Reviews
PRIVATE LESSONS
"I came in for the accent reduction service, I stayed for the amazing speech coaching. My native language is French and although friends and coworkers always reassure me that they have no problem understanding me, I always felt like there was something missing ... That I didn't sound quite as good as I wanted. Karen was quick to pinpoint the necessary steps to take my speech to the next level. Our in-person sessions are always fun and productive. Karen gives me tips that I can apply at work and in my every day life. After a couple of sessions of work with coach Karen, I am seeing an improvement in the way I sound as well as a big boost in confidence!" -- Sonia B. [French speaker]
Thank you Karen! I feel so much more confident in public speaking now, and you are the reason for the boost in my confidence! I also had so much fun taking classes and I deeply appreciate all the hard work and effort you put in in designing my classes. -- Adela K. [Mandarin speaker]
"I really like Karen's class. Karen is very friendly and has a ton of knowledge. Karen customized my course based on my need and recognize what will be the biggest ROI for my time. In addition, Karen's course is very interactive and fun, one hour session went so quickly because I am so focused on the learning. By the end, I felt much more confident to speak in public with clarity." -- Jun {Mandarin speaker]
"I would strongly recommend Well Said Coaching, especially my teacher, Karen Schiff! I was very insecure before my lessons and was having issues with people understanding me at work. She was able to focus on my weaknesses and developed a plan that helped me tremendously. After completing my plan I feel much more confident and I am much more aware of what I have to focus on when speaking the language. I am very happy that I decided to take these lessons and would recommend them to anybody that is interested in improving your English level in any ability that you might need help with." -- Yojanna D. [Spanish speaker]
"I am Brazilian and have been in the US for 7+ years. While my family and friends always said "your English is great, you don't need to worry", I knew that to continue growing my career in HR and Executive Coaching, it was fundamental to work on my pronunciation. I was so happy to have found Karen Schiff at Well Said Coaching! I really appreciate her coaching style, she always made me feel welcome, the sessions had a good pace, and she always followed up on a timely manner with homework practice. Over time, I started noticing the problems on my speech and was able to slow down and think about the learning from the sessions with Karen. Even my husband (who always said "don't change your accent") noticed the improvement! I would recommend Karen to anyone who wants to improve their pronunciation." -- Patricia C. [Portuguese speaker]
"Karen is a great, experienced specialist for speech improvement. Each week, she carefully prepared a personally-catered content - which I thought to be very thoughtful. Her energy and excitement for coaching makes you want to learn and improve more. She's very supportive. I think, one thing I really appreciated from her is that she's not trying to just fix your accent - which can be very tedious and too meticulous, but she can help you get better in speech by improving so many areas of it with very good practical tips! So I recommend her a lot!" -- Jon K. [Korean Speaker]
"Karen is such a knowledgeable and caring teacher. She really wants her students to succeed in their language learning goals. I took her accent modification courses, and and I am taking her vocabulary building classes now. I do feel more confident when I speak English at work. People used to ask me to repeat myself and it's happening less and less. I'm happy with the progress Karen has helped me made so I referred my brother to Karen. He is taking 2 classes with Karen every week and he always looks forward to his next class." -- Maya X. [Mandarin speaker]
"Karen is a great teacher who points out your unique pronunciation problems you are unable to realize yourself. Her lessons and the structures are very professional and I really liked the fact the lessons can be taken online through video chat. Karen has improved my English and I can happily say I’m getting closer and closer to classic American English accent!" -- Miia K. [Finnish speaker]
"It was a good realization session of my English speech. Karen's technical and analytical approach was an eye opener for me to (re)-realize my problematic speech sounds. I loved her articulated American English sounds and pronunciation: ideal for speech coaching. I believe that her welcoming, friendly, and approachable but professional personality will encourage learners. Thank you, Karen!" -- Sachiko K. [Japanese speaker]
"Thank you Karen, You have been a great help to help me discover my specific issues with my pronunciation, and help me understand where I should focus to make improvement." -- Steve M. [Mandarin speaker]
"Karen's experiences, passion, creativity and professionalism make her stand out. If you are looking for an English accent coach, you should think Karen first. I give her 2 thumbs up!" -- Bill M. [Mandarin speaker]
"The course made me realize the ("small") things I thought were insignificant (or did not know about) and that I took for granted in my everyday speech as a fluent English speaker who's been living in the U.S. since 2005. It is worth mentioning that I have a college degree (Bachelor's), but never had I gone through such a tailored program to find out where my errors stemmed from. I'm now definitely more mindful of my speech pattern after Karen's lessons. Highly recommended!" -- Julio S. [Spanish speaker]
"Karen is able to hear my subtle mistakes in pronunciation and explain them to me. She has an artistic, vivid and extremely positive personality - her lessons are never boring. I highly recommend Karen to anyone who learnt English as a second language, has a good basic knowledge of English but wants to improve her/his speaking skills." -- Alexander S. [Russian speaker]
"Karen is an amazing teacher, competent, well organized, supportive, understanding and fun. I completed the package, it was a transformative journey and I learned a lot. I highly recommend her!" -- Mohamed [Arabic speaker]
WORKSHOPS / CLASSES
"Karen always tailors her classes to her students' needs and puts considerable effort and energy into her work. Her teaching style and overall approach is aligned with effective language teaching practices. She is extremely enthusiastic and provides a comfortable and enjoyable learning environment. Above all, Karen makes the classes very engaging and pleasant. You will be in excellent hands." -- Essia B. [Bay Language Academy]
"Thank you for the great workshop on interviewing skills. Our chapter members really enjoyed your session. Definitely recommend for folks looking for their next opportunity and people who are interested to improve their interviewing skills." -- Hanu M. [Project Management Institute - Silicon Valley Chapter]
"I would highly recommend Karen for group and one-on-one training in powerful speaking. Her background and skills make her an engaging, entertaining, and effective trainer. My team highly rated the workshop Karen led for us and reported they would practice the new skills they learned.” -- Julee N. [American Institutes for Research]