I came to the United States when I was nineteen years old, maybe a bit too old to learn a new language.

“I went back to high school for 3 years, then attended another 2 years of technical school. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge, but not in the area of language. I graduated in December 1998, and have since been working full-time employee at Second Wind.

Communication is my biggest challenge. I’ve been in and out of community college for many semesters (trying) to learn English, but didn’t gain much.

In 2010, my manager found The Whittaker Group and recommended it to me. Since then, I’ve attended multiple sessions with the Marjorie Whittaker, on and off over the course of three years. Now I am very confident in my communication skills, especially verbal. I’d recommend everyone that I know who is looking to improve his/her communication skills to this group without any hesitation, even if that person is a native English speaker.”

— Quoc Ho, Production Manager | Second Wind Systems -From Vietnam

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Even though I grew up with English as my primary language, I was constantly being asked by colleagues and friends about my regional accent.

“I became very self conscious and it was evident that I needed assistance in accent reduction. I searched the internet and found Marjorie’s website. I enrolled for individual sessions with Marjorie after speaking with a couple of students she provided as references. She has helped me tremendously! Marjorie is a very skilled, patient and organized professional. After an initial assessment, Marjorie immediately prepared weekly lesson plans specifically tailored to my needs. As a result, my pronunciation has improved and I have learned various techniques from Marjorie to continue to achieve my goals. I highly recommend Marjorie’s program!!!!!”

— A.J., Attorney from New England

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Despite the initial apprehension and many doubts that I had about speech therapy, Marjorie was exceptionally helpful!

“Having spent over 12 years in this country, I wasn’t sure whether a mild accent could be effectively treated through only a few months of personal sessions. But, Marjorie exceeded all hopes, not to mention expectations. She was excellent at identifying my problem areas and highly effective at showing me how to improve within those areas. Furthermore, she was great at providing me with materials to use on my own. Marjorie was especially great when it came to making me feel comfortable. I always felt very relaxed which helped me concentrate on improvement rather than how silly I must have sounded. She was always very responsive when I felt that I needed help in a particular area. All in all, it was a very pleasant and highly beneficial experience!”

— E.P., Attorney from the Ukraine

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Marjorie's accent reduction course is terrific!

“She identified the difficult sounds for me and developed a plan to work on each problem systematically. The goals were very achievable because there were only a couple of sounds to work on at each class. At the end, I improved my pronunciation by over 80%! Marjorie is very patient and flexible and helped me with my crazy schedule.”

— H.Z., Engineer from China

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The class was different from many English classes that I took before and I dropped off after few sessions.

“It was a real pleasure to attend it. Marjorie was excellent and very patient. She made me achieve my goals easily by adapting the class to my needs.”

— H. C., Principal SW Engineer from Morocco

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Marjorie is an excellent instructor

“Accent reduction can be very difficult and is a slow process, but you can’t find a better instructor. She can quickly assess the individual accent problems and works diligently with her students to improve their accent. She is extremely patient in working with her students’ accent issues. Her training will definitely help you to improve communication and more importantly (become) aware of your day to day mistakes in your pronunciation. In my mind, this is a critical step forward to improve your accent.”

— V.J., Engineer from India

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Recently graduated from college, I started working with Marjorie to improve my communication / presentation skills and to better prepare for interviews.

“Though I get along well with most people, I am shy and don’t like talking about my accomplishments or myself. During our sessions, Marjorie helped me to think more about what I wanted out of a career, and to portray this in cover letters and during interviews (written and orally) in a professional yet conversational manner. Marjorie and I practiced a wide range of interview questions, and even brainstormed small talk and special interest points; I usually get nervous and forgetful during interviews, so I was especially grateful that Marjorie suggested and was willing to review these with me. We also discussed how intonation can affect first impressions and conversations, and how to avoid flat or unenthusiastic tones. Marjorie is easy to talk to, very encouraging, and I greatly appreciate her help and services.”

— R.K., Recent Ivy League Graduate

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I learned so much and am very thankful to have had your guidance.

“I feel much more prepared in presentations and am happy to have a toolkit of invaluable resources moving forward.”

— A.W., Designer - Corey McPherson Nash

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We have had the opportunity to work with Marjorie on various professional development projects including presentation training, accent reduction courses, as well as soft skills training.

“After her initial assessment of our needs, she worked with us to tailor a program specific to the needs of the participant(s). In addition to the outlined training, she often helped us with “real time” training when applicable. Whether helping our team prep for the big presentation or just organizing thoughts for a smaller conference call, she gave our team the tools necessary for a positive outcome. Marjorie’s professionalism and knowledge of her subject matter is impressive, but her patience and ability to connect with people is what truly sets her apart from the competition. She has a natural ability to make the trainee feel at home and comfortable with the training process which is critical to the ultimate success of the program. She has been completely flexible in working with our staff individually and in group settings and has willingly accommodated our many scheduling conflicts – always ready to shift gears when the need presented itself. I would highly recommend Marjorie and her services without reservation; she has become an invaluable partner to our business.”

— Marisa Petrillo, Office Director - Corey McPherson Nash

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I was born in a former British colony. As a result, I spoke fluent English before I moved to the U.S., although I wanted to sound “American”.

