Accent

Reduction
Training
 Voice and Accent - A Comprehensive Toolkit

Review

• Post Assessment &

Feedback and Action
plan
Implementation

Classroom :

• Establish program objectives

Evaluation
• Consonant & Vowel Sounds

• Pronunciation
• Analyze the data
• Intonation

Pre assessment • Listening Skills

• Pre assessment of the

participants ‘Entry Level’

Introduction

• Ice breaker

• Expectations of the
training program

• Purpose
INTRODUCTION
 Voice and Accent Unit 1

What Purpose/ Why How

 Ice Breakers  The day the training begins is usually the  The ice breakers need to be used with the
2nd day for them. They need to break out class per the instructions in the
of their shell and start interacting with attachment.
each other to help build rapport.

Process Template:
Ice Breakers

Sample

SHARE A SECRET

Ice breakers This is a good ice breaker for Day 2 in a session where the
with participants hardly know each other.Would work very well with a New
instructions Hire group.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Pass around a plate full of peanuts or Candy mid way through the session and encourage them to pick up
as many as they want.. Make sure you pick up a few as well.
 Voice and Accent Unit 1

What Purpose/ Why How

 Introduction  To discuss the objectives of the program  Checking their expectations. Capturing them
and the game plan for the training on a Flip chart.
sessions.  Taking them through a Communication
 To encourage the participants to Dissection/Breakdown
participate and improve their speech  Communication Tree
pattern.
 To motivate to learn

Process Template:  Linking the above to their Expectations.

 Desensitization: Identity Crisis.
 Structure of training: MID Path
Objectives

 Defining Accent and Global English.

 An overview of what we will cover in the
training.
 Laying ground rules for the training.
 Assessing the recordings, Pre-Training.

Structure of training: MID Path

Introduction – Our Training is based on the following structure:

MOTIVATION … You can lead a horse to water BUT…

Speech patterns are old, old habits we have engraved in our biological and psychological systems. To change
these patterns requires effort and dedication and skill. However the greatest factor influencing this change, is an
inner motivation from the individual to really make it happen.

Without this motivation, a trainer can give a million techniques, but they will not work. The individual is
responsible for WANTING his/her speech to improve, only then will the attention and effort follow, leading to
mastery of the skill.
 Voice and Accent Unit 1

Purpose/ Why How

 Pre Assessment  To understand the improvement areasWhat for  Recording of (a) Free Speech
the trainees so that training inputs are  Reading the passage Shrill Girls
tailored to their individual needs.  Assess the reading & recording on the
parameters in the assessment sheet.

Process Template:
The English Language
Assessment Sheet

Sample

S.No. PARAMETERS Fit For Floor Fit For Training Not Fit for Floor
Parameters 1. The specialist says correct consonant sounds
2. The specialist uses correct long and short vowel sounds

Rating
 Voice and Accent Unit 2

What Purpose/ Why How

 Relaxation  In order to incorporate changes in our  Take everyone through the Relaxation
pattern of speech we work on the smaller Exercise in a quiet room with the lights
muscles of the mouth like the lip, tongue dimmed.
etc.. This also means that we need to let
go of the stress in the larger muscles.
 Relaxation also focuses on getting rid of
the mental stress that we carry with us, so
that we gain confidence with the new
things we learn.

Process Template:
Relaxation Exercise

Sample

INSTRUCTIONS:
Step by step
procedure for the
1. Unfold your arms and legs. Do not slouch or be too stiff.
Relaxation Exercise.
2. Sit back in your chair; adjust the height of the chair to your requirement.
 Voice and Accent Unit 2

What Purpose/ Why How

 Formation of Speech  To acquaint ourselves with the scientific  What is a Sound?

process of the formation of sound and  What is Voice?
Voice.  Explain the difference between Sound
and Voice.
 Explain the biological process.
 Voice is formed on the out breath, explain
using examples.

