl’s help combined with your hard work, you will definitely be surprised how much you can improve your English speaking in just 15 weeks!

Carol is very nice at answering my questions. It is just a bumper that I have to be on the waitlist for couple months.
$ 200+ just on the assessment test worries me.

I took 15 weeks course of accent reduction in March-​July of 2011 from Caryl Benning and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to reduce their accent either for working purposes or self-​improvement. Caryl has the individual tactics that directed towards your needs. I was amazed by comparing the first lesson recording with the last lesson how my accent has improved. Also, I want to point that this type of training is almost impossible in the country where you have come from because first of all, for most of the teachers English is the second language and even if they are native speakers they don’t have the techniques that Caryl can offer.
A++++++