
Kate
Ambassador
- Hourly rate £65
- Response Time 5h
- Number of students 50+
1st lesson free!
SPECIALIST Pronunciation Training / Accent Reduction: Sound more like a native English speaker! Professional coaching with an experienced Speech and Language therapist & English Teacher. ONLINE.
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- London
- at their home
- at your home
- By webcam
Ambassador
We host the best tutors. Quality of their profile, experience in their field. Kate will be happy to arrange your first ESOL (English) lesson.
About the lesson
Hello there! If you know that your English pronunciation needs some work and you're keen to improve it, you are in the right place!
Perhaps you want to communicate more clearly? Maybe you're tired of having to repeat yourself or simply want to feel more confident when speaking English? These are all good reasons for starting pronunciation training.
But there are lots of other benefits too! Previous students have mentioned big improvements in lots of areas, including:
* commanding more RESPECT in professional environments
* sounding more FLUENT overall in English
* INTEGRATING better in English speaking communities
* enjoying better RELATIONSHIPS with English-speaking colleagues/friends
ABOUT ME
I'm Kate and I specialise in pronunciation/accent training.
I'm also an experienced Speech and Language Therapist (MSc) and qualified English teacher (EFL). I have used my skills and passion for pronunciation to help students from all over the world to speak more clearly and confidently.
I also have a degree in modern languages (BA HONS) and have learned several languages myself. So I understand that mastering a new language can be really fun but also really frustrating!
It's never too late to improve your pronunciation and you don't need a 'perfect ear for accents' to succeed; you just need the right kind of help and a commitment to your goal. In my sessions, we work hard, we make it fun and we see some real progress every session.
ABOUT THE SESSIONS
My pronunciation training sessions involve the following elements:
1. Initial assessment of strengths and needs
2. Setting goals – together we will establish what your goals are and what changes are realistic with the time and resources available to you.
3. Listening work – We will practise 'ear training' exercises to become more familiar with common errors in your own pronunciation.
4. Practical articulation work - I will help you to make tricky consonant and vowel sounds by showing you where to place your tongue and other articulators.
5. Rhythm and stress work - I'll help you to imitate the natural 'rhythm' of English when you are speaking.
6. Generalisation work - I'll help you make that transition from the classroom to the real world, so that you can integrate your new pronunciation patterns into everyday speech.
Please get in touch if you have any questions about me, you or my methodology.
subjects
- ESOL (English)
- English speaking
- English listening
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+2
Accent Reduction-English
EFL
languages
- English
- Spanish
levels
- A1
- A2
- B1
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+19
B2
C1
C2
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Professional
Kids
Adult education
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
AS Level
A Level
BTEC
Undergraduate
Masters
Diploma
Doctorate
About Kate
I combine specialist techniques from the field of Speech and Language Therapy with the 'tried and tested' methods I use to teach English as a foreign language (EFL).
This combined approach means I can help students with a wide range of difficulties and learning styles. Goal-setting is an important part of the process and sessions are tailored to meet a student's specific needs. Boosting your confidence and motivation is equally important, so sessions are challenging but fun!
I also have a modern languages degree (BA Joint Hons) and speak 3 additional languages. I've lived and worked abroad myself for long periods and so I fully understand the fun (but also the challenges!) of learning another language and trying to master it.
Review
All of our reviews are collected by us and are 100% reliable. They correspond to a real experience lived by the students of Kate.
Perfect! Kate is a brilliant teacher.
In the five months I've been working with her, I've made a huge amount of progress. She's prepared, meticulous, enthusiastic, and the lessons are always good fun.
If you're looking to improve your accent, she's the one to see. Highly recommended.- Kate's response : André is a man on a mission to perfect his accent whilst being heaps of fun too! He puts his heart and soul into his practice and it clearly pays off! Well done André!
Perfect! The initial assessment was really helpful in identifying the areas that need focusing on. Every lesson was planned accordingly hence allowing the best possible learning outcome. Lessons and homework were always fun and enjoyable. Highly recommended!