“After calling more than a dozen accent reduction programs in Boston, I came across the Whittaker Group. My first impression of Marj was the most positive, so I asked for references whose accents awed me. Consequently, I arranged for an assessment. On our first meeting, I was even more impressed with her as a person. She is a warm, cheerful and very friendly lady with a perpetual contagious smile. We had a pleasant, easy-going and well structured interview that assessed how I said every English consonant and vowel sound, as well as my intonation. It’s amazing how simple words like “the”and “man”can make a difference in one’s accent. Marj picked them up! I knew I wanted to work with her, as it was just a perfect fit. I quickly began to see noticeable differences in my accent, especially with my vowel sounds. Marj’s feedback helped me not only with my accent, but also with my voice quality and public speaking skills. The study books and CDs that she developed are phenomenal, user friendly and great for self study. I knew that I could not change my accent overnight and that it took a lot of practice constant feedback over a long time. So, I was quite flattered one day when a fellow colleague asked me how long I had been in the US. “Three years,”I replied. “When did you lose your accent?”he asked with conviction. Admittedly, I don’t sound 100% American, but I sound much more so than I did on the first assessment. I speak more clearly, articulate my thoughts better, communicate more effectively and indeed feel more confident speaking in public and giving professional talks. I have continued working with Marj and would definitely do it again, without hesitation. As a result, I strongly recommend her program.”

— A.J., Doctoral Candidate from Zimbabwe

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Over the past ten years, I've tried a variety of different methods to gain proficiency in my English pronunciation.

“I took private lessons and bought materials from many popular ESL schools, but Marjorie’s method was the best and really worked for me. As an executive of a global investment firm, I am always requested to speak in front of a large professional audience. Now, I feel that people are paying more attention to my message rather than my accent. Because of Marjorie’s professional and friendly assistance, I feel more confident to extend my network.”

— C.T., Investment professional from Malaysia

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Marjorie and The Whittaker Group showed me how to hear myself like never before.

“If you can’t hear how you sound to the world, you’ll never be able to change your accent. That’s where Marjorie’s online platform comes in! If you’re looking to modify your speech, look no further.”

— Brandon Gunnoe, Reporter

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A must for anyone looking to minimize their Boston accent.

“Sessions with Marjorie and the Boston Rules workbook are a must for anyone looking to minimize their Boston accent. One on one sessions with Marjorie identified which sounds were challenging for me. She taught proper jaw and tongue placement to produce the correct pronunciations. In just a short time, I can now hear and work consciously to control my accent. Marjorie is extremely attentive, professional, and makes learning fun. She is definitely the person to go to improve pronunciation and diction.”

— DM, Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineer from Boston

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I highly recommend Marjorie to anyone looking to speak more articulately.

“I highly recommend Marjorie to anyone looking to speak more articulately. She is extremely knowledgeable about her craft and is the consummate professional. She gives practical, useful advice to help you become a better speaker. Most importantly, you get real results in a short period of time. Truly worth the time and money.”

— Linda Tucker, C.P.M., CPIM, Senior Curriculum Developer at Oracle

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Best investment we made this year!

“Marjorie’s innovative and varied teaching techniques have been very effective. The best investment we made this year!”

— M.D., MIT Grad Student, Italy

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We now possess a solid understanding of the ground rules in English pronunciation.

“Marjorie’s intensive course has been a great choice. Not only is our accent clearly improved – we now possess a solid understanding of the ground rules in English pronunciation.”

— A.L., Harvard Law School Grad Student, Italy

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Using the online platform and the book - I can improve a lot.

“Marjorie, Thanks for all of your help! Although I am aware I still have a lot of ground to cover, it has been an eye-opener for me, and I believe with more personal efforts - particularly using the online platform and the book - I can improve a lot. Once again, I would like to thank you for your help in my sojourn to becoming a better English speaker.”

— Q.A., Master’s Student, International Medical Graduate, from Nigeria

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I was able to talk freely without any hesitation or boundaries.

“I am currently a high school student at an international school in China. My ultimate goal is to attend university in the United States. It is very important for me to speak clearly and feel confident in my classes. I have worked with Marjorie via Skype over the past year to improve my pronunciation, and speaking fluency. Initially, it was hard to even have simple, short interactions. Last month, we spent a few of our weekly sessions talking about my summer vacation. I talked about my trip to Japan, and my experience in Shanghai where I attended an Economic Forum. I noticed how much I have improved my speaking skill because I was able to talk freely without any hesitation or boundaries during the trip. Thank you Marjorie for your excellent teaching skills and program.”

— Bill 张泽臣

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我真心觉得自己的英文口语水平提高了不少

“上个月我与Miss Marjorie总共上过3次课，内容主要围绕着我暑假的经历来讨论。我讲述了我在日本旅游时的经历和在上海参加经济论坛时的心得。我真心觉得自己的英文口语水平提高了不少因为不管是在日本还是论坛上我都可以用流利的英语与他人交流。”

— Bill 张泽臣

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She knew exactly what I needed help with and seemed to tailor the program to fit my needs.

“Marjorie has worked with co-workers of mine perviously and I could see the difference that it made in their presentation skills. So of course when the opportunity came for me to work with her, I jumped at it and could not be happier with the results. She knew exactly what I needed help with and seemed to tailor the program to fit my needs. She was also able to see things that I did not even know needed improving and now I can use that insight every time I prep for a presentation.

Thanks so much for all your help! After the sessions that we have had, I have noticed that my presentation skills have improved a lot (and my boss has noticed as well…so that’s great!). Not only in terms of my speaking but also body language has made a huge difference. I now have the tools and resources I need to continue practicing on my own. Could not have done it without you! ”

— Deborah L | Senior Designer – Corey McPherson Nash

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