For the Media

Media outlets are encouraged to utilize the following articles in their publications as long as the articles are not altered and credit is given to Barbara Christensen and Speech Advantage, LLC.

My Speech Advantage Series

"Why do non-native English speakers have an accent?"
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
Several factors come into play when answering this question.The main answer is that the non-native speaker is attempting to apply the rules of their first language to English. When the non-native speaker speaks English, it is filtered through the native language rules becoming accented English...
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"InforMAtion for PronunciAtion during CommuniCAtion"
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
Do you ever wonder how to pronounce those really long English words?By stressing the correct syllable of the word, your listener will understand you much better. Here is a tip for the words that end in “tion.” Whenever you see words that end in the letters “tion” the syllable before the “tion” is the one that gets the most emphasis or what we call “stress.” ...
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Slowing Your Speech Rate
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
One of the most effective ways to help your listener understand your English is to slow your speech rate. Frequently, non-native speakers mistakenly feel that they must increase their speech rate to keep up with native speakers...
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How to Slow Your Speech Rate
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
In the previous “Your Speech Advantage” column, we discussed why slowing your speech rate helps you to be better understood by others. Today, we will reveal techniques to help you with this task...
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Slowing Those LOOOOOOONG words
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
The past two “Your Speech Advantage” columns have discussed why slowing your speech rate is important as well as specific ways to slow your rate. Today we will discuss another method for slowing your rate and helping others to understand you better. This method is referred to as slowing multi-syllabic words...
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Deleting Final Sounds
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
Studies show that non-native speakers frequently do not pronounce the entire word when pronouncing English words. More specifically, the final consonant is typically the one to be dropped...
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Deleting Final Sounds – Part 2
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
In our last column we discussed the importance of producing the final sounds of words, specifically the / t / and / d / sounds. However, these are not the only final sounds that non-native speakers delete when speaking English...
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Voicing – key to being understood
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
This week begins a series of articles on the topic of voicing. Simply put, voicing occurs when your “voice box” vibrates to make sound...
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Voicing – key to being understood - Part 2
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
Last week we addressed the importance of voicing to differentiate meaning.In review, voicing, simply put, occurs when your “voice box” vibrates to make sound. This week we will discuss the difference between the final /d/ and final /t/ sounds...
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The American /r/
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
This week’s topic will focus upon the American /r/ sound. This is a difficult sound for nearly all people who speak English as a Second Language...
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Contact Speech Advantage, LLC for additional "Your Speech Advantage" articles.

Additional Articles

“Conquering Communication Barriers Leads to Corporate Benefits” By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
Effective communication is key in today’s fast paced global marketplace. When more attention is paid to HOW something is said versus WHAT is said, communication is not efficient or effective. Communication begins at the individual level. Difficulty communicating can cause great frustration, reduced self esteem, and thus reduced employee potential. When these speech and language barriers are addressed and broken
down, the individual experiences less frustration, gains self confidence, and communicates more effectively, all which can lead to increased work productivity with lower employee turnover. The end result? Corporate savings!
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“The ACCENT is on REDUCTION”
By Barbara Christensen, Speech Advantage, LLC
"With over 30 million ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers in the U.S. today, most likely you know someone who speaks English as their second (or possibly third!) language. As the world continues to become more global, these numbers are only increasing. Encountering speakers with accented English is becoming more and more commonplace in our daily lives as we place telephone calls, shop, go to the doctor, and work within our professions."
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