The third issue of my newsletter takes a slightly different form, offering links to sights that I've found very helpful for learning dialects, as well as for learning the neutral American accent.  There's also a link to a funny site called "The Dialectizer" which you may want to check out as well.

I've just returned from the set of DreamWorks' live-action film The Cat in the Hat, where I helped Mike Myers (Austin Powers) with his New York accent.  It was slightly surreal, as we met in his trailer after he'd gotten into his full cat make-up, so it was essentially like doing a dialect session with six-foot tall cat that spoke in a New York accent!

I'm fortunate to be getting more and more film work, so if you've been thinking about doing some private work with me, now is the time, as my schedule may not be able to accommodate new clients very much longer.  You'll find complete details about private coaching (both in person and by phone) at my site, www.thedialectcoach.com.

ESL Site

The best site I've found for resources for people who have learned English as a second language is http://rong-chang.com/

This site has compiled hundreds of ESL resources from across the web.  Especially helpfully are the links under "Pronunciation," including sites where you can listen to many challenging American English sounds pronounced in a neutral accent.

Dialect samples

One of the best resources on the web for dialect samples is the IDEA site, at  http://www.ukans.edu/~idea/index2.html
There are dozens of samples in standardized form, recorded by native speakers of various dialects from around the world.

Comic relief
"The Dialectizer" is a site that will convert any website into any of eight dialects, including, Cockney, Swedish Chef and Hacker.  Worth a visit.

Need more information?
Call or email me, or click here to visit my website for full details about learning any dialect, including neutral American.

Best wishes,

Joel Goldes
The Dialect Coach