Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Presented by

A lesson in saving face

Burke Campbell,  Financial Post

Handout

L2 Accent Reduction Centre

(L2accent.com)

Founder: Jennifer Madigan

Location: Vancouver

When Jennifer Madigan was eight years old, her father came to her school to
read a story to the class. She was shocked and dismayed when her classmates
could not understand him.

"My father is very bright and educated, but I had not realized his Korean
accent could confuse my classmates. From that moment, I set out to help people
with English speaking."

That passion blossomed into a successful business for Ms. Madigan and her
husband Jeff. In 2008, they opened L2 Accent Reduction Centre. They teach
students to articulate in English by retraining the muscles of their mouth to
control the speech rhythm, flow and emphasis.

"Our focus is not English syntax and grammar but more the techniques to
enunciate and communicate more effectively," Ms. Madigan says.

The instruction -- face-to-face or remotely via Skype -- costs $75 to $100 an
hour. Ms. Madigan continues to expand the company's educational reach and client
base. "We offer an online training program that allows clients to practise their
lessons from home. I monitor their progress here. We are also developing online
3-D imagery to show how to form the mouth to create certain sounds."

With the global marketing L2 does now on the social networks, their customers
are coming from business, government, and universities. "We teach Russians,
Chinese, eastern Europeans, and South Americans. A stewardess saw us on YouTube
and flew from Japan to Vancouver to take our course. Learning to speak well is
an invaluable gateway, especially in the business world."

© 2009 The National Post Company. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly
prohibited.