Aishwarya Goel

Everyday Hacks to Practice American English

I moved to the US last year for work. For anyone with an Indian accent, you'll know the moment: someone says "Sorry, can you repeat that?" and you have to say it again.

For me, it created a small disconnect. Either I was wondering if they understood me, or they had to work harder to follow. I could live with it but I decided to fix it.

What I Tried (And What Stuck)

I started with YouTube videos. Useful, but basic. I mostly learned about softening the "R" sound. Then tried Preply, its a good platform with affordable teachers, but more focused on learning English than accent work. My teacher was into history and psychology, so while the lessons weren't perfect for my goal, I picked up cultural context.

Then came the Boldvoice app. Used it daily for 2-3 months. Great AI feedback, but after a while, the practice felt repetitive and disconnected from my real conversations. The higher-tier options with human coaches were too expensive for me.

Finally, I found my current coach via Google search. She had a different approach, treating American English like music. That's when things started clicking.

I'm still learning, still catching myself rushing through sentences sometimes. But I've figured out some everyday tricks that actually work. So i am sharing a few helpful frameworks here as a reminder for myself and for anyone on the same journey.

The Pauses

Here's something my coach taught me: American listeners expect logical chunks, not one long stream of words.

The framework:

Introduction chunk // Main point chunk // Details chunk //

Example: "Hi Sarah. // This is Aishwarya from the marketing team. // I wanted to follow up on the campaign metrics we discussed yesterday. //"

The trick: Practice with your own introductions. Record yourself saying the same thing with and without pauses. The difference is massive.

I still forget this during spontaneous conversations, but I'm getting better.

The Stress Pattern

Not all words in a sentence are equal. Content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) get stress. Function words (the, and, to, of) don't.

The pattern: "I have some GOOD news and some BAD news."

The trick: Before important conversations, I mentally map out which words to stress. It's like highlighting key points, but with your voice.

This one took me weeks to internalize. I'd catch myself stressing "the" and "and" out of habit.

The Syllable Stress

This one was game changer and the easiest way to start sounding more familiar. For example, Take the word "developer"

Indian pattern: DE-ve-lo-per (stress on first syllable) American pattern: de-VEL-o-per (stress on second syllable)

What my coach taught me to listen for:

Strong syllable: Louder volume + longer duration + pitch change

Weak syllables: Quieter, shorter, flatter

The trick: For any word that feels off, ask yourself:

How many syllables? Which one feels stressed?

Most helpful way have been that i keep a running list of words I mess up: "particularly," "comfortable," "definitely." Still working on these.

The Stress Shift

American English changes meaning by moving stress around the same sentence.

Examples:

New info: I like ice cream. Vanilla ice cream.

Contrast: Would you rather walk or drive?

Correction: The meeting is at one thirty. Actually, it’s at two thirty.

The trick: Take any sentence and practice moving the stress. It trains your ear to hear the difference.

I do this during commutes or while cooking. Makes mundane moments useful.

The Netflix Mirror Method

I pick 30-second dialogues from shows and try to match their rhythm, not their accent.

The method:

The trick: Focus on when they pause, not how they pronounce individual words. The rhythm is everything.

The Pre-Meeting Warm-Up

Before any important meeting, I do this weird exercise:“66 farmers laughing on the phone”. Indian English tends to use smaller mouth movements, but American English needs more jaw and tongue mobility. This exercise helps you prepare for that.

The trick: Say it slowly, exaggerating every mouth movement. Your jaw should drop wide on "farmers" and "laughing." Do it 3-4 times before calls.

I do this in my car before work meetings. Probably looks ridiculous, but it works.

Where I Am Now

Three months in, I'm definitely not perfect. I still catch myself rushing through sentences when I'm excited. I still stress the wrong syllables sometimes. But the "Can you repeat that?" moments have dropped dramatically. The goal isn't to sound American—it's to make sure my words carry without friction.

Would love to know if you have some tips? DM me on X with your thoughts.

#communication