In
one-to-one classes, students practice pronunciation and grammar at
different levels and for many different reasons. Read the student
comments on classes to see a few examples of what can be learned.
Student Comments on Classes
"I'm a
software programmer.
Everyone in my office is from another country, so I didn't take classes
because of my job. I really wanted to know why Americans don't
understand me sometimes. I have learned pronunciation rules, grammar
and also some cultural background. I fixed my pronunciation for common
things, like talking about sports. I have felt better since having some
of
my questions answered." --Nafiz, a Turkish student
"I
took English
pronunciation lessons for
3 months and my friends noticed the difference. A few people asked me
what happened to my accent--then I knew I had improved."-- Alla,
a Russian student
"I enjoy the
pronunciation and grammar lessons. I like the advanced English speaking
questions, since these have helped me to improve words and improve my
grammar in a practical way. The questions are about basic things,
like what I order at a cafe or how I might describe an interesting
person to my friend, and I can use what I learn in my life."
--Patricia, a
Spanish student
"I was fluent in English, but
I was not
pronouncing R's all the time and my TH sound was not right. Not saying
"the" correctly isn't good! I learned the correct way to say TH, and
Erica pushed me with many different ways to practice so that I would
speak TH sounds in conversations with people. My pronunciation is a lot
better." -- Wang, a Chinese student
"I
like taking
the half hour classes on skype. I wanted to improve my speaking, but I
am a university student and I am in class enough already! I meet once a
week, find out which pronunciation sounds are not good, and I practice
a lot with the website between my classes." --Lia, an Indonesian student "I
was
already fluent in
English, but I wanted to take that final step and pronounce the
language perfectly. In private classes, I learned advanced rules of the
American accent such as speaking
vowel sounds in a full, relaxed way. It took some practice
with the teacher, but in time, I was able to speak like someone born
here. It's exciting to achieve that."--Ken, a Japanese student
"I practice
business interview questions. We go through the questions one by one,
and I receive corrections on major pronunciation points and the grammar
of my speech. Work vocabulary will always be useful. Everything I learn
is of value in my life."--Li, a Korean student "I was
tired of not
being understood. I had bought English pronunciation books and worked
my way
through them. But I did not feel confident. In pronunciation classes, I
learned what I was doing well and where I needed to improve. That
helped so much. I also learned physical tips--how much to open the
mouth for some sounds and how to pause to make stressed words more
clear. Now I get complements on my speech." --Svetlana, a
Russian Student
"I like to learn American
idioms in my classes.
I can speak English well, not perfectly. When we study idioms, I
realize why I miss some things in movies or when Americans are talking.
For example,I learned 'face the music' which means 'deal with a serious
problem.' If I had heard someone say that, I would have started
thinking of music. I know I can study with a book, but I like to ask
the teacher when and why people say these things, if the idiom is
popular and things like that." -- Takeshi, a Japanese student
"I took
private classes to prepare for the TOEFL speaking test. I did
not know if classes would work because my main problem was not being
able to speak quickly in English. I learned how to introduce a topic
and then go
into detail. Actually, I was not speaking quickly because I was
concentrating on speaking English words generally, not organizing them.
So it was
great--and I did pass the test."--Elicia, a Spanish student
"I failed the
USMLE test in the area of English pronunciation. I took an English
course online
to go through the medical interview questions one by one and fix both
my pronunciation and grammar. I had a very hard time with the R sound,
but I did improve by doing exercises on the R sound everyday. Finally,
I passed the exam!"--Hong, a Chinese student
Speakmethod.com: Learn English online
with pronunciation and grammar classes. Take a Seattle English class or
online English class.
* To protect the privacy of students, names have been changed.Comments
represent thank-yous received during classes and by email.
