FAQs

What is pronunciation coaching?

By pronunciation coaching, I mean that I work together with you to help improve your pronunciation – demonstrating and explaining sounds, giving feedback on your performance, guiding and planning your practice, anticipating difficulties and supporting you as you learn.

In contrast, many providers of pronunciation courses (such as accent reduction, accent softening, elocution, etc.) only offer lessons about English pronunciation, and then leave you to do the practice and change your pronunciation on your own.


How long will it take to improve my pronunciation?

You’ll start to improve from the first session. I’ll explain your problems to you and we’ll get to work on them straight away.

It takes regular practice to change pronunciation habits. You should think of your practice ten weeks at a time. After each ten-week period, you’ll make substantial progress. You’ll probably find that you’ll have reached your goals at the end of about 30 weeks, depending on your goals and individual ability.


Why three times a week?

I’ve experimented with all kinds of schedules over the years and found that it’s inefficient to have only one or two sessions per week because the time between sessions is too long. Progress is lost and needs to be recovered in the next session.

Three sessions per week spread out evenly (Mon/Wed/Fri or Tue/Thur/Sat) allows for consistent improvement from session to session. If you’re very keen to improve your pronunciation as quickly as possible, then six sessions per week will give the fastest results.


Do I need to learn phonetics?

No. I use my knowledge of phonetics to understand your problems and guide your learning, but it isn’t necessary for you to learn phonetic theory. Of course, if you’re a teacher, student of linguistics or phonetic enthusiast, I can use phonetic terminology and symbols, and explain things phonetically as we work on your pronunciation.


What English level do I need?

You don’t have to have advanced level English, but you should be able to understand and communicate with me during our sessions.


How do I pay?

Please pay weekly after your sessions using the payment page.


What is your cancellations policy?

Please give 24 hours’ notice of a cancellation, otherwise the session must be paid for.


If you have any other questions, just contact me!

One-to-one coaching is the most effective way to learn.

  • Work with an expert
  • Tailored to your individual needs
  • From the comfort of your own home or office

What to expect…

  • Assessment of your pronunciation
  • Practise your problem sounds
  • Build up from words to phrases to sentences
  • Integrate these habits into your everyday speech

Lessons

3 x 45 min per week

When

Mon/Wed/Fri or Tue/Thur/Sat

Time slots

7am – 12pm (UK time)

Price

£80 per session

Andres, Engineer, Argentina

After having studied phonetics on my own for several years, I decided that it was time to contact someone knowledgeable in the subject to finally achieve my goal of sounding like a native speaker. As soon as I contacted Paul, he understood and supported my idea, instead of undermining it by saying that my accent was “unique” and didn’t need to be changed or something of the sort that most EFL teachers tell you.

Since our first lesson, huge progress has been made. Paul took me, gradually and patiently, from the most basic sounds to the most complex phrases or dialogues you can imagine. Moreover, not only is he an expert in English phonetics and phonology, but he also has a deep understanding of English grammar and how it correlates with English pronunciation, which differentiates him from most accent coaches, who don’t have a background in linguistics.

Paul is one of those teachers you wished you had met way earlier. His passion for teaching English phonetics is reflected in every lesson he delivers, keeping you motivated and on the edge of your seat, making you want to learn more and more. I am very pleased to have him as my teacher and mentor.

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Oana, Architect, Romania

Paul is definitely the right person to work with if you want to improve your speech clarity. I reached out to Paul once I had exhausted what I believed to be every self-taught method of improving my pronunciation skills: studying the pronunciation of every English sound, following several channels on YouTube for techniques, tips and tricks, reading out loud while recording myself, etc. Even though my effort was constant and intense, the results of my self-studying process were far from what I wanted them to be.

All this changed once I started my lessons with Paul. I have discovered Paul to be great to work with, his teaching method was eye-opening, from understanding the techniques behind the pronunciation of each sound (how the mouth muscles are used in sound creation), to implementing the weak forms in daily speech, which made my general speech much more fluent. Ever since we started, he was great at picking up the areas that I needed to work on, providing constant feedback, pointing out those that needed more attention, so I could practice on my own in-between sessions. His feedback came not only during our lessons, but also after each session, and for each threshold that we passed, providing summaries for everything that we had covered.

