When I first started studying Russian in college, I was frustrated with the way I sounded.  I could not figure out why I couldn't make the simplest words – like ма́ма – sound like my teacher's pronunciation.  I had a pretty good ear and I was putting in so much effort...why couldn't I produce authentic-sounding Russian speech?

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A lifetime of personal and professional experience – and lots of instruction from phenomenal Russian phonetics teachers – have helped me unlock a host of little secrets and nuances that go into creating pronunciation that sounds beautifully Russian.  Now I specialize in helping students unlock the same secrets for themselves.

If I ask students to close their eyes and imitate a few sounds at a time, they are often able to tap into their innate ability to mimic sound, stunned at how well they do it with a little coaching.  But they can't seem to translate that innate ability into authentic-sounding Russian speech on their own.  The problem is that they are missing key concepts and specific, nuanced knowledge that are needed to build a complete Russian sound identity.

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I think how we sound in a foreign language is a little like the clothing we choose to wear.  When we don't love how we look, we feel insecure and aggravated, sometimes even ashamed, and it holds us back from really being ourselves...and the same goes for how we sound in a foreign language.  But when we like how we look and feel great about how we sound, it brings us to life in all kinds of ways. 

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I want you to feel great about your pronunciation and to have fun while you learn it.  Пое́хали!