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Testimonials
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Feedback from recent clients
Here’s what our clients have to say about their progress with EnglishWorks.
"I did a 15-week course with the goal to improve fluency, intonation and reduce accent in order to communicate more clearly in a professional environment. Already halfway into the course, I noticed a significant improvement in my confidence level and I felt I was able to better express my thoughts without worrying about being misunderstood because of my accent. The breathing exercises, the techniques to improve vocabulary and intonation that Michelle taught me were practical and effective."
Simona, Research & Design Manager / Native Language: Italian
"I took a 20-week course to work on accent and fluency and it was a great experience. Michelle is very professional; her course is well organized and she was able to address all the issues I was looking to work on. Michelle did a great job identifying all the issues I had - pronunciation, intonation and general sentences flow and we worked to methodically fix them one by one. It really makes the difference now; I feel that people understand me way better and I am more comfortable when speaking and I can speak faster and clearer."
Anton, Software Engineer / Native Language: Russian
"I reached out to Michelle because people weren't fully understanding what I was saying, resulting in me constantly repeating myself. During our first consultation, Michelle acknowledged my weakness/strengths and used that knowledge to plan an individualized course specifically tailored to my needs. As Michelle introduced more and more techniques that helped me speak clearly, I realized I was oblivious to so many different speaking patterns and rhythms a native English speaker would use, despite being around English speakers my whole childhood.
My classmates and superiors are able to understand me better now and I have gained the confidence I need to speak. In fact, I was able to get an A+ for my communications class thanks to the techniques Michelle taught me!"
Ben, Engineering Student / Native languages: Cantonese & English
"I am originally from Malaysia. I have lived in the US for the past 40 years and yet I am still speaking with a moderate accent. In my profession as CFO, I am conducting business and financial presentations regularly and noticing that my audiences had some difficulties understanding me as I have been asked to repeat myself periodically, especially over audio conference calls. I decided to pursue an English accent reduction course recently to sharpen my spoken English.
I had the great fortune to take a result-oriented course provided by EnglishWorks. The principal, Michelle Knoop, is such an inspiring and effective coach. After a short, 20-week course, I have learned so many techniques to speak clearly. I am now super confident in my presentation as I rarely have to repeat myself!"
Raymond, CFO / Native Language: Malaysian
"I had the chance to work with Michelle for over 20 weeks and I was very much impressed by her attitude of openness, her heartfelt passion for teaching and skilled cross-cultural communication. I believe that these are the qualities that make Michelle a truly great teacher for this special type of class.
For anyone who has lived in a new culture, perhaps, the most difficult thing to overcome is the fear of opening up. Talking to Michelle, you will quickly realize that she is always willing to listen without judgment about your view of the American culture. Her genuine curiosity gave me the trust to share my true thoughts and see the cultural difference in a positive light.
Michelle has great attention to details when it comes to accent training. She always insisted on me paying attention to even the smallest pronunciation mistake. Despite being a challenging topic, an accent training session with Michelle is always light-hearted and full of laughter. All thanks to her positivity and patience."
Ahn, Product Manager / Native language: Vietnamese
"I'm an export coordinator from Mexico. I just completed a ten-week course with Michelle. My goals were to get more fluent, to feel confident when I say something for both the grammar and pronunciation. I wanted to get more vocabulary, be able to use phrasal verbs, idioms, and prepositions more: not only be able to understand them but be able to use them. When I started the course, I didn't talk much. I'm too strict so I was limiting myself because I wanted to be really good and didn't feel confident. Even though I had everything in my head it wouldn't come out right. Now I have stopped over-thinking, just let it flow, and it works!
I have learned so much from this training. I have learned the simplest pronunciation of each vowel, combinations of consonants, where to put the emphasis on phrasal nouns and verbs, and the rules of word stress. I have learned how to say /z/ and /i/ correctly, I have an understanding of phrasal verbs and I use them more often. I learned some idioms, but I need to learn more. I've also improved my grammar, especially when I write emails at work. I don't hesitate now and I use different words in my emails too. Now I just need to keep practicing what I have learned.
