About me

Brigid Thurgood, Accent Reduction Coach

I am a native-speaker of North-American English, a lifelong linguaphile and linguistics nerd. I graduated with an Honours BA in Linguistics from York University and went on to study for an MA in Theoretical Linguistics at the University of Toronto. In all, I was involved in the academic world of linguistics as a student, researcher, and teaching assistant for over eight years. I’m a certified teacher of English as a foreign language (CELTA, TEFL) and I have worked extensively as an EFL teacher and an accent reduction coach in Russia and Germany. Besides my native English, I speak fluent German and French. Additionally, I have spoken or worked on Thai, Russian, Italian, Icelandic, and Uzbeki (the Afghani dialect of Uzbek) in the past. English is my  language of instruction (German may be considered on request) and I am open to working with students of all language backgrounds.

The skills I bring to the table as an accent coach are:

• An excellent ear for subtle variations in speech sounds and the ability to map that out physically for you. I’ll tell you when you need to pull the tip of the tongue back just a fraction, to stick the lips out further, or to relax the base of your jaw.
• An academic background in phonetics and phonology, both generally and English-specific. This means I have extensive knowledge of the rules of English pronunciation and the skill to assess how the phonological rules of your native language are affecting your English.
• Creativity and adaptability: I am able to tailor my program to any learner, regardless of language background, experience, motivation, and goals. I conduct an initial assessment with each student to establish needs and goals, and constantly adapt our program based on changing needs and progress.
• An open, personable, and professional teaching style.
• Boundless enthusiasm for my subject and sharing it with you!