Assessment in Accent Modification

Since there are several factors that influence an accent, it’s important to learn as much as possible about a client’s language background, personal goals, and speaking patterns. Areas of assessment in accent modification to best determine goals for clients who want to learn the General American English dialect (but the information can be used for any accent or dialect learning) are described below.

View my chart of Common Patterns of English Language Learners HERE.

Assessment areas

A thorough assessment should gather information about a client’s language background as well as assess their overall intelligibility and naturalness of spoken English. To do that, I recommend the following areas.

1. Case history

A case history is a general questionnaire completed by the client to gather more information about their language background, use, and concerns. Questions should include information in the following areas.

Language background:

• Client’s native country
• Length of time in the current country
• Native language/s spoken
• History of speech or language problems in the native language
• Hearing and vision abilities
• How the client learned English
• If the language instructors had a native accent

Language use:

• Settings in which the client uses English (i.e., school, work, social)
• Percentage of time English is spoken during the week and weekends
• Areas of difficulty (i.e., being understood in social situations or grammar)
• Areas of impact of accent (i.e., academic or professional advancement)

2. General areas

There are general areas of the assessment in accent modification that could be completed to determine if there are any issues that could impact the client’s speech production or ability to produce certain goals. These should be completed by a Speech-Language Pathologist or other professionals with the appropriate training. The following are general areas to assess.

Hearing screening:

• History of middle ear disease
• Previous ear surgeries
• Family history of hearing loss
• Concerns about hearing
• If possible, a hearing screening should be conducted with an audiometer

Oral peripheral exam:

• Facial appearance
• Jaw
• Lips
• Teeth
• Tongue
• Hard and soft palate
• Voice and resonance
• Diadochokinetic rates (DDK is the ability to coordinate the production of syllables in rapid succession)

Auditory discrimination:

• Ability to discriminate between sounds in words and sentences as same or different.

3. Segmentals

Segmentals refer to speech sounds of a language, both consonants and vowels. Depending on the client’s native language, they may have difficulty producing a sound altogether or may pronounce a sound slightly differently. Segmental productions should be assessed in short and long utterances.

Consonants and vowels:

• • Words
  • Phrases (2-4 words)
  • Sentences (5+ words)

View my Manner, Place, and Voicing Chart HERE.

4. Suprasegmentals

Suprasegmentals refer to the elements of speech patterns that are above individual sounds. It gives languages their flow or rhythm. In accent modification, the following areas are often addressed.

Suprasegmentals:

• • • Intonation
    • Syllable Stress
    • Word Linking

5. Connected speech

It is important to get a better idea of the client’s speaking patterns, language use, and pragmatics in longer and more spontaneous connected speech samples. Samples should occur in the following contexts.

Reading:

• • • Rate of speech (words per minute)
    • Pausing

Conversation:

• • • Segmental production
    • Grammar
    • Intelligibility level
    • Rate of speech
    • Volume
    • Vocal quality and resonance
    • Pragmatics (i.e., demeanor, eye contact, topic maintenance)

6. Everyday use

A functional communication questionnaire should be completed to better understand the client’s interests and routines. This information can easily be incorporated into weekly sessions to make practice very functional for the client. Information gathered should include the following.

Interests:

• • • Hobbies
    • Role models and their speaking patterns
    • Preferred news sources

Routines:

• • • Voicemail greetings
    • Common statements or questions used in everyday situations (i.e., work, social, academic)

After the assessment, you may complete a full report for the client, that includes assessment results, goals, and recommendations.

View my English Pronunciation Evaluation and Screener Combo HERE.

Accent modification is a difference, not a disorder. Therefore it is not covered by insurance. Clients may only be able to afford or have time for a few sessions. So you will want to prioritize goals to address in sessions! When prioritizing goals for the client, you will want to consider the overall impact on the speaker’s intelligibility and naturalness. The ones that have the most impact should be addressed first.

For tips on eliciting English vowels, click HERE.