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Received Pronunciation (RP) / Elocution:

Defining Received Pronunciation -also referred to as Standard British English:

  • "The standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England, widely accepted as a standard elsewhere".

  • “Received Pronunciation (often referred to as RP), the Queen's/King's English or Oxford English is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard for British English” Wikipedia.

  • RP is the normal 'accent' taught when foreign language students learn English.

  • It is taught to actors at Drama School since it is widely regarded as the clearest, and most easy to understand, English accent.

Your Goals: Two Types of Clients...​

​1)    Some clients want to sound 'English' and are looking to learn a Received Pronunciation ‘accent’ to achieve this.

​2)    The second type of client doesn't want to learn RP or sound completely (RP) English. They want to keep their native accent and simply want help correcting words and sounds that they are mis-pronouncing (and which are confusing the people they talk to). They just want to be understood more easily.

  • Either approach is fine sessions are tailored to the individual. This way the coach can correct specific sounds and words that individual clients personally struggle with.​

  • Classes are generally one-to-one individual classes. It is possible to form a group and have group lessons -please enquire for details.

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Credentials Summary:

​Expert teacher: Natasha -despite her Russian name, Natasha is completely English with no Russian accent or heritage.

Natasha’s 'native' accent is RP /Received Pronunciation (/ Standard British English) so you will be constantly exposed to the 'accent' you are learning. This is vital if you are to make progress.

  • ​Studied Pronunciation in depth during an Acting MA (/Masters Degree)

  • MA -English Language and Literature, Oxford University.

  • MA -TV Journalism, City University, London.

  • Taught pronunciation to hundreds of students from a wide variety of nationalities. All ages and levels.

  • Please see the 'Qualifications' section of this website for more.

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Teaching Methods:

  • Variety of methods and materials used so that lessons remain varied, fun and productive. Lessons tailored to the individual and their personal challenges. Recordings and resources are given to students to practice in their own time.

 

  • I will teach you the 15 signature sounds -the 15 key sounds in Standard British English -also known as RP/ Received Pronunciation. We will practice these (and related words and sentences) and will identify which you struggle with (you will be sent a recording of them -as well as of The Rainbow Passage which includes all of them).

 

  • E.g. I will ask you to read newspaper articles and I will write down the words that you struggle with. After you have finished reading, we will go through these words and I will let you read them again, (to let you hear how you pronounce them), before teaching you how they should be pronounced. I will then let you practice the correct pronunciation and guide you if you need help achieving it.

  • You can record me saying the words/new pronunciations using the audio-record feature on most phones. This allows you to practice more later.

  • I will be able to identify what sounds you constantly struggle with e.g. perhaps you struggle with words ending in 'ed', the 'aw' sound or the pronunciation of the letter 'u'. We will then look at specific exercises which allow you to work just on this sound. I will show you what movement your mouth should be making whilst describing what tongue movements will help you achieve the sound you need.

 

  • Whilst I studied phonetics (during my Acting MA), I do not teach it. This is because, in my experience, clients find it too complicated and I have not found it to be an effective system. There are too many things to remember before making any progress and it is hard to remember all of them. For this reason I take a simpler approach which I find to be far more effective.

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  • ​ We will look at vowel sounds, fricatives, plosives, consonants, intonation, tone, rhythm, musicality and far more -I will explain tongue and mouth movements for the various sounds and we will practice exercises for various sounds.  

  • ​I will provide various resources and links for home study. Every class is very tailored to the individual's needs and constant feedback is given.

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Individuals Want to Study Pronunciation Classes For a Variety of Reasons, E.g:

  • For some English is their second language and their accent interferes with their ability to be understood.

  • Others have a regional or foreign accents which they believe have other negative consequences for them...

 

  • E.g. Some claim that people judge them negatively because of their accent and think that it is affecting their chances of promotion.

  • Some clients have lost confidence, due to colleagues, or others, not understanding them clearly, and this is affecting their attitude and encouraging them to be more passive at work.

  • Some actors with regional, or foreign, accents recognise that their accent reduces the range of characters that they can play (or be cast for). Subsequently they want to add another 'accent' to their collection.

  • Other clients make public speeches and deliver presentations at work -they need to be clearer in order to be more effective. They want to be more impressive public speakers.

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