Written diagnostic report

How I work

I'm a British English pronunciation specialist. I work almost exclusively with professional women from Japan.

What I do is quite specific: I listen to how you speak English and I identify the precise sounds and patterns that are creating extra work for your listener. Not vague feedback - exact diagnosis. Which sounds are getting in the way, why, and what to work on first.

I don't teach English. You already speak English. I help you reduce the gap between what you're saying and what your listener hears - so your English sounds as clear as the ideas behind it.

I teach pronunciation in context - through real language, not isolated sounds. When we work together, I pick up on the sounds that are creating friction as they come up naturally. I explain what's happening physically - where your tongue is, how the air moves, what your mouth is doing - and I connect that to the words you're actually using. That might mean targeted drills built from real vocabulary, or working through a passage and stopping where the friction is. The changes stick because they're attached to something real.

Written diagnostic report

Two recordings. One report. A clear picture of what's making your listener work harder than they need to.

You record yourself reading a short passage and speaking naturally for 90 seconds. I listen to your recording alongside acoustic analysis data and I write you a report.

The report covers three things: your overall intelligibility score (how easily a listener can follow you), the specific pronunciation patterns that are creating the most friction and what to focus on first.

It's written, it's private and it's yours to keep. No video call, no subscription, no ongoing commitment.

How it works

1. You pay, and I send you a short passage to read plus simple recording instructions.
2. You record on your phone in a quiet room - voice memo is fine - and send it back.
3. Within 5 working days, you receive your written report.

What comes next

Your report will show you exactly where the friction is. If you want to work on it, I run Passage Sessions.

These are three live sessions - 45 minutes each - where we work through the diagnostic passage together, paragraph by paragraph. Pronunciation, vocabulary, comprehension, meaning. You're not drilling sounds in isolation; you're working through a real text and understanding why the English sounds the way it does.

At the end, you re-record the passage and we compare your score. You see the difference.

Three sessions. £325.

Going further

Some clients want to keep going after the passage sessions. I offer a 6-month development programme - three text cycles, each targeting different sounds and patterns, with a final reassessment at the end. It's for clients who want sustained, measurable improvement over time.

Details on the Passage Sessions page, or ask me directly.

About me

I'm Ellie. I grew up in the south west of England, where Latin and Greek at school first taught me to take language apart and see how it works. Studying Classics at Cambridge took that further.

After university, I lived and worked in Berlin, speaking German daily. Working hard enough on my accent that native speakers stopped switching to English when they heard me was a turning point. They couldn't place me as British any more. That experience - knowing what it feels like to be heard differently because of how you sound - is central to how I teach.

Back in the UK, training as a yoga instructor led to working with Olympic athletes, including rowers who went on to win gold at London 2012. That work was about precision: watching someone's body, identifying the small thing creating friction and helping them adjust. The same approach shapes my pronunciation work - listening for the specific physical detail that's changing how a sound comes across.

Glasgow is home now, with my dog Dylan (he's in the logo). Managing M.E. (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) means working within clear limits - but it also means understanding what it's like to need things to be structured, efficient and worth the energy.

The specialisation in pronunciation came after years of teaching English online. The same person kept appearing: someone whose English was excellent, who could handle meetings and presentations, but who felt something was off - and couldn't get anyone to explain what. That's the problem I solve.

Questions

What exactly will the report tell me?

Your overall intelligibility score - how clearly you'd be understood by a listener - plus the three pronunciation patterns that are creating the most friction. Each finding explains what's happening, why it matters for communication and what to focus on. It's 2-3 pages.

Do I need any special equipment?

A phone with a voice memo app and a quiet room. That's it.

Is this a video call?

No. You record in your own time, I analyse in mine and the report comes to you in writing. Completely asynchronous.

What if I want live feedback?

That's what the Passage Sessions are for - three 45-minute live sessions where we work through the diagnostic text together. The Written Diagnostic Report is the starting point; the Passage Sessions are where we work on what it finds.

I'm not sure my pronunciation needs this.

Most of my clients speak excellent English. This isn't about "bad" pronunciation - it's about understanding what's making your listener work a little harder than necessary, and whether small adjustments could make a noticeable difference. The answer is almost always yes.

How long before I get my report?

Within 5 working days of receiving your recording.

Can I ask you questions after I receive it?

Yes - you can reply to the email and I'll respond. The report is designed to be clear on its own, but I'm available if something needs explaining.