I am thinking of starting a tech focused accent reduction + general English coaching service. Given the number of people in the tech industry with heavy accents and poor English skills, I think it would be something that could benefit a lot of people. If you have an accent and work a tech job, would you to take an accent reduction class or do you just not care since you already have a high paying job where your accent doesn’t matter much?
As someone who works with people who have accents, mostly Indian, I would appreciate clearer English. It's easy to misunderstand when your co-workers accent is heavy
Given the number of Indian and Chinese people in the Bay Area , I think American people would take a class to understand other accents 😆
Whow even a better idea lol
Good idea, never liked the American accents.
Accent reduction class is a veli veli good idea.
Vedi vedi*
It’s something I’m conscious about, how much effort do you think it would require??
I personally had an accent when I immigrated here 10 years ago. It took me about a year to get rid of most of it. So with a structured class once a week, it’s definitely possible in a year.
I’m interested keep me posted please. Thanks.
Someone should start a bobble head reduction class :)
I’ll employ Russell Peters to do that.
I am English but fake American, helps to establish rapport but under stress I fall back to my thick geordie and it gets really awkward. Not sure any class can completely eradicate you mother dialect.
When under stress, I too fallback to my Indian accent. There’s just no way to get rid of that.
That's an interesting proposition. As a native English speaker, I really appreciate it when people that speak English as a second language put in the effort to be fluent in a primarily English speaking workplace. I think you also avoid the implicit judgement that some people make if your English skills are not good enough to communicate clearly. That said, I think if you can communicate clearly, English speakers need to not be shitty about accents.
Agreed but people end up being shitty because it’s just hard to understand what the other person is saying.
Accent is relative. There is no standard. And since there is no standard, there is no such thing as “accent reduction”. English skills yes...since there is correct and incorrect grammar. But there are many institutes that teach English. This service would be a flop if only geared towards tech; partly because of the last reason you mentioned.
I see what you’re saying. When I say accent reduction here, what I really mean is learning how to speaking with an American accent. The goal here will be able communicate what you want without having to repeat your self multiple times because of your accent.
Fair enough...why limit it to tech though? I am fairly certain you’ll have more takers outside of tech...jobs where soft sills are highly important and not just good-to-have. In a way where softkills would somehow be tied to $$ directly or indirectly. Money is always a motivation.