 Breath Control  The English language works on a 10 beat  Practicing exhaling with an open mouth.
rhythm as opposed to the 4 beat rhythm all  Practicing the sound ‘f ’ on the out breath.
the Indian languages follow.  Stretching the sound from 4 to a
 This makes the English sentences longer , maximum of 20 seconds/counts.
and because we are used to a 4 beat, we
tend to pause at the wrong places leading
the listener to believe that they are not
speaking to a native English speaker. Since
we know that the Voice is formed on the
out breath it is important that we are able to
control it.
CONSONANTS
 Voice and Accent Unit 2

What Purpose/ Why How

 Consonant Sounds.  Clarity in the consonant sounds drives
clarity in speech.
 The purpose of this document is to
introduce the consonant sounds used in
Global English and remove MTI from the
speech.
 Definition of consonants. How are they
formed.
 Importance of studying Consonants.
 Sounds vs. Letters.
 Types of consonants, Voiced and
Unvoiced- definition.

Process Template:
Consonant Sounds

Sample
Unvoiced Voiced
p b
Types of Consonants
f v
with examples
s z
t d
sh zh
 Voice and Accent Unit 2

What Purpose/ Why How

 Places of articulation of consonants  Empowerment:  The technique for producing individual

Understanding the technique of creating a consonant sounds.
sound empowers the trainee to create the  Practicing individual sounds with each
same sound in new words, independent of trainee.
the trainer.  Practicing the technique with Examples.
 Consonant Drill
 Target Sound Practice.
Process Template: Technique
to the formation of sounds

 Application in passages.

Sample

Target Sound Practice

1. Take the sound you want to work on. For eg. W

2. Once you have explained the technique of creating the sound, have them
create the sound in slow motion. Eg. Round the lips, create an ‘oooo’ and
SLOWLY move to ‘a’.

3. Make them implement the sound in isolation repeatedly.

 Voice and Accent Unit 2

What Purpose/ Why How

 Focus on Vs and Ws  Vs and Ws are sounds that are usually  Technique of the formation of the sound.
confused by an average Indian speaker.  Individual sound practice.
 To move towards global comprehensibility  Examples with V’s and W’s in different
it is important that we understand this position in a word.
difference and incorporate it in our speech.  Word practice.
 Sentences for practice.
 Application in passages
 Target sound Practice as homework.
Process Template:
W’s V’s Passages

Sample Practice sound ‘ V’ Practice sound ‘W’

Vaccine Divide Cave Waddle Brewery Brew
Practice words with
V and W ‘s in Valuable Driver Connive Wafer Coward Cow
Primary, Middle
Value Environment Cove Waffle Cower Meadow
and Final position
Valve Envision Dive Wag Dwell Sew

THE RIVER VALLEY

Passages for ‘V’
sound practice The river valley has always been home to an unrivaled variety and wonderful diversity of wildlife,
including voles and vixens.

Passages for ‘W’ THE BOOKSHOP

sound practice Every Wednesday, William works at the village bookshop. He waits on customers, collects orders,
records purchase details and operates the computer.
 Voice and Accent Unit 2

What Purpose/ Why How

 Focus on Ls and Rs  The Global ‘L’ and ‘R’ differ from the Indian
‘L’ and ‘R’ sounds in terms of articulation.
 Understanding this difference and seeing
how it is translated in speech, will assist us
in understanding the American client better.
Process Template:
L’s R’s
 Introduction to the American R and
formation.
 Introduction to the American L and its
formation
 Introduction to the schwa sound and its’
effect on speech.
 Practicing words with ‘L’ in the tertiary
position.
 Discussing how ‘R’ is spoken differently in
British and American accents. Practicing
words using ‘R’:
In American it is always curled.
In British it is curled only in the beginning
and sometimes in the middle of the word.
(Raise, praise, but not in pardon) It is
eliminated in the tertiary position (Water)
In the Indian accent, it is always rolled like a
running rrrr.

Sample Initial Medial Final

Practice ‘L’ sounds
Liar Milk Fill
Application at the beginning,
middle and at the end of Land Slip Full
each word.

