Spoken English, beautifully spoken

What is Received Pronunciation?

Received Pronunciation, or RP, is the accent traditionally associated with English public schools, the BBC of a certain era, and the narrators of serious audiobooks. It is not the only good English accent; it is simply the one that is understood everywhere, doubted nowhere, and never needs subtitles. Eddie Barber acquired his at Repton, where it came with the uniform.

What pronunciation lessons cover

Lessons are one-to-one and built around your voice, not a standard syllabus. Depending on where you begin, they cover:

• The sounds of British English, one by one, including the ones your first language politely refuses to make
• Word stress and the rhythm of the English sentence
• Intonation: how the English ask, offer, insist, and gently decline
• Listening: catching what was actually said, at natural speed
• Reading aloud, presentations, toasts and speeches, by request

Softening, not erasing

The aim is not to erase where you come from. An accent is a biography, and yours is nothing to apologise for. The aim is clarity and confidence: that what you say arrives exactly as you meant it, first time, in the boardroom and at the dinner table alike. How far you then wish to go towards full RP is entirely your affair; Eddie will happily take you all the way.

A teacher, not a recording

Apps can play you the correct sound all day; they cannot hear what your mouth is doing about it. Eddie holds the Cambridge CELTA and teaches pronunciation the way it is best learned: listening closely, correcting kindly, and measuring progress lesson by lesson. Students record short passages at the start and again some weeks later, and the difference tends to settle the question of whether it is working.

Lessons are held online in any time zone, or in person in London. Send an enquiry and Eddie will reply personally, usually within a day.