Conn. Heavy accents can hinder a person's ability to communicate with people in their personal and professional lives. However, a new service at the University of Connecticut Health Center can help reduce thick accents and improve communication. Pavia typically recommends a 13-week outpatient program that concentrates on the articulation and intonation of American English. Programs are individually tailored to meet each person's needs.
Participants can choose between small groups or individual sessions.
Pavia said most patients experience at least a 50-percent reduction in their accent after going through the outpatient sessions. For some people, the progress is even more dramatic. The Compton method is named after Arthur J. Compton, Ph.D., of the Institute of Language and Phonology in San Francisco. It was specifically designed to help foreign-born individuals improve their spoken English. She stressed that accent reduction strategies are important to people in careers like health care services that require employees to interact with the public.