- Kate's response : Eve is a fantastic learner! She's meticulous in her study
and seems genuinely interested in the ins and outs of pronunciation. Arguably, this is one of the best ways to make quick progress! Eve is also lovely to work with!
Perfect! Her honesty about what i really needed. She made me realise that what i was looking for was not accurate and put me on the right road.
Perfect! Really liked the introduction class, Kate was very prepared and earned my trust already.
Perfect! Kate is an amazing teacher and a lovely person and I enjoy every minutes of my lessons. She identified all the issues I had with my accent and made my lessons fully bespoke to my needs. I only had few lessons so far and I already feel more confident in using my voice. Looking forward to have more lessons with Kate.
- Kate's response : I've really enjoyed working with Salome so far. She has a really busy life but is committed to her goal and is already making good progress. She always come to sessions with a smile and is great to work with!
Perfect! I'm really enjoying my sessions with Kate. She's very competent and knowledgeable and takes a lot of care in how she plans her lessons. I thoroughly recommend her services!
- Kate's response : Cindy already has a very good English accent but is keen to take it to the next level - i.e. polishing it to sound even more like a native speaker. It's great to work with someone who has such high standards and a desire to master her subject. Bravo, Cindy!
Perfect! She is in highest level ,to understand and help the students to find a best way of teaching for them and she has the highest knowledge in English languages for someone who is looking to see the improvement in short period of time.I was really lucky to found her and I think 5 star is not enough for Kate.*******
- Kate's response : Bahador is on a real mission to improve his speech and language and is a pleasure to work with. He learns quickly and will make great progress if he keeps practising!
Perfect! Kate is amazing! She uses a very professional methodology to handle accent reduction. If you're hesitating then give it a try with the first Pronounciation Assessment.
- Kate's response : It has been lovely working with Anna. She is really positive and enthusiastic and has picked up the notoriously difficult 'th' sounds in record time! A great start :)
Perfect! Kate has been a great teacher for me and is a joy to work with.
Her skills in speech therapy allows her to approach things methodically, through clearly defined steps. She’s able to accurately assess your current level and break down your progression into smaller, actionable milestones. Her large experience means she comes prepared with documents at hand for each lesson. All in all you feel guided at every turn and it’s a pleasure to see myself making progress so quickly!- Kate's response : Kevin has already made some really good progress in a short time. He's great to work with and I look forward to seeing him progress even further :)
Perfect! I'm very happy to have contacted Kate for my accent reduction classes. Kate is very patient and kind. She listens to all my problems very patiently and guides me systematically. Definitely a big confidence booster! Her initial evaluation promised me that Kate is going to be a wonderful teacher and I decided to sign up for her classes. She has different techniques to make sure I pronounce the words accurately. She is very cheerful and I always look forward to her classes every week. I highly recommend Kate as your tutor for your accent reduction!
- Kate's response : Sneha is a delight to work with - enthusiastic, hard working and motivated. She has made great progress in only a few weeks and I look forward to watching her progress even further. Well done, Sneha!
Perfect! Everything was great.
- Kate's response : Sabine and I have only just started working together but I can see already that she has a definite awareness of what she needs help with, a high level of motivation to improve and a good sense of humour too! I'm looking forward to working with her :).
Perfect! Kate is a very professional and nice tutor. It is a big pleasure to study with her. She is very friendly and patient. Kate is using diverse teaching techniques, which makes every lesson interesting and effective. Will definitely recommend Kate as a tutor!
- Kate's response : Maya is great work with. She has a very good ear and picks up new sounds quickly. She is also really motivated and willing to put in the work to perfect her British accent. A really promising start :)
Perfect! I really enjoy learning with Kate. She’s a great teacher and put me at ease from the start. Kate explains everything every clearly and is extremely knowledgeable. She takes great care in organising and structuring each lesson and set of homework. The lessons are really fun and I am always looking forward to my next lesson.