Practice ‘R’ sounds

Initial Medial Final
Application at the beginning,
Ray Grow Here
middle and at the end of
each word. Rifle Word Share
 Voice and Accent Unit 2

What Purpose/ Why How

 Passages for practice
 Once we are familiar with the correct
sounds we should be able to apply them in
our spoken English.
 We begin with the application in simple
sentences, moving on to passages
Process Template:
Patter Exercises Passages
 A passage is read out by each trainee. It
can also be given as homework.
 In both cases, the target sound as well as
the other sounds are checked by the
trainer for correction.
 Checking for Breath Control and pauses
will also assess the rhythm in which they
speak : 4 beat or 10 beat.
 Pronunciation is checked and the trainee
is provided with corrective feedback.

Sample

1. A Big blue badly bleeding blister.

Read out each sentence
2. Stop touching Ted’s toes.
keeping in mind the
correct consonant sound. 3. The dainty dancers danced in the dark.
4. Seven slick slimy snakes slowly sliding southwards.

On dark nights, I sometimes dream of little dwarfs who like

Check consonant sounds to ride through the woods and along country roads on tiny
‘t’, ‘d’ and word ends. donkeys. On cold stabbing nights they try to invert riddles
to the sound of the wind.
VOWELS
 Voice and Accent Unit 3

What Purpose/ Why How

 Vowel Sounds  Vowels are what convey emotion in our  Definition of vowels.
speech. As English is a secondary  Importance of vowels
language for us, we are unable to convey  Sounds vs. Letters
emotions in English.  Types of Vowels.
 Openness of sounds adds clarity to our
speech. This opens doors of
communication.

Process Template:
Vowels

Sample

VOWELS:
Vowels : Vowel sounds are produced by the uninterrupted flow of breath. These sounds
carry emotion and give due weight to a word.

LIP VOWELS are those vowel sounds that are crafted by the shaping of the
Types lips.
Aa aw oh oo
 Voice and Accent Unit 3

What Purpose/ Why How

 Types of Vowels  Showing trainees how to create the varying  Practice the formation of the Lip Vowels.
shades of vowels, enables them to  Listen individually.
incorporate this skill into their speech.  Support with Examples.
 Practice the formation of Tongue Vowels.
 Listen individually.
 Support with examples.
 Vowel Chant. Transitioning Lip Vowels and
Process Template: then the Tongue Vowels in one breath.
The Powers Application  Application of this exercise in language.
 Group practice.
 Stretching each sound to a maximum of 12
seconds.
 Application in poem “The Powers”

Sample

Check on the THE Powers whose name and shape no living creature knows
openness of vowels
Have pulled the Immortal Rose;

Application of Ae ow aw I ay e oo oh
Vowel sounds
At Out Ought I’d Ate Eat Ooze Own
 Voice and Accent Unit 3

What Purpose/ Why How

 Shades of Vowels  It gives us a comprehensive understanding  What are Shades of Vowels.

of the varying vowel sounds used in Global  Practice each sound, supported with
English. examples.
 Apart from the basic sounds there are 92  Group practice.
shades existent in the English language.  Exercise: Take them through the “e” and
They are nothing but the shorter versions “ae” sentences.
of the basic sounds. This addresses and  Exercise: Take them through the “I” and
checks the Long and Short Vowel “ee” sentences.
problem.

Process Template:
Shades of Vowels

Sample
Look Lord Lout
My Lord, look at this lout.

Combination of various oo ay ee
Consonants with different
Moon Mane Mean
shades of vowels in words
and sentences. Pool Pain Peep

LED LAD He led the lad home.

SET SAT Anna sat down after losing the first set.
IT EAT I eat it.
DID DEED He did the deed
 Voice and Accent Unit 3

What Purpose/ Why How

 Consonant - Vowels combinations
 A word is formed by combining vowels and
consonants in various ways.
 Once we know how consonants and vowels
are formed and have worked on them in
isolation, we are ready to combine these
and practice them leading us closer to
effective speaking.
Process Template:
Consonant Clusters
 Combine all vowels with a single
consonant. Build words with that to
support the use of this exercise.
 Practice the consonant clusters with the
trainees.
 Give examples of the consonant clusters
from the poem: “The Powers”.
 Keep checking individually as well.
 Group Exercise: They can form words
using the consonant clusters and give you
a list by the next day.
 The poem: “Fear No More” focuses on
Breath Control. Begin by reading one line
in one breath gradually moving to a
stanza in breath ensuring the correct
consonant and vowel sounds, apart from
breath control.

