The About Your Accent Toolbox
Resources to help you communicate more clearly, confidently, and effectively
Not everyone who wants to improve their communication needs private accent coaching.
Sometimes you need a pronunciation resource. Sometimes you need more general English practice. Sometimes the issue is public speaking, vocabulary, listening, presentation skills—or simply getting more comfortable speaking English.
That’s why I created the About Your Accent Toolbox.
These are resources I’ve found useful, interesting, or worth knowing about. Some are completely free. Others offer paid programs or premium features.
One important note: I do not receive compensation for the resources listed here, and inclusion does not necessarily mean that I endorse or recommend a particular product, service, or provider. Explore them, see what fits your goals, and make your own decision.
1. Pronunciation & American English
If your primary goal is to work independently on pronunciation, sounds, rhythm, stress, and connected speech, start here.
YouGlish
Want to hear how a word is actually pronounced by real people?
YouGlish searches YouTube videos and lets you hear words and phrases used in real-world speech. You can also filter by varieties of English, including U.S., U.K., Australian, and Canadian English.
Best for: Listening to pronunciation in real-world context.
Sounds of Speech
The University of Iowa’s Sounds of Speech provides visual demonstrations of how English sounds are produced, including animations, video, and descriptions of the articulatory movements involved.
Best for: Understanding exactly what your tongue, lips, and jaw are doing.
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Chart
The International Phonetic Association’s official IPA resources provide charts and information about the symbols used to represent speech sounds.
Best for: People who want to understand phonetic symbols and pronunciation at a deeper level.
Forvo
Forvo is a pronunciation dictionary featuring recordings of words spoken by people from around the world.
Best for: Checking how individual words are pronounced by speakers from different language backgrounds.
2. Dictionaries & Pronunciation Tools
Sometimes the simplest tool is a good dictionary. These resources are particularly useful for checking pronunciation, stress, definitions, and examples.
Cambridge Dictionary
Cambridge provides definitions, example sentences, phonetic transcriptions, and audio pronunciations in both British and American English.
Best for: Pronunciation, vocabulary, definitions, and example sentences.
Merriam-Webster
A longstanding American English dictionary with definitions, audio pronunciations, usage information, and vocabulary resources.
Best for: American English vocabulary and pronunciation.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries
Oxford’s learner-focused dictionaries provide pronunciation, phonetic transcription, definitions, example sentences, and other tools for English learners.
Explore Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries
Best for: Building vocabulary while paying attention to pronunciation and usage.
3. Listening & Everyday English
Pronunciation isn’t only about producing sounds. Your ear has to learn what natural English sounds like.
VOA Learning English
Voice of America offers English-learning content designed around listening, vocabulary, news, and everyday communication.
Best for: Listening practice and learning English through current topics.
BBC Learning English
BBC Learning English offers lessons, videos, pronunciation activities, vocabulary instruction, and listening practice.
Best for: Structured English-learning practice and listening.
British Council – LearnEnglish
The British Council provides extensive free resources covering listening, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
Explore British Council LearnEnglish
Best for: Comprehensive English-language practice.
ELLLO
ELLLO provides a large collection of free listening lessons featuring speakers from different countries and a variety of English accents.
Best for: Listening to different speakers and varieties of English.
4. Speaking & Communication
Sometimes the challenge isn’t really pronunciation. You may simply need more opportunities to speak, present, explain, persuade, or interact in English.
Toastmasters International
Toastmasters is a global organization focused on public speaking, communication, and leadership. Its website also contains a substantial library of free speaking resources.
Explore Toastmasters Resources
Best for: Public speaking, presentations, confidence, and leadership communication.
Toastmasters Public Speaking Tips
A particularly useful collection of articles and guides covering speech preparation, delivery, presentation skills, and managing public-speaking anxiety.
Best for: Becoming a more effective speaker—not simply a more accurate speaker.
TED Talks
TED Talks provide thousands of examples of people explaining ideas, telling stories, persuading audiences, and presenting complex information.
Best for: Studying effective speakers and observing how they use pacing, emphasis, pauses, gestures, and storytelling.
5. English for Professional Communication
If your challenge is primarily workplace communication, improving pronunciation may be only one piece of the puzzle.
Purdue OWL
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab contains extensive resources for professional, academic, and workplace communication.
Best for: Professional writing, emails, presentations, grammar, and workplace communication.
