Experienced tutor in German accent reduction in San Antonio, Leigh offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

I met Leigh almost twenty years ago, when I first started my career as an assistant professor of accounting at CUNY-Baruch College. As part of the university-sponsored accent reduction program for international faculty members, each faculty member was paired with an accent reduction teacher in 1:1 weekly sessions over the course of two years. Leigh was my accent reduction teacher there.
I grew up in China and came to the U.S. for my PhD. I had always known I had an accent, but I had no idea how to reduce it. Soon after Leigh started working with me, a good friend of mine who grew up in the U.S. spotted the difference right away. He said, “Ying, this accent reduction teacher is doing wonders for you!”
Leigh’s coaching method was methodical and rigorous, and at the same time practical. At the beginning of each session, we usually chatted for several minutes. The conversation was casual and could be about what I did for the weekend or what happened in my classrooms. From those casual conversations, Leigh was in fact taking mental notes and, over time, she compiled a whole list of words that I was mispronouncing. From that list, she then pointed out the common themes – the vowels and consonants that I hadn’t gotten right – for us to focus on. For two years, we tackled those sounds. I still remember how she was using a mirror to show me exactly where the tongue should be for “th” or “l” to come out correctly. I remember repeating to myself “through thick and thin” every day during my daily commute for over a month, till one day I finally got the “th” right.
I loved the way she coached. She has a good ear and can catch any sound that is even slightly off. Leigh also has a great personality and a gentle demeanor, and easily put all her students at ease. The sessions were a lot of fun too, because she was bringing in idioms so I could practice the same sound using many different words and phrases. In that sense, she improved my English overall, not just my accent.
Long story short, even after our formal coaching sessions ended at Baruch college, I have been going back to her for ad hoc lessons from time to time over the past eighteen years. I have since left academia and am now Chief of Staff to a senior executive at one of the most prestigious professional services firms. My job requires almost constant verbal communication with other executives, clients, and staff. Many people have mistaken me for having grown up in the U.S. The credit goes to her.