One day I was cast in a role that required me to speak English with an American accent. I felt very confident going in, I had already played Americans before in short films and had tricked many of my Icelandic co-citizens that my accent was legit.
Even though I felt this (over)confidence, I knew that I could do better. It was then that I began searching for coaches, and when I found Claudette’s website I was pretty certain that I struck gold. Everything about her seemed so charismatic and professional. It took me only a couple of minutes to decide that I wanted to be her student. When we talked for the first time all my expectations about her were spot on.
She has a great ear! In our first, fifteen minute consultation class (which, by the way, is free!), she picked up a number of sounds and ticks that I didn’t even know I had. And in the classes that followed she kept on picking up more and more sounds that we needed to work on. Now, I’m gonna be honest, that did drag me down a little bit at the start. But, Claudette’s encouragement was all that I needed to study and practice to perfect my accent more and more. Her approach is so humane and enthusiastic, that at times I felt as if I were her only student. Which tells you that not only is she teaching sounds and pronunciations, she also lifts you up so you don’t ever feel discouraged, which is one of her greatest traits.
When we concluded our final class I had made a lot of progress, and continue to do so with all the material that I got from Claudette. When I went to rehearse for the aforementioned role, the director and producers were very impressed. And at my “normal” job, I am surrounded by Americans all the time and a number of people have asked me if I’ve studied or lived in the U.S. A woman even asked me one day if I was born there!
In conclusion, Claudette Roche is a wonderful coach. Her approach is human, personal and precise and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending her to anyone looking to better themselves.