About
Barbara Duffy
Barbara holds a BA in Performing Arts and a CELTA certificate, (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) and has been teaching for the past eight years in New York City. She is qualified to teach all aspects of English, including reading, writing, speaking and grammar, with a specialty in pronunciation and Accent Reduction. She is experienced in teaching group classes, as well as private tutoring. Her clientele includes corporate executives and actors. Barbara is also available as a coach for Public Speaking.
Traveling to 20 countries, including Europe, Asia and Latin America, Barbara Duffy’s unique background as a professional tap dancer/teacher/performer for 35 years has perfected her innate ability to communicate with people who speak English as a Second Language. Because tap dance is a musical and rhythmic art form, she has acquired acute listening skills, enabling her to detect pronunciation problems that students may encounter. In addition, Barbara possesses an instinctive sensibility to immediately adapt to the cultural differences of her students, easily developing a comfortable rapport.
The Technique for Pronunciation and Accent Reduction
Barbara’s method of teaching quickly helps students become more confident when speaking English. After identifying the student’s difficulty, she uses exaggerated movements of the mouth, tongue and jaw, as well as imagery to emphasize the placement of the sound. When a student can “feel” where a sound is placed, it will be easier for them to remember how to say this sound correctly. As the student’s pronunciation improves, Barbara then focuses on stress syllables and intonation, finding the “song” in English speaking. As a result, students are able to communicate more effectively in their everyday lives, at home and at work.
Testimonial
"Barbara always tailors my lessons for exactly what I need. I love studying pronunciation with Barbara, because she has fun and interesting exercises to work on, which makes it easy to learn. I feel that I have been progressing with my goals in speaking English and developing new skills. I am happy to recommend Barbara!"
Milo – Czech Republic
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"Barbara is a highly trained, precise, engaging and charismatic teacher. Barbara’s lessons have helped me reduce my Italian accent significantly and to speak American English in a more expressive way. I highly recommend Barbara! Her lessons are a must!"
Stas – Italy
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"I admire people who dare to take the language, English, and understand it and understand the melody".
Maya Angelou