New Yorkers want to "reduce" their accent

Here's something interesting on the New York accent: some "New Yawkers" feel so uncomfortable speaking with their original accent that they look for speech therapists to reduce it. For those interested in pronunciation and regionalism, it is really worth reading.

Toning down the NY accent

Red Balloon Teacher Education Center

For those teachers interested in self development, Red Balloon is starting a Teacher Education Program in September. The courses that will be offered as of Semptember are:

- PELT - Phonetics for English Language Teachers
- Language Acquisition and Bilingualism
- As influências do bilinguismo infantil no desenvolvimento cognitivo da criança
- Introdução à alfabetização de crianças bilíngues

To get more information about the courses, get on http://www.redballoonbilingue.com.br/emkt/images/emkt-cursos-TE.jpg
or
http://www.redballoonbilingue.com.br/te.asp
or call Red Balloon Bilíngue 2309 5999, 2309 7999

An Outline of English Phonology

ICELT session taught today:

This session is devided in three parts. The first one is a brief overview of the phonological system of English. The second part contrasts Portuguese and English stress-marking features. Throughout the remainder of the session, the participants will have the chance to compare the characteristics of stress (and pitch-accent) in the two languages and see how stress-marking alone can have a significant influence on intonation patterns at word level, sentence level and discourse level.