ILP Blog – Institute of Language & Phonology

Would the P-ESL Method and Tools Work for Instructors in Australia?

Anyone, anywhere in the world, can access the P-ESL Certification Course at 800-language.com, and yes, the P-ESL Accent Modification Method can be highly effective for use by instructors in Australia. The P-ESL method is designed to address common pronunciation challenges and includes techniques adaptable to a wide range of language backgrounds and English accents. While the P-ESL method focuses on American English pronunciation, many principles it employs—such as rhythm, intonation, and articulation practice—are universally beneficial and can be adapted for clients seeking clearer speech in diverse English-speaking contexts. There are notable differences between the rhythm, intonation, and articulation of Australian English and American English, and these differences can influence how each… Read More

Accent Deep Dive: Arabic

Accent Deep Dive will be a series of posts that provides details on the phonemic inventories of languages and compares them with the phonemic inventory and qualities of common American English pronunciation. Each post explains how the phonemic inventory of a language is likely going to affect the pronunciation of American English. We’re starting the series with Arabic for no other reasons than it is a widely used language, and A in English is a good starting point. Around 310 to 350 million people use Arabic as a first language. For perspective, that’s about the size of the United States population in 2024, according to census.gov. When including second-language speakers,… Read More

Course Unit Updates – October 10 2024

Updates were made in the placement and sequencing of specific units (and modules) in the P-ESL Certification Course. There’s a possibility this may have affected some users activity and progress. Let us know by emailing support@800-language.com if you discover this to be true about your account. The course completion exam, the CEU activity report form and the course evaluation survey were moved into a new module: Module 4. Unit 2.5 was updated with a PDF download containing instructions for using the paper-based form approach for speech analysis, and how to combine several analysis results to create a small group training package.

The Rise of Online Courses and Teaching: Empowering Learners Across the Globe

Over the past decade, the educational landscape has transformed dramatically. The advent of the internet, coupled with rapid technological advancements, has led to an unprecedented rise in the popularity and use of online courses and teaching. This shift has been further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced educational institutions, businesses, and professionals to pivot to virtual teaching environments. Today, online education is not just a stopgap measure; it has become a permanent fixture in the way we approach learning and instruction. From primary education to corporate training, individuals and organizations are leveraging online platforms to teach and learn. In the United States, online education is becoming a preferred mode… Read More

Announcing Exciting Updates to the P-ESL Certification Course

We are thrilled to announce a series of updates to our P-ESL Certification Course designed to enhance your learning experience and empower you to deliver top-notch accent instructional services. Here’s what’s new: Explore the updated P-ESL Certification Course today and take your skills to the next level. Empower your clients with clear and confident communication!

The story behind “800-language.com”

It all started with Arthur Compton – a man with a passion for accents. Arthur J. Compton, Ph.D. is the Founder, Director and President of the Institute of Language & Phonology in San Francisco. He received his BA degree in Business Administration/Advertising, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Linguistics, Psychology, and Speech Pathology, from The Ohio State University. He was an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa where he established academic programs in Psycholinguistics and Child Language. Upon relocating to San Francisco, Dr. Compton taught at the University of California, Berkeley and California State University, Hayward. In 1972, he was awarded a four-year NIH (National Institute of Health) research… Read More

ASHA’s Preferred Terminology Update

In 2022, ASHAWire shared an updated perspective on preferred terminology regarding accent and pronunciation instructions. Read about it here: https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00376

Free Intro Course Now Open

Apologies to all who tried to register for our new and free introductory course (Becoming an Accent and Pronunciation Instructor – The ILP Approach) over the past few weeks. A new user registration system was implemented during the month of August, and the implementation did not go as smoothly as expected. The bugs and quirks have all been worked out, however, and registration for this course, as well as our core certification course, is now open and functioning properly. PLEASE NOTE: To get in on the free course, you must first register (for free) as a user for this site. You’ll find the Register page link in the Courses menu,… Read More

Course Access

Some of our courses are being worked on through the end of August 2021. Working hard to get those courses back up and available to all students as soon as possible!

Amazon for Video Conferencing?

Yes! Amazon has a video conferencing service. It has the same features as the other popular platforms, but it may cost you much less to use it. Amazon Chime is a pay-as-you-go video conference service that runs on Amazon servers. There is no up-front cost. There is no long-term commitment. You could even start using it without a credit card. Amazon Chime is part of a much larger platform of services known as Amazon Web Services (AWS). Anyone can sign up for AWS and use the services for things like file storage, building and hosting websites, developing applications, and even telephone service. Most of the available services are well known… Read More