FAQ

Here is the list of the questions that are most commonly asked by SAUNDZ American English Pronunciation Software users.

Who is SAUNDZ for?

SAUNDZ is meant for anyone who has learned English as a second language and wishes to improve his/her vitally important pronunciation skills.

Many linguistic experts consider pronunciation problems to be the prevalent source of misunderstandings in oral communication.  Our goal is to significantly improve the verbal communication skills of our users, giving them the ability to produce clear, correct and confidently delivered English speech.

SAUNDZ is a fun and effective way to help you improve your pronunciation, and we believe that you will notice a significant improvement in your pronunciation skills as early as the first month, regardless of your current level of English.  After you have completed the course, you can use SAUNDZ as your own reference for American English pronunciation.

What can SAUNDZ do for me?

SAUNDZ helps you improve your English as it improves your pronunciation of American English consonants, vowels, and many problematic consonant groups.

We will show you how to improve your pronunciation by teaching you how to position your mouth and tongue so you can correctly form the unique sounds of the English language, all with our easy to use curriculum.  In as little as 5 lessons, we will literally help reshape the way you pronounce words.

What makes SAUNDZ different from other similar products?

If you have ever tried to learn English, you probably know that most teaching methods focus on grammar, vocabulary and writing skills, yet neglect pronunciation.  Online courses follow the same trend and they, too, tend to overlook pronunciation.

As soon as you try SAUNDZ, however, you will realize that our virtual teacher Simone has a completely different approach to teaching American English phonetic pronunciation.  Furthermore, we have covered the process in greater detail than any other software that tries to teach you how to sound like a real native speaker of American English.

How long does it take to finish the course?

SAUNDZ consists of 37 lessons and there is no time limit for their completion.  This means that you can set your own pace and go through each lesson whenever you want.

However, a successful learning process depends on continuity.  We suggest that you devote a fixed time slot for learning pronunciation and follow the schedule that you have created.  At the pace of one lesson per day, you will complete the SAUNDZ course curriculum in approximately six weeks.  If you want to complete the course at a quicker or slower pace, that’s completely up to you.

And the really good thing is that you can return anytime to sounds that are more difficult to pronounce.  After you have completed the course, you can use SAUNDZ as your own reference for American English pronunciation.

Can I use SAUNDZ on my tablet or smartphone?

Yes – SAUNDZ is available in the Apple AppStore and the Google PlayStore and has a different design layout for tablets due to more screen real estate.

If I buy SAUNDZ on the web, will I be able to use it on my iPhone or iPad or Google Phone or Tablet as well?

No.  Due to certain polices of Apple and Google, if you buy SAUNDZ on our official website you won’t be able to use it on your iPhone or iPad or Google Phone or Tablet.

However, if you buy the iPhone or iPad app on the Apple AppStore or Google Phone or Tablet app on the Google PlayStore, you’ll be able to use it on any device (phones, tablets and desktop/laptop computers).

What payment methods do you accept?

SAUNDZ accepts the following payment methods:

Is it safe to use my credit card?

SAUNDZ doesn’t store any of the data you provide during purchase. Our online sales are managed by a reliable external provider that takes professional care of your data security. All credit card transfers are secured by SSL encryption, which is the most secure technology available for electronic transactions.

In which currency can I make payments?
  • EUR – Euro
  • USD – American Dollar
  • GBP – British Pound
  • AUD – Australian Dollar
  • CAD – Canadian Dollar
  • JPY – Japanese Yen
  • HKD – Hong Kong Dollar
  • CHF – Swiss Franc
  • CHY – Chinese Yuan
  • THB – Thai Baht
  • TWD – New Taiwan Dollar
  • MXN – Mexican Peso
  • PHP – Philippine Peso
I cannot make the purchase because the payment has failed. What should I do?

Credit card payment may fail because of bank authorization and prevention systems.  If you have problems paying for SAUNDZ, you should contact your bank.

