homepage | english speech services

Speech Work

I help people with pronunciation and accents, both online and in person in central London. My clients include actors and professionals of all kinds, with a wide range of mother tongues.

I also give workshops and short courses internationally; 2019 venues included Argentina, Germany, Japan, Russia and Slovenia.

Additionally, I’m Director of UCL’s famous annual Summer Course in English Phonetics, which celebrated its 100th birthday last year.

Whether you want to learn a different English accent from your own, or work towards a native command of English – Geoff is brilliant. His knowledge is immense and his lessons are detailed and practical. He will teach you how to change your language habits, and very soon self-monitor and navigate the world of sounds by yourself. Geoff is always positive, kind and warm and will make you feel like you can achieve all you’ve set out to do.

Andre Flynnactor (The Musketeers, BBC)

Excellent! Geoff is a gifted and dedicated teacher. Thank you UCL for bringing him to us!

course participant

I have just passed my English retour exam, and the examiners commented on the improvement in my accent.

interpreter

Truly broadened my horizon in British English Pronunciation.

course participant

Geoff has a fantastic skill to communicate complex linguistic information in a practical and understandable way. I could not recommend Geoff’s coaching more.

film-TV actor

You managed to be both highly critical and wonderfully warm, motivating and entertaining. Your energy is contagious. Rarely have I learnt so much without noticing the effort.

interpreter

Very useful, practical, inspiring!

course participant

I have changed my behaviour towards my speaking quite dramatically… now I am able to identify in other speakers those sounds that I need to work on.

teacher of English

I recently met a former student of yours. I was wholly impressed by how authentically British her accent sounded, and she told me that you taught her.

by email

Geoff’s knowledge and enthusiasm are infectious… with Geoff’s help I landed a television role.

actor

Best seminar ever! Perfect!

interpreter

A truly rewarding experience. I enjoyed it to the full.

online client

“It is a book I wish I had written myself – but I don’t think I would have been able to make such a good job of it”
– from the Foreword by J.C. Wells

Short Courses

English Pronunciation:
A Contemporary Approach
UCL
17-20 February 2020

My pre-Christmas short course was over-subscribed, so please register your interest for the February course as soon as possible! This is practically-based course is for those who want to pronounce English more natively. It will be useful for anyone who uses English in their professional work. No technical knowledge of phonetics is required, as all concepts and symbols will be explained as part of the course. More details here. Please email Continuing Professional Development at pals-cpd@ucl.ac.uk

Second level
English pronunciation workshop
Berlin
28-29 February 2020

This course, hosted by BDÜ, is aimed primarily at interpreters and translators who have previously taken any of my workshops or short courses around the world. Participants are asked to bring some material to work on during the weekend; as in my first-level workshops, participants will receive individual feedback and notes for continuing practice after the weekend. More details here.

2019 marked the centenary of UCL’s annual Summer Course in English Phonetics! Read about SCEP’s 100 years here. Participants came from around the world to study for two weeks at the ‘home of English Phonetics’. Increased ear training this year was a great success, as was our Centenary Guest Lecture by Prof. David Crystal.

This year’s course will run 10-21 August 2020. Fees will be announced shortly.

Accent change

Problems

Speech is fast, complex, and largely automatic. We can do it because we spent years ‘wiring’ our mother tongue into our minds and bodies. Other accents and languages don’t have this advantage.
Foreign languages are taught primarily in their written form, and pronunciation teaching is often minimal.
Typically, learners pronounce foreign words with the wired-in habits of the mother tongue.

Challenges

If (like many actors) you enjoy copying accents, you may only need help with accuracy and consistency. But most people find it hard to change habits.
You need to care about distinctions that don’t matter in your mother tongue.
Your articulators may have to go outside their comfort zone. The right sound may feel wrong.
Often it’s the most familiar words that need the most work!

The process

In class, we go through differences between your current habits and your target accent.
We develop your ability to notice your old habits while speaking, inside and outside class.
When possible, you correct the mistakes that you notice, on the spot.
You begin to anticipate and to ‘correct’ issues before they happen.
New habits are established. More