Packard Communications

I’ve participated in Darren’s (Packard Communications) classes for over a year now, and I can tell you why I keep coming back.
Improving your accent to make you more understandable to native speakers can be a long and difficult process. When I moved to the US, I was fairly confident in my ability to read, write and understand English. What I did not realize is that being understood by my peers in a professional environment was a different issue altogether. I didn’t even know what I was doing wrong; I only knew that people struggled to understand what I was saying. I was too literal in the way I spoke: I learned English mostly by reading it, but I had no idea how the words were supposed to sound, and I used the sounds from my native language.
By participating in Packard Communications’ different classes (the free Meetups, the affordable PCC classes, and the private, intensive sessions) I learned what an accent is, what are the sounds in the English language, how to identify them and how to pronounce them. In particular, in the private classes I’ve received direct feedback from the teacher regarding which are the sounds that I pronounce differently, and how to pronounce them properly so that people will understand me.
These classes, and more importantly, the resources, materials and instructions that I’ve received to continue practicing and improving outside the classroom have been invaluable in helping me improve my communication skills in English.
If you live in the Portland area, this is absolutely the best resource to improve your accent. Try the free classes first and decide if it works for you; I heartily recommend them. Then you can move to PCC or a private class for more specific feedback.

The Intensive Accent Reduction really is the best choice for people who need to improve not only the pronunciation but also the speaking. The class is only 10 weeks long and you will go through all vowels, consonants, and communication skills to be better understood in English.
Darren is the instructor of the class who is a professional and has a lot of experience in speaking therapy. He knows your weakness after hearing the first time you speak. He will repeat whatever you don’t understand and help you step by step to go through your trouble. There is only 5 students in the class, so you will help a lot of chance to speak and improve your English.

The Intensive Accent Reduction class is a 10 week class with 5 people. It helped me reduce my accent and improve my speaking skill.
Darren is a very good teacher. He is willing to answer you with any questions you have. My classmates are also very nice. We helped each other correct our pronunciation and give feedback to one another. The size of the class is pretty small, so we got a lot of things from the instructor.
This class not only teaches me how to pronounce different words in English correct, but also helps me become a better speaker among my friends, my classmates at Portland State University, and other people in the US. I feel more confident. :)
I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who wants to improve their pronunciation and reduce their accent. !!!
— Britney