If Arabic is your native language, you may be using the Arabic
“sound” system when you speak English.
You may not have learned much about this if you studied English as a
foreign language. Some of these
differences won’t have great impact; some may give you a charming accent, but
others can interfere with your ability to communicate.
You may get feedback that listeners can’t understand you,
that you talk too fast, or that you sound harsh, or unfriendly, or too
direct. Perhaps you've gotten feedback
at work that your presentation style confuses your audience or lacks direction. These, and other problems, result from applying what you know and use successfully in Arabic, to
English, where it doesn't work as well. You are applying a set of
Arabic “sound rules” to English, which has its own sound rules.
Some common interference points between Arabic and English:
- Vowel system differences
- Consonant system differences
- Speaking pace differences
- Pitch and intonation range differences
- Grammar differences
- Word and sentence stress pattern
differences
Another potential source of interference may be that your
presentation design, pace or organization doesn’t match that of your
audience. Furthermore, intonation
and sentence stress carry layers of meaning or speaker attitudes that are not
conveyed in the words themselves.
In our work together, we will diagnose your current pronunciation
habits, define your goals, determine your skills and knowledge in target areas, and
create a curriculum that guides your accent reduction coursework and leads you
to a better sound in English.