by Judy Ravin | May 24, 2023 | Accent Comprehension, Diversity
We tend to think about listening as a passive experience, and it certainly can be. It’s a choice. When we choose to listen in ways that actively invite participation, others share more. This translates into greater chances of moving our conversations forward and...
by Judy Ravin | Jan 8, 2020 | Accent Comprehension, Accent Reduction Classes, Communication Skills, Inclusion
As we usher in 2020, I’d like to suggest a technique that makes communication more effective and stress-free. It has to do with replacing a “go-to” way of pronouncing common English phrases, called “connected speech”, with more intentional pronunciation.“Connected...
by Judy Ravin | Apr 2, 2019 | Accent Acquisition
An accent coach may tell you that another way to think about “accent reduction” is “accent acquisition”, learning the articulation techniques to produce the sounds that differ from other languages. As with all languages, American English is characterized by common...
by Judy Ravin | Feb 5, 2019 | Accent Reduction
Practice for Success Accent reduction is fundamentally about acquiring new pronunciation patterns. This involves changing the muscle memory of the mouth so that new speech patterns become “second nature”. Results are most successful with a firm commitment to practice...
by Judy Ravin | Sep 12, 2018 | Accent Modification, Accent Reduction
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Accent reduction, also known as accent modification and accent neutralization, is the process of learning how to pronounce the sounds of any given language. In the United States,...
by Judy Ravin | May 21, 2018 | Communication Skills, Corporate Training, Diversity, Immigration
For many, the term “talent gap” conjures up an image of rows of empty seats in IT, engineering, and manufacturing. But the talent gap is also felt in healthcare. With the high cost of medical school, and the attractive salaries of physicians that specialize, the U.S....
by Judy Ravin | Mar 5, 2018 | Accent Reduction
Accent Reduction: Giving Up or Taking On? “Cultural competencies” has become a high priority for people in talent and learning development. From Fortune 500 companies to NATO, it’s widely understood that embracing diverse, multicultural norms helps organizations...
by Judy Ravin | Oct 22, 2017 | Language Acquisition
Practice Makes Permanent I have some wonderful news…we’re made to learn. In fact, learning is the most natural thing for humans to do. Whether it’s learning to solve a math problem or learning to speak a foreign language, learning is to humans like flying is to birds....
by Judy Ravin | Jun 13, 2017 | American Pronunciation, English Spelling
Just a couple of weeks ago ABC News came out with an updated list, state-by-state, of America’s most misspelled words. Our faculty had great fun clicking on each other’s respective home state and seeing how our kinfolk ranked. It was pretty comical. Even more so was...
by Judy Ravin | Feb 22, 2016 | Accent Comprehension
“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – hit song by The Animals We’ve long known that chimpanzees communicate with ‘words’ –specific sounds to signify specific objects. What’s new, however, is the discovery that chimps have accents that depend on where they live and...
by Judy Ravin | Oct 13, 2012 | Accent Modification, American Accent, American Accent Training, American Pronunciation, British Accent, British English, Dialect, Globalization
Great Britain and America: “Two Countries Separated by a Common Language” -Oscar Wilde Last month I spoke at the 2012 NATO eLearning Conference where delegates from member nations discussed ‘best practices’ for online learning. My presentation, “Delivering Training to...
by Judy Ravin | Aug 31, 2012 | Communication Skills, Corporate Training, English as a Second Language
Who would’ve thought that learning a second language could help in making better business decisions? According to Boaz Keysar and his team of scientists at the University of Chicago, new research shows that bilingualism, literally, pays off. Through a series of...
by Judy Ravin | Aug 7, 2012 | Accent Acquisition, American Pronunciation, British Accent, Globalization, Language Acquisition
We’re halfway into the 2012 Summer Olympics and the U.S. athletes have certainly done America proud. Take Michael Phelps, honoring the U.S. with his 18th gold medal, Gabby Douglas standing proud and bemedaled on the award stand, and 17-year-old boxer Claressa Shields...
by Judy Ravin | Jul 13, 2012 | American Accent Training, Communication Skills, Corporate Training, Diversity, Professional Development Training
I had a wake-up call last week while attending the Conference Board’s 2012 Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Conference in Chicago. The two day event included informative sessions led by nearly every contingent of the American workforce. Except one. ...
by Judy Ravin | Apr 26, 2012 | Accent Comprehension, Corporate Training, Heavy Accent, Immigration
It’s been almost seven years since I received our first inquiry from the American Association of Medical Transcriptionists (AAMT). These are the folks who listen to dictations by physicians and nurses (who, I came to learn, are fondly referred to as...
