About Judy Ravin
I've always had a love of languages, and the desire to know how they work and where they come from. My grandparents had emigrated from Europe between the Wars and I was in awe of how well they'd mastered English. Learning a new language is hardly an easy task. When I moved to Paris in the 80's, it was my turn to experience, first-hand, the challenges and complexities of language acquisition. As was the case for most foreign language students, accent reduction wasn't part of the curriculum--and for the most part, it still isn't. Whether it's English, French, or any language, fluency is more than just vocabulary and grammar. It's pronunciation. Without mastering the accent, a person will always bump up against, "What? What did you say?” Not being able to convey your thoughts and feelings is lonely. Not being able to convey your professional expertise is downright debilitating.
My overseas experiences convinced me that accent training was the missing link to effective communication. Once back in the USA, I began to focus my attention on teaching American English pronunciation to business professionals. In the mid-90's, it seemed that I was one of a handful of linguists bringing this kind of communication training program to corporations, universities, and government agencies. I was presented with two immediate challenges. First, adult professionals needed solutions fast—they needed accent training to yield big results quickly so they could get on with their real work. Second, there was only one of me and the need for corporate training was enormous. I developed the Ravin Method® of rapid language learning, and its correlating English pronunciation software, to address these needs. I was halfway there…
In 2005, the opportunity to work on the second half presented itself from an inquiry from the American Association of Medical Transcriptionists. Their request? To develop a tool to help English speakers understand foreign accents. In essence, to work on the 'other side of the street': accent comprehension. My heart just about leapt right out of me! The Accent Reduction Institute got to work and we soon had both a methodology and curriculum to do just that. This patent-pending program is called Decoding Foreign Accents®, or in our lingo "Building Bridges", and is now part of soft skills training in corporate America, academia and at the US Department of Defense.
Building Bridges of communication continues to be my life-long objective and passion. Helping people fully participate in their own lives, enabling organizations to bring out the full potential of their workforce, and assisting humanitarian aid missions abroad is indescribably gratifying. When talking about our work at ARI I often joke around and say, "Here I am a linguist and I can't find the words to describe this immeasurable joy."
Current Pursuits: Sailing; American Sign Language
Books I'm Reading: The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Judy's Teaching and Training Experience
Judy Ravin has taught English pronunciation at Eastern Michigan University, Cornell University, the University of Michigan, the Defense Language Institute, and the NATO Command Center-Norfolk, VA. She is a Fellow at George Mason University-Center for Homeland Protection. Her accent reduction software is used globally at Fortune 100 multinational companies and NATO. She regularly speaks at Diversity, Healthcare, and Aviation conferences.
Past Speaking Engagements
Judy Ravin is a renowned professional speaker whose recent engagements include:
- Worldwide Aviation Training Conference (Orlando, FL)
- Oakland County Economic Diversity Council-National Conference (Detroit, MI)
- Afghanistan Pakistan Hands Program; Defense Language Institute (Washington, DC)
- Naval Postgraduate School-Leadership Development and Education for Sustained Peace program (US, Germany, Poland)
- Southern California Safety Institute's Annual International Aircraft Cabin Safety Symposium (Los Angeles, CA)
- US Air, Trade, and Technology Annual Conference (Dayton, OH)
- The American Red Cross (Detroit, MI)
- The National Association of Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference (Reno, NV)
To book Judy for your next speaking engagement, contact Corissa Niemann at 734-665-2915 or email contact@lessaccent.com