Harvard Business Review
HBR publishes articles about leadership, management, communication, persuasion, negotiation, and workplace effectiveness.
Explore Harvard Business Review
Best for: Developing the broader communication skills that matter in professional environments.
MindTools
MindTools offers resources covering communication, leadership, presentation skills, decision-making, management, and workplace effectiveness.
Best for: Practical workplace communication and professional-development skills.
6. Vocabulary & Language Development
A noticeable accent isn’t necessarily the problem. Sometimes the bigger issue is finding the right words quickly and expressing complex ideas naturally.
Anki
Anki is a digital flashcard system that uses spaced repetition to help learners retain information.
Best for: Building and retaining professional vocabulary.
Quizlet
Quizlet provides digital flashcards and study activities that can be used for vocabulary development and language learning.
Best for: Vocabulary practice and memorization.
WordReference
WordReference provides bilingual dictionaries, language forums, and other resources for learners of multiple languages.
Best for: Translating vocabulary and understanding how words are used across languages.
7. Speech, Accent & Linguistic Diversity
Your accent is not a defect that needs to be “fixed.”
Everyone has an accent. Accent is influenced by language background, geography, community, identity, and experience.
The goal of communication training should be determined by your goals, not by the assumption that one way of speaking is inherently superior.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA provides professional information about accent modification, intelligibility, comprehensibility, pronunciation, linguistic diversity, and communication differences.
Read ASHA’s Accent Modification information
Best for: Understanding accent modification from a professional speech-language perspective.
Speech Accent Archive
The Speech Accent Archive, developed at George Mason University, contains recordings of people from different language backgrounds reading the same passage in English.
Explore the Speech Accent Archive
Best for: Hearing how speakers from different linguistic backgrounds produce English.
IDEA – International Dialects of English Archive
IDEA provides recordings and information about English dialects and accents from around the world.
Best for: Exploring the enormous diversity of English accents and dialects.
8. Pronunciation & Speech Technology
Technology can be useful for practice and feedback—but it shouldn’t be confused with individualized professional assessment.
Speechling
Speechling provides pronunciation and language-learning practice, including listening and speaking activities.
Best for: Structured speaking and pronunciation practice.
ELSA Speak
ELSA uses speech-recognition technology to provide feedback on English pronunciation and speaking.
Best for: Independent pronunciation practice using speech technology.
EnglishCentral
EnglishCentral combines video-based English learning with speaking and pronunciation practice.
Best for: Practicing English through videos and spoken interaction.
9. A Different Way to Practice
If you’re working on your English independently, don’t underestimate the value of simply recording yourself.
Choose a short passage, presentation, email, or explanation that you might actually use at work. Record yourself saying it. Listen back. Then record it again.
Pay attention to:
- What words receive emphasis?
- Where do you pause?
- Are your important ideas easy to identify?
- Are you speaking too quickly?
- Are you speaking too slowly?
- Are you ending statements clearly?
- Do you sound engaged or monotone?
- Which words or phrases are difficult to pronounce?
- Does your delivery sound like you—or like someone reading a script?
The goal isn’t to sound like someone else.
The goal is to make your message easier to hear, understand, and remember.
Not Sure What You Need?
That’s exactly what the About Your Accent screening is designed to help with.
If your screening results suggest that individualized accent and pronunciation coaching isn’t the right fit, I would rather tell you that than sell you a program you don’t need.
You may need a different resource, a different type of communication training, or simply more opportunities to practice.
And that’s okay.
Start with the Toolbox. Find the resource that matches your actual goal.
If, after exploring these resources, you decide that you want individualized help developing clearer, more effective American English communication for professional situations, you can learn more about About Your Accent’s coaching options.
[Learn More About Executive Communication Coaching]
A final word about accents
There is nothing inherently wrong with having an accent.
Accents are a natural part of language, and they are connected to culture, identity, geography, and personal history. The purpose of pronunciation coaching is not to erase who you are.
Sometimes, however, the way we speak can make it harder for other people to understand our message—or can make communication require more effort than it should.
When that happens, you have a choice.
You can decide that changing certain aspects of your speech would help you communicate more effectively.
Or you can decide that your current speech is working just fine.
Either choice is yours.
The point is to make that choice based on your goals—not shame, pressure, or the idea that you need to sound “native” to be successful.