English isn’t just about the words you use. Like many languages, the stress people place on a word or use in sentences can alter the meaning. This can be really tough when you are learning a second language. Especially if that second language is English. With so many rules and exceptions, this is just another thing that can confuse new learners.
AXIOM friend Lauren Supraner of CAL Learning (Cultural and Language Training) with a workshop on Word Stress and Fluency that is designed to help non-native speakers become more comfortable in a business setting. This is part of a 7-part series on accent reduction and pronunciation for non-native speakers. These are half day workshops that cover a variety of topics that can improve speaking confidence for the learner and allow companies to develop employees for more and greater communication and leadership roles.
Stress is extremely important in English and carries a great deal of meaning. When a speaker uses the wrong stress or sounds monotone, the listener can become confused or disinterested. In this interactive workshop, you will improve fluency and become more understandable by using correct word stress. Learn the most common word stress patterns, and how changes in word form and grammar can change stress. (valid, validity, validation)
You will learn:
- Common word stress patterns
- Stress for acronyms, numbers, time
- Stress in compound words and phrases
- Reduced vowels in unstressed syllables
- How to predict stress through grammar
Lauren will come to you with all necessary materials for these half day workshops. Each session is one topic that Lauren can really dive into. These classes for up to 15 participants are more intensive that a longer session that might include several accent reduction techniques.
They also function singularly, so you can chose to attend one, a few, or all sessions. You don’t need to take them in order and you will not miss anything if you choose to take only a small subset of workshops.
Please contact us if you have any interest in these workshops. We’re happy to set up a schedule that works for your group.
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