My credit card number was declined, what should I do?
  1. Make sure you enter the card number correctly, without spaces or dashes.
  2. Make sure that the credit card hasn’t expired.
  3. Make sure that you have sufficient funds on your account.
  4. If your card has a security code, enter it correctly on the payment screen.
  5. Ensure that the computers at either end of the transaction do not have technical problems.

If you still have problems submitting your credit card payment, contact our support team.  

Is the information I give you safe?

All the information you share with SAUNDZ is completely safe.

I was charged double for purchasing SAUNDZ. What should I do?

If there is a problem with your account, please contact your card bank to see if there was a misdirection of the bill.

For any additional assistance, please contact our support team.

Why do we have an accent?

An accent is a way of pronouncing the sounds of a language.  It is impossible to speak without an accent.  Many people may think they do not have an accent.  Or you may think that it is other people who have an accent.  Everyone has an accent.

Your accent results from how, where, and when you learned the language you speak, and it gives impressions about you to other people.  People do not have a single, fixed accent.

We can control the way we speak, and we do, both consciously and unconsciously.  Most people vary their accent depending on whom they are speaking to.

We subtly change our accents, often without noticing, as we have new life experiences.

Can I change my accent?

Yes.  Accents are not fixed.  Our accents change over time as our needs change (the need to learn a new language, for example) and as our sense of who we are changes and develops.  Accents are easier to change before we reach our early twenties.  But even after that, if you want to change your accent, you can.

SAUNDZ is an effective way to help you change or reduce your accent, and we believe that within just the first month you will notice a significant improvement in your pronunciation skills.

We look forward to seeing you get started on the SAUNDZ curriculum.

Do you know why Pronunciation and Accent Reduction Training is so vital to business communication?

When an employee is difficult to understand because of underdeveloped English speaking abilities (usually pronunciation), the communication (or lack of communication) can be very frustrating.  Customers are generally not patient and do not want to spend their time having to struggle to figure out what your employee is trying to say.  The focus shifts to the way the employee speaks, rather than staying on the content of what is being said.  Communication breaks down, which can be costly to your company.

SAUNDZ is easy to use, and is a fun curriculum-based software solution. It is an efficient resource that will enable users to significantly improve their pronunciation skills.

What are the four basic skills needed to speak a new language?

When we learn a language, there are four skills that we need in order to achieve effective communication.

When we learn our native language, we usually learn to listen first, then to speak, then to read, and finally to write.  These are called the four “language skills”:

  • ·Skill 1: Listening
  • ·Skill 2: Speaking
  • ·Skill 3: Reading
  • ·Skill 4: Writing

As you can see, speaking is the second language skill, and probably the one that most language learners wish to perfect as soon as possible.

SAUNDZ covers all of the four skills, with the main focus being on speaking and listening.  A typical SAUNDZ student has already received formal English language instruction and the SAUNDZ curriculum is primarily designed to help students practice spoken English in order to improve their pronunciation.  Pronunciation is often one of the most difficult skills to practice because of difficulties regarding access to, and the cost of, hiring native English speakers as instructors.  SAUNDZ gives you access to four virtual assistants.  Don’t worry, though; it is easy and you can do it in the privacy of your own home.

Why does SAUNDZ contain 40 phonemes?

SAUNDZ curriculum teaches 40 sounds of General American English which are the basis for learning proper American English pronunciation.  Though some dictionaries and language learning applications may include more than these basic sounds, these 40 are considered to be essential for learning pronunciation, at least as far as American English is concerned.

SAUNDZ curriculum does not include phonemes that are specific to British English.  However, besides the basic 40 phonemes, SAUNDZ also deals with some of the most problematic consonant groups such as word initial -sp, -sk, -st, etc.  There are 23 lesson units in SAUNDZ that deal with consonant groups that are considered to be problematic for ESL learners.

By teaching only the practical and useful things, SAUNDZ enables ESL learners to improve their American English accent in a simple and effective way.

Am I too young/too old to use SAUNDZ?

SAUNDZ has no age limit set for our users – if you are old enough to speak and read, you are old enough to use SAUNDZ pronunciation learning software.

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