Accent Modification 101:

This Workshop is for You If...

• You’re just thinking about offering accent training and want to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on additional courses or certifications without knowing if this field is a good fit for you.

• You’ve worked with a few students but need more direction on how to offer a comprehensive accent training program.

• You’re passionate about helping people communicate more clearly and want to know how to turn that passion into a career.

• You’re a speech-language pathologist, ESL teacher, acting coach, or vocal coach looking to add a new skill set to your practice.

What You'll Learn

In this workshop, you will:

• Understand the Basics of Accent Training:  Learn what’s involved when it comes to Accent Training evaluations/assessments, session structure, and homework.
• Explore the Benefits of Accent Training:  Discover the personal and professional rewards of helping students improve their communication, pronunciation and speech clarity.
• Evaluate Your Current Skills: Identify the teaching skills you already have that can be applied to accent training, and learn about the new skills you’ll need to develop.
• Gain Insight into Populations and Cultural Sensitivity:  Learn about the diverse populations you can work with and the importance of cultural sensitivity in accent training.
• Plan Your First Accent Training Session:  Learn how to structure your sessions, including assessments, homework, and recommended materials.
• How to Price Your Services:  Learn how much to charge for accent modification services in 2025.
• Weigh the Pros and Cons:  Is accent training right for you? Get an honest look at the advantages and challenges of this niche teaching career.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify the fundamental goals and benefits of offering accent modification services.
2. Explain the populations served by accent training and the importance of linguistic discrimination and cultural sensitivity.
3. Evaluate personal teaching skills that are transferable to accent training and recognize the skills that need further development.
4. Analyze the steps required plan and execute an effective accent training session, including assessment, session structuring, and homework activities.
5. Assess considerations for determining fees and structuring pricing for Accent Modification services in 2025.
6. Decide whether accent training is the right career path for you by evaluating the pros and cons of the field.
7. Create a personalized action plan with actionable goals outlining the next steps to develop a career in accent training.

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This Program Is Offered For 0.15 ASHA CEUs

Note that 0.1 ASHA CEU = 1 contact hour.

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How It Works:

After you register for the event, you will receive an email with a Zoom link to the live webinar and you will get a few email reminders leading up to the live event.

You’ll also receive an email with a username and password to access your personal student library and get access to the replay, the quiz, the course survey, and the ASHA CEU and Certificate Request form. 

You'll have access to this student library until March 31, 2025.  You must complete and submit all required forms by that date to earn 0.15 ASHA CEUs and receive your certificate.

If you don’t receive an email with your Zoom link or access to your student library, let us know at [email protected] and we will take care of you as soon as possible.

Presenter and Disclosures

Presenter:

Jessica Kijowski, MS, CCC-SLP, is an ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist and brings over 25 years of expertise to the skill of accent and dialect training. Her clientele includes award-winning actors, models, executives, lawyers, teachers, diplomats, and professional voice users from all over the world.

Following a post-grad internship focused on vocal rehabilitation for actors and singers, Jessica began her career as an Accent and Dialect Specialist at New York Speech Improvement Services and The Sam Chwat Speech Center in New York City.  She has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Voice and Diction at New York University.

In 2013, Jessica established her own private practice, which quickly became a thriving business with a full-time caseload.  Through her practice, she offers personalized one-on-one speech improvement sessions, and in 2015 she created The Accent Channel—a dynamic online learning hub offering self-paced accent training programs, pronunciation courses, and dialect workshops as a more affordable alternative to private sessions.

Motivated by a genuine love for empowering speakers, Jessica helps her students feel completely comfortable initiating conversations, expressing ideas without hesitation, and effortlessly communicating their thoughts and opinions.  Confidence about the way they sound is always the ultimate goal.

Jessica's work goes beyond coaching students. She also trains aspiring teachers to become experts in accents, dialects, and pronunciation, equipping them with the skills to work with their own students.  Since 2019, Jessica has helped over 250 speech and language professionals kickstart their own successful accent training businesses. Many of these individuals have experienced the joy of leaving their 9-to-5 jobs to transition to the more fulfilling career of working for themselves.

Presenter Disclosures:

Financial – Jessica Kijowski is creator and owner of The Accent Channel and receives a salary.

Financial –Jessica Kijowski offers other professional development courses through The Accent Channel and may mention those courses in this workshop.

Non-Financial – Jessica Kijowski is creator of The Accent Channel Method of Speech Improvement and uses this method with her own students.

Content Disclosure:

No relevant content disclosures.

Intended Audience:

SLPs, ESL Teachers, Actors, Voice Coaches, and other Professional Voice Users

Time-Ordered Agenda

(Time listed for each topic is approximate)

• Agenda, Disclosures, and Completion requirements (2 mins)
• Populations We Work With (3 mins)
• Accent Training Skills: What You Have vs. What You Need to Develop (5 mins)
• Linguistic Discrimination and Cultural Sensitivity in Accent Training (10 Mins)
• Considerations for Assessment and Evaluation (20 Mins)
• How to Structure a Session (20 Mins)
• Ideas for Session Activities and Homework (5 Mins)
• Is Accent Training Right for You? Weigh the Pros and Cons (5 Mins)
•  Next Steps for Finding and Working With Students (10 Minutes)
• Q and A (10 Mins)

Total Workshop Run Time is approximately 90 minutes.

Don’t Miss Out!

The Live Workshopshop takes place on March 19, 2025 at 12:00 pm EST and a replay will be available if you can't attend the live session.

Register now and take the first step toward building a successful career in Accent Modification and American Accent Pronunciation Training.