Sample
Oo oh aw ah ay ee ow i
Placement of consonants after the ItI OOT OHT AWT AHT AYT EET OWT ITE
vowels sound.
ImI OOM OHM AWM AHM AYM EEM OWM IME

Oo oh aw ah ay ee ow i
Placement of the Vowels after the
IdI DOO DOH DAW DAH DAY DEE DOW DI
Consonants sound.
ItI TOO TOH TAW TAH TAY TEE TOW TI

Oo oh aw ah ay ee ow i
Combination of 2 unvoiced or 2
voiced consonants after the vowel ImI&IdI OOMD OHMD AWMD AHMD AYMD EEMD OWMD IMD
sound.
IkI&ItI OOKT OHKT AWKT AHKT AYKT EEKT OWKT IKT
 Voice and Accent Unit 3

What Purpose/ Why How

 Diphthongs  In English, sometimes one vowel letter may  Listing the basic diphthongs.
denote 2 different vowel sounds together.  Check for understanding.
 Words for Practice.
 Using them in Sentences .
 The “ei” and “aei” difference. Explain
using the Berlin Wall exercise.
 Quiz individually to check for
Process Template: understanding of the sounds.
Diphthongs Berlin Wall

Sample

A combination of 2 vowels /ay/ as in “eight” = /e/ + /i/

forming a diphthong
/oi/ as in “oil” = /aw/ =/i/

Air Ear
Combining the consonants
IbI Bare, Bear, Blare Bear
with the two sounds to check
the difference in meaning. IpI Pare, Pair, Pear Peer, Pier
 Voice and Accent Unit 3

What Purpose/ Why How

Rhyming Vowels  Often we confuse the pronunciation in  Create a word list on the board using the
basic words that are either spelt the same sounds “oo” and “ew”.
or pronounced alike.  Add on the columns for ”ow” and “o”
 This exercise also helps build vocabulary. sounds.
 Practice with the class.
 Quiz the trainees on the sounds of the
words.
 Read out the poem “Fear no More” .
 Begin with each trainee reading out one
Process Template: line at a time followed by 2 lines in 1
Rhyming Vowels Fear No More breath.. and so on, moving to maximum
number of stanzas in each breath.

Sample
Vowel Sounds : oo ew ow o
List the words and
sort out the different Blue, Blew Cue, Dew Bow, Vow, Bow, So,
pronunciation
Jew, Slew View, New How, Sow Sow, Sew

Fear no more the heat o' th' Sun,

Nor the furious Winters rages,
Reading out the
Thou thy worldly task hast don,
entire stanza in a
Home art gon, and taken thy wages.
single breath.
Golden Lads, and Girls all must,
As Chimney-Sweepers come to dust.
 Voice and Accent Unit 3

What Purpose/ Why How

 Combination of Learned Sounds in Speech
 Now that we have gone through all the
consonant sounds as well as the vowel
sounds and practiced them, it’s time to
apply them in a passage and practice the
crispness of the consonants along with the
openness of the vowels.
Process Template:
Under Milk wood Exercise
 Use the passage “ Under Milk wood”.
 Step 1: Whisper the passage together to
emphasize the crispness of the
consonants
 Step 2: Chant the passage together to
emphasize the openness of the vowels.
 Step 3: Stand at the corner of the room,
leaning there, cup your mouth and read
out the passage as loud as possible,
without screaming and keeping in mind
the correct sounds and breath control.

Sample: UNDER MILKWOOD

 Check for Word
endings.

 Check for Vowel sounds.
 Check for consonant
sounds.
And the shrill girls giggle and master around him and squeal as they clutch and thrash,
and he blubbers away downhill with his patched pants falling and his tear splashed
blush burns all the way as the triumphant bird like sisters scream with buttons in their
claws and the bully brothers hoot after him his little nickname and his mother's shame
and his father's wickedness with the loose and wild barefoot women of the hovels of
the hills.

 Check for Breath Control.

We wondered why we were made to vent in their van with chairs one could barely sit on.