- Kate's response : Emmanuelle is an impressive student! She found the 'r' sound difficult to begin with but persevered and is now progressing extremely quickly with what is typically a very difficult sound!! She's really motivated to improve her accent and great to work with all round. Thanks Emmanuelle!
Perfect! Kate is a real professional. She has well-designed didactics, profound knowledge and skill set to teach. She has identified my weak points with the initial assessment and made a customized plan to my needs, which has been very helpful. If you are serious to improve your pronunciation/accent, you need a pro to work with, like Kate. She is a nice person and easy to talk to as well. I highly recommend to attend her class.
- Kate's response : Ikuya has been an excellent student so far. He has made quick progress with the 'l' and 'r' sounds and can already produce difficult words much more clearly. He is aware of what he finds difficult and learns quickly. Well done, Ikuya! :)
Perfect! I've studied English as a Foreign language for long period but I couldn't realize my frequent or fossilized errors especially in pronunciation section. The most impressive thing of Kate class is a professional diagnosis. When I received my result of pronunciation test, I was shocked cause those are exactly same when I thought as my weakness or bad. As a tutor, precise ability to catch the weakness and strength of students is one of the essential attributes. Moreover, providing suitable resources such as easily accessible website is so helpful to practice in daily life. This was enough to make me feel how passionate and professional she is! Her teaching skills or techniques are reliable as well. To be honest, I am a primary school and KFL teacher in my country. As a educator, I would like to evaluate her class very highly and valuable. She is qualified and has plentiful knowledge of different language background. I would like to recommend you this class and this wonderful amazing teacher! I bet you won't regret!
- Kate's response : Hyojin is a pleasure to work with. She is really motivated and clearly works hard to improve her pronunciation. She has a good understanding of her own strengths and needs and is on the right path to clearer speech.
Perfect! Kate is an excellent tutor. She is able to create a sustain a positive, professional relationship and help to achieve the goals. I have had several lessons with Kate and already felt a progress in reducing my accent when I speak in English.
Natasha Kolotoff- Kate's response : Natasha is a really motivated and a pleasure to work with. She is proactive in doing work independently to improve her pronunciation and is making great progress :)
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Recommendations
Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher
It was my friend who told me about Kate because she was so excited to work with her. After seeing how much progress my friend had made after taking Kate's classes, I decided to sign up as well.
Kate is very thorough in her approach. She provides all the materials, detailed progress report, there is also a comprehensive test to evaluate a person's pronunciation level which is then used as a start base for work, but she constantly checks and adjusts based on the person's progress.
After only 5 sessions I feel that I have made very good progress and plan on continuing taking the sessions.
Most importantly, it's such a pleasure to work with Kate because of how she combines a great personality, attention and care for her clients with great professionalism. Her classes are never boring - there is always fun activity, and she can also adjust and train using your work materials.
I definitely recommend Kate's classes to the people with any level of English who want to improve their accent working with a great person.I worked with Kate for 3 years and was her line manager for 1. She is a highly competent and qualified teacher who takes her work very seriously.
Her experience in teaching and her knowledge of English pronunciation were a fantastic asset for us at the school. Through scheduled observations and conversations with her, I have noticed her passion for both languages and teaching, as well as her ability to plan and deliver engaging lessons. Besides this, her student feedback was consistently excellent.
Kate is an amazing teacher - I highly recommend her!I’m from Italy and when I started my accent reduction lessons with Kate a few months ago, I had a strong Italian/ Southern European accent. After the switch to WFH due to Covid, I’ve started spending a lot of time on video calls for internal meeting and clients meetings. At that point I felt very conscious about my accent as people often couldn’t understand me. That was really holding me back from progressing in my career.
After a few months of taking lessons with Kate my accent has improved massively and I was even promoted last month. The promotion was obviously not only due to my ’new accent’ but my manager told me, it played a role in it as I come across more confident and I have more credibility internally.
