Myth #1 – You can change your pronunciation without the help of a native speaker.
The Truth- You must work one on one with a native English speech professional to help you hear new sounds, intonation, and speech rhythm.
Myth #2 – Watching and listening to DVDs, MP3s, and YouTube videos will change your accent.
The Truth- Materials must be interactive. This teaches self-assessment, which develops your listening perception. You must hear before you can imitate.
Myth #3 – A single program is effective for everyone.
The Truth- Everyone’s pronunciation is unique, only a customized course will be effective. You must start with a pre-comprehensive assessment of your pronunciation. The results drive the curriculum. At the end of the course, a post-assessment should be conducted to measure results and let you know what to keep practicing.
Myth #4 – If you work hard, you will sound like a native speaker.
The Truth- You cannot sound like a native speaker in a second language unless you started hearing the language before six years of age. The goal of accent reduction is to improve your communication so that there is no hindrance to your listening audience. As a result you will become more confident every time you speak English. A quality accent reduction program will offer a guarantee that you will improve your errors by at least 50%.
Myth #5 – You can learn effectively online using only Skype.
The Truth- An online course should incorporate specialty training functions and quality resources for student. This is why Vireo uses WebEx™, a training platform that allows instructors and students to share and work with materials in various formats.