 Check for correct sounds,

vowels and consonants.
PRONOUNCIATION
 Voice and Accent Unit 4

What Purpose/ Why How

 Syllables  Understanding syllables is the first step
towards correct pronunciation.
 Pronunciation in turn leads us to
comprehensibility and effective speech .
 Why are syllables important.
 What are syllables.
 Learning to count syllables.
 Making words with 1,2,3,4,5,6 & 7
syllables.

Process Template:
Syllables

Sample

A syllable has a vowel sound. Usually there is a consonant sound between it and the next syllable.
What are syllables,
Look at the number of syllables in the following words:
Counting them.
Great Paula Beautiful
 Voice and Accent Unit 4

What Purpose/ Why How

 The Basic Rules  Empowerment:  The Past tense rule

In the English language there are a 101  Practice
exceptions to 100 rules that exist! What we  The Plural rule.
offer are guidelines. These guidelines will  Practice
help trainees tackle new words even in the  The Compound Noun rule.
absence of the trainer.  Practice
 The Acronym rule.
Process Template:  Practice.
The Basic Rules

Sample
Please remember the fact that ‘ed’ becomes an extra syllable only when added to words
Past Tense Rule
ending with ‘t’ or ‘d’. This is the only time the past tense has an extra syllable.
Projected Protected Pleaded

Please remember that ‘es’ becomes an extra syllable only when added to words ending with a hissing
sound. When the original word without the ‘es’ ending, ends with a hissing sound, only then does the
Plural Rule
added ‘es’ become an extra syllable.
Office/offices Promise/Promises Beach/Beaches

A combination of two words is called a compound noun, like soft/ware. In English, the stress usually falls on the first
Compound Noun part of the compound noun
Software Hardware Carpool

Acronyms (words that are made from the first letters of a group of words) are very common in American English. The stress in
Acronyms acronyms is almost always on the last letter.
UCLA USA MTV
 Voice and Accent Unit 4

What Purpose/ Why How

 Syllable Stress  This is the next step towards correct  What is Syllable Stress
pronunciation.  How can it be shown.
 Comprehensibility problems mostly occur  Rule 1: Only 1 stressed syllable in one
due to the misplaced stress in a word word.
rather than the incorrect sounds of the  Support with examples.
letters.  Rule 2: As the word expands .. The stress
moves forwards.
 Support with examples.
Process Template:  Rule 3: If we stress on 1 syllable more
Stress Rules than the others, then the preceding vowel
sound reduces.
 Support with examples.

Sample

STRESS
Syllable stress
When we learn to break a word into syllables, the idea is to keep in mind that there is only one syllable in a word
that gets stressed.

Examples for
Organize Industry Technology
Syllable stress
Organization Industrial Technological
Industrialization
 Voice and Accent Unit 4

What Purpose/ Why How

 Pronunciation  Pronunciation is the key to Global  Rule 1: “-ology”

Comprehensibility.  Rule 2: “- shn”
 A majority of the communication lapses are  Rule 3: “- ity”
due to to incorrect pronunciation A guide to  Rule 4: “- ic/ ics”
easy pronunciation that lists a few rules  Rule 5: “- ical”
helps us find our way around with new  Rule 6: “-ically”
words.  Rule 7: “- ial”
 Rule 8: “- ially”
Process Template:  Rule 9: “- ious”
Pronunciation Rules Exercise  Rule 10:“- meter”
 Practice the rules using words.
 Exercise: Have the trainees count the
NOTES:
number of syllables and find the stressed
The trainer need not take the trainees through the syllables.
entire list.
They should be taught through examples only.

Sample
-ology -tion -lity -ic/-ics -ical
Common word ends
Biology Station Ability Physics Practical

-ically -ial -ially -ious -meter

Examples off words
with the common Basically Official Financially Pious Kilometer
word ends.

Counting syllables A/bi/li/ty Cha/ri/ty E/me/rald In/te/rest Pro/ba/bly

and Syllable Stress
A/cci/dent Che/mi/cal En/gi/neer In/ves/ti/ga/tion Pro/cess
 Voice and Accent Unit 4

What Purpose/ Why How

 Application of Syllable Stress  Once we know what the rules are, it is
easier for us to apply them in the words
that we use on a day to day basis.
Process Template:
State Names CITI terms City Names
 List of State Names .
 List of Citi Terms
 List of the major city names.
 Top American names for Boys
 Top American names for Girls.
 Process specific pronunciation guide to
the frequently used words.
 Auto Loans Car makes.

