Why English Pronunciation Classes Can Help You in NYC

Some of my students do in fact live in NYC. Others are scattered throughout the world. That is one of the few good things to come out of this time of the coronavirus. Before, when I was teaching in person, I was only able to give an English class NYC. Now, since we are not meeting face to face, my students can be anywhere. I have to set my clock not just to local time, but to Tokyo time, Paris time, United Arab Emirates time, Hong Kong time, Singapore time, Warszawa time, Praha time, Roma time, Lisboa time, almost any time you can think of!

Many of my students already know quite good English. They do not always need classes in English grammar. They need English pronunciation classes. There is a big difference between accent problems and pronunciation problems. A foreigner speaking English will probably always have an accent. That is normal, and there is nothing wrong with that. Actually, in NYC, people find foreign accents very charming! However, having an accent is not the same thing as incorrect pronunciation! This is a big difference. I will explain it.

An accent is really something that is in the background of your speech.  You could almost call it a quality of the voice.  Think for a moment about the color scheme in a room.  Maybe the interior designer has decided to make the color palette autumn shades like browns and greens and yellows and reds and oranges.  That is the theme of the color palette.  That is the “mood” of the room.  That does not mean that every single thing in the room will be those exact colors.  But it means that palette will set the tone.  This is similar to an accent.  It is the “mood” of your voice.  Most Dutch people, for example, speak excellent English.  But there is a husky quality to their voice that you can hear immediately, no matter how good their English is.

But think again about that room for a moment.  What if among those browns and yellows there was a pillow on the sofa that was a bright Day-Glo hot pink?  It was so bright that it is the only thing your eye sees when you walk into the room.  That would be a mistake.  In a room, you can make it another color.  In an English class NYC, you take that word that is wrong and you show the student how to say it correctly.  This is what all good English pronunciation classes should do.

That is one of the wonders of the digital age.  All you need is a computer or a tablet and an Internet connection, and you can have an English class NYC wherever you are!   And English pronunciation classes are our specialty!