Accent Modification Training Materials and
Workshops for Nonnative English Speakers

"I practice (it) EVERY DAY! I am working on it even harder than my school study. I really love it and thanks for your brilliant teaching and the excellent book – RULES.

I think that taking your class might be the best decision I have made during my time in the U.S."

E. Lin, Exchange Graduate Student, Brandeis University (from National Chengchi University, Taiwan)

"…I am having continued success with RULES. My higher level clients really appreciate the complexity and authenticity of the exercises. (Me too!)"

Jill Kaufman, M.S., CCC-SLP Speech for Success

"As a foreign actor working in the US, my accent has helped me to stand out among other actors, but, as you may have guessed, it has been an obstacle most of the time. I've been speaking English for many years now, have learnt about grammar and syntax rules, but didn't know anything about pronunciation rules. I struggled for years to reduce my accent and find an accent reduction program that would work for me - this one does: it's simple, well structured, the rules are easy to follow and it’s easy to apply in my everyday activities. And so encouraging! Plus, Marjorie taught me a very valuable lesson: I don't necessarily need to reduce my accent and in a sense, lose a part of who I am, instead, I can add a standard American accent to my repertoire and turn it on when needed. So without further ado, to all of you foreigners out there, it is possible, with the RULES program, to achieve your goals."

Katarina Morhacova, M.F.A., Actor from the Czech Republic

"I really love using RULES! It's been perfect for this group and so easy to use. The extra practice materials and activities with the trainer's version are very helpful."

Ruth Leeb, SLP, Skokie, IL

"My clients who work in the healthcare field have made significant positive changes in their ability to be understood as a result of practicing with Medically Speaking and Medically Speaking RULES. The exercises are specifically designed for professionals working in the medical community. Issues that have a major impact on patient / care provider communication are addressed, positively affecting patients’ quality of healthcare."

Shelly Wallace, Associate Director, Xavier University Leadership Center, Intercultural Communication Group

"For ESL trainers who provide services to corporate multinationals, RULES is an excellent speech and pronunciation resource. Advanced level English language learners will appreciate its spiral binding and overall professional appearance as well as its thorough information on and practical application of rules for stress, intonation, and pronunciation. The accompanying CDs and power point slides add additional instructional material and practice for both auditory and visual learners.

If you have struggled, as I have, to find pronunciation texts, supplementary materials, and self-study resources appropriate for individuals in a corporate, scientific, or technical setting, consider RULES. You will like what you see and hear!"

Judy West, Principal, English That Works, Inc.

"I took private lessons with Marjorie and they were very helpful in improving my accent and pronunciation. The course workbook written by Marjorie and her colleague, Lynda Katz Wilner, is excellent in terms of contents and explaining the rules with examples. The practice exercises in the workbook are very effective. The course provided me with all I needed to know to improve my accent and it was customized for my individual needs. I am impressed with the instructor's depth of expertise in speech pathology. It was a worthwhile investment for me!!"

V.S., Director, Merchant Asset Management from India

"I'd like to express my excitement about your training materials! I have used RULES, Medically Speaking, and Medically Speaking RULES with several clients and have been very impressed with the results. One of my clients recently completed Medically Speaking successfully and insisted on purchasing Medically Speaking RULES to further enhance her speaking skills. Your programs are the best I've seen for improvement in word stress and intonation patterns with relevant, challenging vocabulary and helpful grammar activities.
Thank you for providing these effective materials."

Sandra Wroblewski, Accent Aware, Wheaton, IL

"I think Medically Speaking RULES is awesome. It is so comprehensive, and addresses all of the issues that cause nonnative English speakers trouble. It doesn't matter what your language background is – it all applies. Issues that are not obvious when you begin training are highlighted and then it becomes so apparent why you haven't been understandable when using English in your personal and professional life."

R.H., MD/Ph.D. candidate

"I purchased Medically Speaking, the Medical Speaking Inventory, and RULES at the Seattle TESOL Conference. I am writing to let you know how fantastic I think your programs are. I had been using a variety of different textbooks, but your program is far superior to all of them. I was formerly the Director of English Programs at a prestigious language school and have since quit to pursue my dreams of opening up an Accent Reduction Centre in Vancouver. Thanks for such a great product."