Am. First Names (M) Am. First Names(F)

Sample STATE Pronunciation

State Names and Alabama Al-a-BAM-aa
Pronunciation
Alaska a-LASS-kaa

CITI Terms Pronunciation

CITI Terms
Adjustable ud-JUST-tb-bl (a-just)
Amortization am-er-tz-AY-shn
American Names
for Girls
Amanda a-MAN-daa Danielle Dan-ee-ELL Laura LAW-raa

American Names
Aaron - AER-rn (like Karen) Damion - DAY-mee-yn Jeremy JER-rm-mee Raymond RAY-mnd
for Boys

State Name : Important City Names and Pronunciation

City Names
ALABAMA : Birmingham (BER-ming-ham), Huntsville (HUNTS-vill), Mobile (Mo-BEEL), Montgomery (Mn-GUM-ree)
INTONATION
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Intonation  The Indian languages follow a 4 beat  What is pitch.

rhythm that does not give much room for  What is Intonation.
intonation. English on the other hand
provides ample opportunity for this,
especially since it a language based on a
10 beat rhythm.
 It is imperative that we understand how the
tone of our voice effects communication.

Process Template:
Intonation

Sample

INTONATION:
Terms Speech, like music, has pitch changes that create a melody.

WHAT IS PITCH?
Definition
Pitch is the frequency at which we speak.
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Noun-verb change  The same word may at times be used as a
noun and at others as a verb. In both these
cases the pronunciation will differ. This
may lead to comprehensibility problems.
 The stress pattern in a noun and a verb.
 Practice reading out the words and the
sentences in the class.
 Ensure each trainee practices this
individually.

Process Template:
Noun-Verb change

Sample

NOUN VERB SENTENCE

an accent to accent His Scottish accent, accented his English.
Read out the Noun and the a convict to convict The convict was convicted for 12 years of hard labor.
Verb form, application in sentences.
a desert to desert Sam deserted Denise in the desert where she ate her dessert.
an envelope to envelope She took the envelope from his hands and enveloped him in a bear hug.
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Emphasis : Word Stress, Questions and
Strong Agreement.
 Stressing on a particular word in a
sentence also conveys a meaning. E.g.:
“ I have too”, “I have to” and “I have two”
Process Template:
Emphasis
 Methodology: How do we stress on a
word more than the others.
 Support with examples.
 Practice the Exercises.
 In questions which word do we stress on.
 Stress in strong Agreements.

Sample
EMPHASIS
Emphasis:
Emphasis is used to show extra emotion in our speech. By giving extra stress to different words in an English sentence,
Meaning &
we can actually change the meaning of the sentence.
Importance
WORD STRESS:
In every word in English, there is one main emphasized syllable. The vowel sound in this syllable sounds higher in pitch,
Word Stress longer, and louder, and this is called stress.
Practice:
1. I’m going to the store. (I am, Not you)
2. I am going to the store. (Are you going? Yes, I am)
Practice
Word Stress
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Question and Statements  Apart from its grammatical structure, a
statement differentiates from a question by
the intonation pattern as well.
 In case a statement is read out like a
question, the listener gets confused about
the meaning, or thinks that the speaker is
uncertain, or that the speaker sounds
condescending.
Process Template:
Contours Questions Role Plays
 The pitch at the end of the statement.
 Pitch at the end of a question.
 The absolute no-no’s of intonation: Sing
sing, rocket climb.
 Different ways of intonating questions.
 Practice on the questions and statements.
 Role Plays: Enact out Role play 1 to the
class. Have them prepare the remaining
role plays in pairs and present them to the
class.

