COM 39 B — Accent Reduction for Non-Native English Speakers
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): Neil Jacobs
Date(s): Jul 1—Jul 29
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Tuesdays
Class Meeting Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $420
Refund Deadline: Jul 3
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 30
Status: Open
Quarter: Summer
Day: Tuesdays
Duration: 5 weeks
Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jul 1—Jul 29
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $420
Refund Deadline: Jul 3
Instructor(s): Neil Jacobs
Enrollment Limit: 30
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Open
This course is designed for individuals who are already proficient in English but who would benefit from the reduction of their foreign accent. It provides an approach to accent reduction that is systematic yet not overly technical. The course combines theory and practice. Key concepts are introduced and then applied to language-specific pronunciation issues, followed by practical exercises and feedback. Special emphasis is placed on practical exercises that will lead students to rapid and noticeable improvement in the classroom and will also serve as a guide for continued improvement after the course is over. Topics covered will include where and how speech sounds are produced; individual sounds of American English in isolation, with close attention to typically problematic consonants and vowels; difficult combinations of sounds; word stress; intonation; and pronunciation differences between formal and casual speech.
Proficiency in spoken English is required. Section A and Section B of “Accent Reduction for Non-Native English Speakers” cover the same content.
NEIL JACOBS
Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Emeritus, Ohio State
Neil Jacobs has taught courses and workshops on phonetics, phonology, and accent reduction, and he has also studied and taught several languages. He received a PhD from Columbia. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.