If Chinese is your native language, you may be using the Chinese “sound” system when you speak English AND when you listen to it.  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 but some cause significant problems for you.

You may have as much trouble understanding American English speakers as they have understanding you.  This is because the basic phonology, or sound system, of Chinese is quite different from English.  There are sounds made in English that have no similar sound in Chinese, so when you speak in English, you may not use those consonants because your brain, which is thinking in Chinese, doesn't recognize the need for them.  There are other English sounds that appear similar to Chinese sounds, but in fact have a very different pronunciation, resulting in mispronounced English words.   

You are applying a set of Chinese “sound rules” to English, which has its own sound rules.  Chinese is tonal, so your ear is wonderfully tuned to changes in pitch levels.  However, since tone does not change the literal meaning of a word in English (as it does in Chinese), you may ignore it in English.  You shouldn't.  Whereas, Chinese tone affects each word, English tone affects ideas. intonation and sentence stress carry changes of meaning, or speaker attitudes, which are not conveyed literally in the words.  It's very important to learn how to use and interpret tone in English.

Some common interference points between Chinese and English:

• Vowel system differences
  
• Consonant system differences
  
• Voicing of sounds
  
• Initial consonant clusters
  
• Rhythm and stress differences
  
• Pitch and intonation range differences
• Word and sentence stress pattern differences
• Liaisons vs. breaks between words
  

The above points are specific to sound production inside the mouth, however another potential source of interference may be that your presentation design, pace or organization doesn’t match the needs of your listening audience. 

In our work together, we will diagnose your current pronunciation habits, define our 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.