CANCELLED - English with(OUT) accent - with Andrew Fish

English is widely used as a lingua franca (common language) for communication between professionals from countries all over the world. Only a tiny minority of these users of English actually grew up speaking the language. When non-native speakers communicate in English, they usually have an accent. So do English, American and Australian speakers, but whereas the media have familiarized us with these ‘native’ versions, the problem is that the special pronunciation characteristics of say Danish, Italian or Chinese versions of English differ widely from each other in ways that are often unfamiliar to English speakers from other language groups, and this impedes clear communication . The aim of this workshop is therefore not to make you sound like an English person, but to begin to remove some of the strongest characteristics that you have imported into your English from Danish.

To achieve this aim, the session takes you through the most important aspects of English pronunciation in just four hours. Constantly shifting between presentation and exercises, the technique employed is designed to turn knowledge into practice to make an immediate and real difference to your English pronunciation. It would be foolish, however, to claim that a 4-hour workshop will make all the difference: learning a language is an ongoing, long-term and iterative task. I will provide you with the tools to continue that task in the future.

In the first two hours we focus on single sounds using a well-known diagnostic tool to find out where each individual participant needs to focus. After the break, however, we move onto combinations of sounds. This is more innovative and immediate in its effect. Here you will ‘unlearn’ many of the simplifications about pronunciation that you may have brought with you from earlier teaching – we look at the rhythm, music and pauses of the English language. Hopefully, you will not end up sounding like the Queen of England (or Boris Johnson!), but by the end of the workshop you should be speaking whole phrases and sentences with something very close to English intonation patterns. Finally, I will provide you with a simple tool to go on practicing this technique in your own time in the future.

There will be a sandwich and something to drink included at the workshop.
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Practical Information If you have any allergies or are unable to eat certain foods we ask you to contact us in advance, otherwise we will not be able to accommodate your needs. Contact information is listed below.

You will be asked to show your ticket when attending the event. Your ticket can be found on mit.ida.dk or in the IDA Events app.
If you have any questions or otherwise need to contact us, event coordinator Mikkel van Binsbergen-Galán can be reached at mikkelvbg@yahoo.es or on 30 66 59 46.

OBS: If you have any issues signing up for the event, contact Helle Ekstrøm at hek@ida.dk. Include your IDA number and the event number of this event in the message.

If you are unable to attend the event, please unsubscribe before the deadline, such that others can attend. A 50 kr. fee will be charged in case of no-show. You can unsubscribe on mit.ida.dk or in urgent cases to Helle Ekstrøm at hek@ida.dk.