This is the most common complaint of the migrants and overseas university students Dr Yvonne Perczuk has taught over the past 25 years. Their vocabulary range is often good and their grammar is often technically excellent. Their problem is poor pronunciation.

"The single biggest cause of poor communication among non-native speakers of English is the failure to grasp the rhythm, stress and intonation of English." (Dr Corinne Adams, Sydney speech therapist)

Surprisingly, the words we say account for less than 10% of communication. It's how we say it that gets our message across.

Native English speakers can be remarkably tolerant of the grammatical problems or limited vocabulary of non-native speakers. However, research shows that they can become quite impatient and frustrated with poor pronunciation.

For non-native speakers, pronunciation is one of the biggest barriers to being accepted and understood, to landing that important job and to getting ahead in their careers.

Each individual has a different language background, a different learning style and different pronunciation difficulties.

There is no 'one size fits all' course with a 'quick fix' speech remedy.

The only really effective method of dealing with pronunciation problems is to work with students 'one on one'.

In special cases, students may be taught in small groups - see Programs.

Dr Perczuk has created a diagnostic assessment tool which is used in the first session of a program. The assessment consists of a variety of speaking tasks used to identify students' individual pronunciation problems.

A program, tailored to each student's specific needs, is then designed based on the individual problems 'diagnosed' in the assessment.

The systematic training, which follows, is geared to provide students with reliable, targeted strategies to rectify the individual pronunciation issues, which hinder effective communication in their professional and social lives.

In their initial interview, most clients request an additional focus in their training to suit their own professional, academic or social requirements.

Training is offered in a range of skills, including:
               Presentations
               Lecturing skills
               Interview skills
               Phone skills
               Speaking fluency and confidence
               Grammar repair
               Vocabulary development
               Test preparation

Each program created for students is a unique package, combining pronunciation training with specific skills areas essential to the individual client.