Typically, many post secondary institutions offer or require ESL courses for students whose English is not acceptable.  Most often, an iBT TOEFL (Internet based test – test of English fluency level)  score or IELTS (international English level test system) determine the need for English.  These tests do not take into account pronunciation to any large extent.  Scores are based mostly on grammatical usage and comprehension questions.  The result is that some graduates still struggle with their speaking and in some cases, a heavy foreign accent is detrimental in getting a job.

I recently read about yet another university, The University of Buffalo, which offers accent reduction training to students.    Theresa Cinotti, one of the founders of the program, stated “I’ve had people come in that have said that they just plainly aren’t understood by others, and it’s a burden to them or a hurdle for them in one way or another,”

Some of her students, like Janice Lu said that the program has improved her ability to produce sounds, including the “L” at the end of words such as “girl,” and the “ow” sound in words such as “brown.” For the UB graduate student, pronunciation that matches standard American English is critical.

Unfortunately, many universities lump accent reduction together with ESL.  The result is often discouraging for students who have high fluency levels in English.  More exposure to correct grammar usage and comprehension questions will not help to neutralize an accent.