About our founder
I considered my accent to be part of my identity. I then learned to speak Standard American English. Going through this experience, has helped me better understand how people feel when having to modify their accent. |
Our founder, Ela Britchkow, holds a graduate degree in Speech and Language Pathology, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Certification from the Institute of Language and Phonology, and the Compton P-ESL Program with specialized training for foreign and regional accent modification. She has served as a speech therapist and a communications consultant for over 30 years.
Ela herself is not a native English speaker, this helps her to compassionately understand your accent needs. For the past ten years, she has been a leader in developing individual and software programs for non native speakers. Allowing them to master oral language communication skills, needed for success and a brighter future. Credentials
December 1976 - Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA
Master of Education in Speech Pathology August 1974 - Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Bachelor of Arts |
Why we created the American English Pronunciation Software for Slavic Speakers
My name is Ela and I know from personal experience how you probably feel about your accent. I immigrated to the United States at age ten. My prior accent was related to speaking French, Hebrew, and Yiddish. As a child I moved from Israel to Belgium and then to the United States. In Belgium, I needed to learn French as a second language (Hebrew is my first language). Then after living in Belgium for three years, it was necessary to learn English when my family moved to the United States.
When we first arrived in the United States, I was only able to communicate with my immediate family. I felt isolated, limited, and felt a loss of my prior culture and life. English is a hard language to acquire and a foreign accent can seriously affect intelligibility. The American culture influences the meanings of many words and phrases. Just understanding good-natured teasing in English can be a challenge.
While in graduate school for speech and language pathology, I was told that I had to reduce my accent in order to complete the program. I felt then hurt and upset, but now in retrospect speaking clearly with an American-English pronunciation has been very good for my career. I succeeded in doing this and so can you!
For over ten years, I have been helping people improve their pronunciation of English, boost their confidence, and be better understood. You will not lose your Slavic accent, but you will gain an American accent to use to your advantage anytime, earn more, and be successful. Remember you have already done the hard part - that is to have learned English, a very difficult language. Modifying your accent will be comparatively much easier.
Many people simply cannot afford individual accent lessons. And a lot of people who do receive one-on-one pronunciation instruction still need extra assistance between sessions. American-English pronunciation software seemed to offer the perfect solution, so I researched the options.
Even before starting to create my software program I ordered every English accent program on the Internet I could find to learn the scope and merit of what was available to purchase. I realized that these programs did not deliver the “easy” quick results that they advertised. On the whole the instructional methods were confusing and difficult to understand. What you find out there is just generic English pronunciation programs for all languages. The reality is that those who speak English as a second language, depending on their native tongue, all face different challenges in effectively learning how to speak English clearly.
I then decided to create software that duplicated what I already knew worked very well, my one-on-one in person lessons. Instead of teaching an American-English accent on Skype or in person, I created 15 interactive digital lessons, precisely designed for Slavic speakers.
I chose to specialize in software for Slavic speakers, who have a large, vibrant community in the Philadelphia area where that I live and practice, since many Slavic speakers have been my clients. It also just seemed very natural to me to choose software for Slavic language speakers since both my parents were born and raised in Poland. Each interactive software lesson has a specific goal, for example how to link multi-syllabic words that are difficult for Slavic speakers and explicit teaching and practice applications designed to best benefit Slavic speakers.
I encourage people to combine my individual instruction with the software, but your personal budget should always be your guide. In one way, my accent software has an important advantage over my one-on-one personal instruction. It provides, in the comfort of your own home or office 24/7 unparalleled instruction and practice support.
I invite you to please contact me if you have further questions, need additional help, would like to make comments or suggestions, or would be interested in personal, one-on-one Skype lessons.
When we first arrived in the United States, I was only able to communicate with my immediate family. I felt isolated, limited, and felt a loss of my prior culture and life. English is a hard language to acquire and a foreign accent can seriously affect intelligibility. The American culture influences the meanings of many words and phrases. Just understanding good-natured teasing in English can be a challenge.
While in graduate school for speech and language pathology, I was told that I had to reduce my accent in order to complete the program. I felt then hurt and upset, but now in retrospect speaking clearly with an American-English pronunciation has been very good for my career. I succeeded in doing this and so can you!
For over ten years, I have been helping people improve their pronunciation of English, boost their confidence, and be better understood. You will not lose your Slavic accent, but you will gain an American accent to use to your advantage anytime, earn more, and be successful. Remember you have already done the hard part - that is to have learned English, a very difficult language. Modifying your accent will be comparatively much easier.
Many people simply cannot afford individual accent lessons. And a lot of people who do receive one-on-one pronunciation instruction still need extra assistance between sessions. American-English pronunciation software seemed to offer the perfect solution, so I researched the options.
Even before starting to create my software program I ordered every English accent program on the Internet I could find to learn the scope and merit of what was available to purchase. I realized that these programs did not deliver the “easy” quick results that they advertised. On the whole the instructional methods were confusing and difficult to understand. What you find out there is just generic English pronunciation programs for all languages. The reality is that those who speak English as a second language, depending on their native tongue, all face different challenges in effectively learning how to speak English clearly.
I then decided to create software that duplicated what I already knew worked very well, my one-on-one in person lessons. Instead of teaching an American-English accent on Skype or in person, I created 15 interactive digital lessons, precisely designed for Slavic speakers.
I chose to specialize in software for Slavic speakers, who have a large, vibrant community in the Philadelphia area where that I live and practice, since many Slavic speakers have been my clients. It also just seemed very natural to me to choose software for Slavic language speakers since both my parents were born and raised in Poland. Each interactive software lesson has a specific goal, for example how to link multi-syllabic words that are difficult for Slavic speakers and explicit teaching and practice applications designed to best benefit Slavic speakers.
I encourage people to combine my individual instruction with the software, but your personal budget should always be your guide. In one way, my accent software has an important advantage over my one-on-one personal instruction. It provides, in the comfort of your own home or office 24/7 unparalleled instruction and practice support.
I invite you to please contact me if you have further questions, need additional help, would like to make comments or suggestions, or would be interested in personal, one-on-one Skype lessons.
Work with Ela for all your accent and speech needs
Over the past ten years, as a speech and language pathologist, I have been helping people achieve greater prosperity, success and happiness speaking clear understandable English.
Sign up for one-on-one SKYPE sessions with Ela TODAY. |
Learn more about Ela's Personalized Accent Modification Course |