Sample
QUESTIONS OR STATEMENTS.
Whenever our statements end with a rise in the volume, it confuses the listener and they spend time trying to
figure out whether the last sentence was a question or a statement and more often than not they
Difference in
assume it to be a confirmatory question to which they reply a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ which may surprise us as we
Intonation.
never expected a reply!
Exercise A:
1. Sure I can help you with that.
Practice with 2. The turn around time would be 2 business days. 
Different
Exercise B:
Intonation.
1. Can you see? 
2. Does he play golf? 
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Numbers  An American’s life revolves around
numbers. Be it a social security number,
phone number or account number.
 Numbers may be as long as 10-12 digits at
times. Reading them out in one go
confuses the listener.
 Discuss why we break the numbers in
smaller groups.
 How do we do that using Intonation.
 Practice.

Process Template:
Intonation with Numbers:

Sample
INTONATION WITH NUMBERS:
How can we
When we take calls we often come across groups of digits which may be as much as 2 to a maximum of 12 digits.
Intonate Numbers
effectively. They may be Apartment numbers, Account numbers, transit routing numbers, Zip codes, Social security numbers
or Telephone numbers.

Telephone Numbers: 310-526-9546

1-800-354-9561
Examples
Social Security Numbers: 356-65-9856
527-45-5447
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Choices  We often have not one solution, but many  Relate to the intonation pattern.
options. How should we put them across to  Practice with questions.
the customer?

Process Template:
Choices

INTONATION WITH CHOICES:

Sample

INTONATION WITH CHOICES.

Practice 1. Do you want Tea or Coffee?
2. Do you want Black or brown?
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Pauses  The role of pauses is very important in our  Explain the importance of pauses.
speech since a pause defines when a  Practice using the sentences.
certain thought has ended and a new
thought has begun.
 In addition, it aids the management of
breath as well.

Process Template:
Role of Pauses

Sample

ROLE OF PAUSES.
Significance In written English, we use punctuation to show where the pauses
in the sentences should be.

Example:
Application Finally,// each time you prepare a solution// you should take into
account / the temperature of the liquids.// Don’t mix these two
liquids together / unless they have the same temperature://Room
Temperature.
 Voice and Accent Unit 5

What Purpose/ Why How

 Practice  Many of us need to break out of a shell that  Lead by example using the 3 short stories
restricts us from experimenting with the in which the places of inflection have been
pitch changes. These exercises focus on marked out.
breaking out of old habits and establishing  Use Archie comics hand outs to groups of
new ones. 3s and 4s, have them act out the story in
front of the class.
 The passage “Dark Trench Coat” can be
Process Template: used to practice Intonation.
Stories Trench Coat Gollum  Practice using the passage “ Deep down
here… Gollum”.

Assessment Sample

THREE LITTLE PIGS

Once upon a time there were three little pigs. They lived with their kind old mother near a
large, dark forest. One day, they decided to build their own houses. The first little pig used
straw. He took his straw-cutting tools and his new lawnmower, and built a little straw
Words that need house. The second little pig used sticks. He took his woodcutting tools and some old
To be stressed paintbrushes and built a small wooden house. The third little pig, who was a very hard
worker, used bricks.
 UNDERSTANDING
AMERICAN ENGLISH
 Voice and Accent Unit 6

What Purpose/ Why How

 American Accent  Since we are dealing with the American
customer it is important that we understand
how the accent differs.
 Explain the American sound shifts.
 Support with examples.
 Play audio file: “Arthur The Rat”. Fill in the
blanks.
 Discuss the various accents in US:
Southern, Californian, Eastern

Process Template:
The American Sounds

Sample

Accents occur in the mouth, but have to be breathed out. There are three factors that make the
American English different to the Global English.
The American
Sound Shifts: 1. The “AW“ change:
The British AW sound changes to the AA sound in the American English
Examples: Bob, Dog, Doctor etc.
FLUENCY
 Voice and Accent Unit 7

What Purpose/ Why How

 Fluency  Once a person learns the correct sounds
and pronunciation, he/she needs to be able
to translate it to speech.
 This translation of thoughts into speech
using the correct sounds is Fluency with
the speech.
 Introducing various topics to the class
 Have each trainee express their thoughts
in 2 minutes.
 Give constructive feedback.

Process Template:
Free Speech Topics

Sample

1. Window Exercise
2. Sell the Object
Free speech
3. Hot Seat
topics
4. My favorite Vacation Spot