What I appreciated the most was that he is very patient, methodical, and supportive, the lessons were always interesting, motivating me to practice more on my own as part of daily routine. I would absolutely recommend Paul, not only for his vast knowledge in phonetics but also because he is very good in monitoring progress and coming up with personalized materials to work with. I am very happy I chose him to help me improve my speech clarity, as I am now a lot more confident in my communication skills.

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Professor Setsuko Oda, Japan

Paul’s lessons were the best personal investment I’ve ever made and I highly recommend his lessons to anyone who wants to improve their English pronunciation. I am an English educator in Japan and my job is to teach students how to teach English at elementary/junior high school. I decided to take Paul’s lessons because I wanted to explore British English pronunciation, since I was only familiar with American English until then. However, I learned from him so much more than just that.

1. Paul’s lessons are all one-on-one, and he always prepares his materials in advance catering to each student’s needs. He spotted problems that I hadn’t been aware of all these years and helped me correct them. 2. Paul is very knowledgeable not only about theories of English phonetics but also practical tips on how to improve pronunciation. He can answer any questions that I ask and help demystify the vagueness of English pronunciation. 3. He is very friendly and his lessons are carried out in a relaxed atmosphere. He always treats me with respect and shows great patience in helping me with the problems that are difficult to fix.

I feel I have made great progress and find my self speaking more naturally and confidently. Improving your pronunciation doesn’t happen instantly; it takes time and effort, but Paul’s lessons can make the process much easier, quicker, and enjoyable.

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Yevgeny, Software Developer, Russia

I'd been speaking with the thickest possible Russian accent before I met Paul. Learning pronunciation didn't come naturally to me, and I didn’t have high expectations when I started my sessions with Paul. However, it worked!

It took a long time, and Paul showed incredible patience trying to make me sound more natural, but the results exceeded all my expectations. I have reached a decent level, and it had a huge impact on my confidence and fluency. I continue my sessions with Paul, planning to become a BBC announcer after retirement.

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Patricia, Accountant, Peru

Paul is a really patient and reliable tutor and helped me to improve my English pronunciation. At the beginning I was not sure if lessons could actually help me, but I noticed improvement after the first weeks.

I could not recommend his sessions more. Paul is a fantastic tutor!

Rosa Suarez Ortiz, Literacy Intervention Teacher and Speech and Language Therapist, UK/Spain

Before hiring Paul I had hired three other coaches, all of them professionals in their field of linguistics and voice work and he has been the best of all of them, to the point that I have achieved my targets and I don’t need a coach anymore!

Paul has been by far the most approachable, honest and knowledgeable of all my accent coaches – and the only one who has internationally recognized published materials! He will give you accurate feedback on the areas where you can improve – which will be unique to you – and he will provide you with plenty of exercises to work on i

You can also use his excellent published materials to work on your targets between lessons.

If you really want to improve your pronunciation, Paul is definitely one of the best coaches to help you.

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Tamas, Consultant, Hungary

I have long been conscious that my foreign accent, however thin, constrains the first impression I make on business partners. I decided to give accent coaching a try with Paul to see if I could do away with it. It has proven to be an excellent idea.

Paul demonstrated impressive professionalism in pinning down, and then eliminating, the various structural issues that made me sound foreign. Then he took on the Gargantuan task of identifying and addressing all the small, non-structural issues: the many individual words the incorrect pronunciation of which had been entrenched in my speech.

After a year and a half of work that has taken dedication on both sides, the improvement is tangible, and it is bringing results. I am impressed, satisfied, and grateful, and I wholeheartedly recommend Paul to anyone looking to improve their accent - including those who have only a thin, elusive whiff of foreignness about their speech.

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Ksenia, English teacher, Russia

I adore British phonetics and have been studying it for many years. I was lucky to be a student at SCEP (Summer Course in English Phonetics – UCL) in 2019 and Paul was among the best teachers there. So as soon as I saw he was starting individual coach sessions, I immediately enrolled. The lessons were brilliant, as I expected. Every single sound was carefully and closely monitored, there was always something new to learn and practise. Priceless experience accompanied with a great sense of humour and interesting talks. Thank you, Paul! Ksenia.

Contact me

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Use the form to ask a question or tell me your preferred schedule. You can also email me at info@paulcarley.com