Can someone really learn a well educated English accent and so change the way people perceive them?
Yes they can.
I currently have a delightful Russian student, who came to me speaking in an accent that sounded rather like a cocktail of the Midlands, mixed with the East End of London and grounded in strong Russian.
He now sounds as if he attended Charterhouse, one of our most prestigious private schools in the country!
…or possibly Eton, but at the very least Marlborough!
Yes it is possible and this is why I love teaching my students.
Miracles do seem to happen: it really is possible TO LEARN a well educated English accent.
It is about methodically changing, in a very logical and scientific way, how you use your lips, tongue, jaw and facial muscles: and it works, every time.
Then you have to practice.
Achieving these changes takes as much effort as learning a new instrument, or learning a new sport: this is a physical training and you cannot rely on your mind memory – you have to do the movements so that you create physical memory.
But if you do your daily practice you will begin to sound like Alex.
He now sounds as if he went to one of the top British private schools and was then educated at Oxford or Cambridge.
This has had huge implications on his social advantages and career.
Sounding well educated, illicits trust and confidence in employers and clients, makes you sound better informed, thus more useful to everyone around you.
Sounding well educated opens doors and provides you with a greater income.
… this link will take you to his witness statement of his experience of studying with me.
Thanks for reading 🙂