Kate genuinely cares about me learning and making progress. She’s really passionate about teaching and she really put her heart into it!Kate is a wonderful and competent tutor. She provided me with many helpful tips and excercises. Although I have been using English in business context for years, noone has drawn my attention to some pronounciation challenges I faced. What is even more important, Kate provides a lot of support and advice on how it make this learning stick. I would recommend Kate to any student willing to improve their English skills especially when it comes to accent and intonation.
Extremely methodical, Kate establishes easy rules to acquire perfect English pronunciation. She knows perfectly how to motivate her students and make classes interesting and very productive. Really effective. The improvement is noticeable from the first lesson.
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Rates
packages
- 5h: £325
- 10h: £650
webcam
- £65/h
free lessons
- 30mins
Video
Find out more about Kate
01
Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?
I'm a native English speaker, born and raised in the UK!
02
2) Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?
I think Sherlock Holmes (one of my favourite characters!) has many 'typical' British traits. He's emotionally reserved and a little awkward but also has a great sense of humour and a lasting love of tea!
03
3) Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behavior in the language that you particularly like?
Having lived in a number of other countries, I still love the funny little British culture of giving and receiving greeting cards for every possible occasion, however small and insignificant! Feeling a little ill? Someone will send you a card to cheer you up. Moving to a new house? You'll get cards to welcome you to your new home! I think it's one of life's little pleasures to know that your friends, workmates or even the lady down the road are thinking about you!
04
4) Why does speaking this language matter to you?
Like it or not, English is still predominantly the main international language of travel and business. I love to think that I can help my clients to open doors and break down barriers that are holding them back from fulfilling their potential. We should all have access to the world's opportunities, not just those who speak English as a native language.
05
5) What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?
English spelling is super unhelpful and can make pronunciation really hard for non-native speakers. You can't just 'say what you see': just think of the many ways you can pronounce 'OUGH" (tough, cough, though, etc....)!
Following these steps should make your life easier: (1) Learn the spelling-pronunciation rules that do exist. There are exceptions but these patterns should help. (2) Be constantly aware that English spelling is unreliable and be prepared to check the pronunciation (e.g. in an online dictionary). (3) Spend time LISTENING (and SPEAKING if possible) to native English speakers (e.g. podcasts / language exchanges): if you only read English you become too reliant on the spelling and not familiar enough with the pronunciation. For example, many people mispronounce WORK because of the 'o' spelling. Try reading it as 'werk' instead and you'll be closer to the correct pronunciation! :)06
6) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.
On a school exchange to Spain as a teenager, I was mistaken for a Spaniard several times. My grammar had mistakes and my vocabulary had gaps but my pronunciation was really good...and that was all that seemed to matter! People overlooked my other mistakes because I sounded convincing! This was a great lesson and ignited my dream to become an accent coach. Pronunciation skills are super important when speaking other languages and I love helping people with that today.
07
7) How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?
When at university, I spent 6 months in Quebec, Canada, studying linguistics. It was REALLY hard and intense but taught me everything I know today about grammar!
I then went on to live in Spain (7 years) and Australia (1 year) and have always loved travelling. Spending time with native English speakers from around the world has taught me so much about the English language. I now understand and have direct experience of the differences in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation between Australian, New Zealand, North American and British English. That means I can hear if you've been influenced by any of these varieties or help you to acquire elements of a specific kind of English.08
What makes you a Superprof in language?
I think you need 3 key elements to be a great teacher: (1) a genuine love for the subject, (2) a thorough knowledge of the subject and high level of skill in teaching and (3) a commitment to continue learning/developing your knowledge and skills. I've worked hard to have all three.
The first came naturally: I've been obsessed with 'language' ever since I was a little girl. I've learned 4 additional languages myself and constantly find myself analysing my friends' accents and language use (sometimes makes me unpopular, haha!). I've also spent my whole career working with speech and language and have a really wide set of skills. I've worked as an English Teacher in language schools, a university lecturer in phonetics and a speech and language therapist, amongst other roles. I know my subject and I know how to teach it. Finally, I'm always trying new techniques, attending industry webinars and asking for feedback from clients to make sure that I'm using the most effective methods. You can never stop learning as a teacher and that's what makes the job fun!