My pronunciation has also improved. Words I thought I was saying right before, I was not! I feel more confident now. It has helped me to socialize more in English, to ask more questions. My fluency and accent have all gotten better. I'm using a lot of new words that I hadn't used before.
If you are thinking about doing this, go for it! It's worth it because you always learn something new. You'll get what you need because the coach is experienced and will give you what you need for your level and interests. She does this with conversations, exercises, suggestions, how she explains words and answers questions. The readings and materials were interesting and appropriate for my level and interests, and the Ted Talks she recommended really caught my attention.
I discovered new and interesting things I didn't know about word meanings and pronunciation. Now when I hear conversations I notice these things, so you discover new things with this course. She will also teach you how to stick with what you learn. She guided me on how to absorb and apply what I learned."
Cinthia, Export Coordinator / Native language: Spanish
"Michelle helped me with useful techniques for successful communication, like controlling your breathing and having a more engaging intonation. I have a better understanding of the different sounds and vowels in the English language now. I learned so many things and discovered useful tools that will help me continue improving every day. Michelle was also very accommodating coming to my office in S.F. once a week which was key for me to be able to invest the time in this learning process."
Enrique, Software Manager / Native Language: Spanish
"I'm a sales service representative in a multicultural company. My native language is Spanish. I wanted to have more fluency, vocabulary, and tools to have better communication in my job and in my social life. Also, I realized when I was doing the course how important pronunciation is for having people understand you and to have better communication.
Since I did the ten-week course, my pronunciation is much better. For example, I can say -s and -y words more clearly now. I learned about words which are close, like "mill and meal". I am more aware of differences and can catch my errors and correct them. Also because of the readings and conversations I have an improved vocabulary, and I understand the verb tenses more.
I notice that now every time I make a mistake, because of the tools I now have, I can self-correct, and I have a better social and work life. When I'm speaking with people, at work or with friends, I notice a difference. It's easier to speak; I don't feel so shy. I feel more confident now. I correct my own mistakes! I used to depend on my sister to help me say things, but now I don't need her.
I totally recommend this course. Michelle is a super understanding teacher, and above all, she really knows our needs, gives us the choices, exercises, and practice that help us to improve. And we have great conversations on important topics. I think that the one-on-one classes are more helpful since you get all the attention that you need and learn exactly what you need to learn. Every class is different because you think you already know a lot, but you get surprised because there is even more."
Roxanna, Sales Representative / Native Language: Spanish
"I moved to the U.S. 6 years ago from China. I can speak English but always wanted to make an effort to improve my pronunciation. To everyone who has similar challenges, I would highly recommend Michelle’s course. She has a very systematic way to help candidates like me.
She will start with teaching the right technical skills on pronouncing different vowels. After that, she will teach you how to apply those skills during the learning process. It was a very short time period but I had learned a lot from her."
Jiang-Ming, Software Engineering Manager / Native Language: Mandarin
"I am an IT consultant. Due to the nature of my profession, communication is key to success. Therefore, I needed coaching to speak very clearly and confidently. I moved to the US 3 years ago and was hoping to get rid of my accent over time. However, 3 years were not enough so that I was seeking professional help and luckily, I found EnglishWorks. I have done 12 weeks ofaccent coaching so far. I began feeling the difference in my accent after a couple of sessions with Michelle. She is helpful and a great teacher.
All the tips she gave are very useful and personalized which focuses to the areas you need to improve. For instance, I had hard time to pause between thought groups and spoke very fast so she customized my program towards these areas. In addition, you have lifetime access to all the course materials to leverage whenever you need after the course ends. Before taking this course, I was trying generic online classes from Udemy, Youtube, etc. However, none of them were useful. I definitely suggest her accent reduction class if you are looking to invest in yourself to improve your communication skills. This is a great, fully personalized program and you will see the difference instantly."
Yalcin, IT Consultant / Native language: Turkish
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