Jennifer Yun, Director of Learning and Development, L2Accent Reduction Centre, Vancouver

"I learned about RULES from a professional speech chat room. I have a private practice and recently designed a course for international students at a local college. I am very impressed with your materials and am looking forward to incorporating them into my classes this fall. I appreciate all of your hard work to produce such high caliber materials."

Shelley Jones, M.S. CCC-SLP, Director, Northwest Speech Center, McMinnville, OR

"I heard so many wonderful things about the RULES that I had to buy it. It's a fantastic resource, an indispensable tool for anyone who works with accented clients. It targets areas that have never been covered before in a way that's practical, clear and concise."

Judy Cavallo, Director of New York Speech Solutions

RULES is an extremely comprehensive book that I now use with all of my clients who speak English as their second language. Frequently, clients are looking for specific rules to apply to their English pronunciation and now I have a collective resource for them. The information is well organized and the exercises are practical. Several of my clients have even bought this book for their own personal libraries. Nice job, Marjorie and Lynda!

Barbara Christensen, President, Speech Advantage, LLC, Madison, WI

"If you teach American English pronunciation and have only one resource, this is it! RULES reflects a thorough understanding of the challenges faced by non-native speakers and pairs that with the most practical content I have seen in my twenty + years of accent improvement training. It's a must for anyone teaching American English pronunciation!"

Nancy Hiser, Director/Founder, SpeechCom

"RULES is the book that I have been waiting for! Finally, Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker and Lynda Katz Wilner have given us a compilation of valuable, and necessary, information for use with accent modification clients. The explanations are clear and concise, the materials for training and practice are extensive, and the information is comprehensive. I use RULES constantly to teach my students and to train my clients."

Marjorie North, M.A., CCC–SLP, Director of Speech and Language Clinical Services, Northeastern University

"The Rules for Linguistic Elements of Speech (RULES) written by Marjorie Whittaker and Lynda Katz Wilner is a powerful resource for anyone who works with clients in foreign accent modification. I have had the workbook for 2 months, and it has already become an indispensable addition to the training materials that I use frequently. Professionals in the field of communication training will benefit tremendously from the information and exercises in this valuable resource."

Deborah B. Boswell, President, Professional Speech Services of Alabama, P.C.

"I recently purchased RULES as a result of someone in the CORSPAN (Corporate Speech Pathology Network) group recommending it. I have been INCREDIBLY pleased with the book and now consider it a "Bible." I find it very helpful for teaching many of the grammatical rules. It is a really a "gift" for our corporate libraries."

Jayne Latz, Speech Consultant, Corporate Speech Solutions

"The RULES system was just great. It was very clear and helped my accent step by step. The section about speaking on the telephone was practical and I could use it immediately for my work. It has made a big difference in how people see my business. I sound more professional and I am so happy. Also, because it is helping me analyze my own English language, it is helping me understand what others say also. I am so much more confident in both my expression and comprehension of the English language. Thank you so much for RULES!"

Y.M., B.S., pharmacology, Educator from Japan

"We finished our intensive program at the end of July. RULES worked out very well for the Pronunciation class I taught. It was the first pronunciation text I had used that presented rules which actually worked when put to the test with random language samples, and the abundance of examples and targeted exercises meant that I never had to supplement from other sources (also a first). Without lists like those in RULES, it is very hard for students to produce appropriate samples to practice points."

Eitan Geft, Soka University of America English Language Program, Aliso Viejo, CA

"Within RULES, 23 critical and frequently misused grammatical, semantic, and syntactic rules of American English are addressed. Feinstein-Whittaker and Wilner have provided excellent activities to evaluate and target these idiosyncratic rules with three main areas of instruction: stress and intonation rules, pronunciation rules, and grammar rules."

Elizabeth Roberts, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, CORSPAN Treasurer, Professional Image Consultant Speech Services

"Although titled 'Rules', Feinstein-Whittaker and Katz Wilner's book offers many exercises that teachers can use in designing learning activities. These include setting a monthly schedule, making appointments, ordering from a menu, and a particularly authentic context, speaking on the telephone. In all, a treasure trove of valuable exercises is presented to the ESL teacher, who can either use these as-is, or design them into his or her classroom activities."

Charles Duquette, Adjunct Professor of TESOL, Northern Virginia Community College