7 Weeks to a Better American Accent for Native Mandarin Speakers - volume 1 (ePub)

The Author, an experienced Speech and Hearing professional, originally developed the materials while working with her Native Chinese students. She discovered her students had studied English in mainland China, but when they arrived to the United States, the students realized that Americans spoke very differently. Here's a quote from one of the students, "I thought I was good when I left China for the United States to start my career. I had mastered all the lessons in my classes and was confident until the day I first arrived to the United States. When I got off the airplane, I had a hard time understanding the words that were spoken. The words sounded so fast and so overwhelming to me." Studying Chinese to English and mastering the American Accent requires patience. Taking classes to learn English conversation is manageable with the right program.

According to the Author, changing some of your old habits takes time and dedication, but as you start learning you will begin to sound more natural and the pronunciation becomes easier. There are several phases which will take place in this process. Initially, you will learn new sounds and get familiar with the rhythm and flow of speech. The initial phase of learning to hear new sounds and to discriminate which English sounds are difficult is critical. Learning how to hear these sounds correctly will help you tremendously with your English pronunciation. After the initial phase, you will learn how to apply these principles in words, short phrases, and gradually sentences. Finally, as you continue these new habits will start to automatically transfer in your everyday speech.

7 weeks to a Better American accent breaks down the basics of American stress patterns, vowels, consonants, and idiomatic expressions in a step-by-step model that allows the user to work at his or her own pace in developing a competent command of American English. Upon successful completion of the seven week program, Native Chinese speakers will have internalized a foundation of basic tools to help them improve business relations, personal interactions, and day to day understanding of American English. Here's the information that is contained in the first volume:

1. How to Master Intonation (rhythm and flow) of the American English language

2. How to correctly pronounce American consonants and vowels

3. Learn top methods to improve voice projection

4. Perfect the use of stress patterns in words

5. Top methods for vocabulary building

6. Discover secrets of using American idiomatic expressions

7. Tips on speaking more spontaneously