SittingacrossfromhisteacherEdgarMartinezrepeatedthewordhecouldn'tquitepronounce:"situation"．TheteacherLisaMojsinhiredtohelpMartinezreducehisaccentsaidthewordslowly;"Sit-chew-a-shun．""Iwishhehadtaught

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Sitting across from his teacher Edgar Martinez repeated the word he couldn't quite pronounce: "situation"．The teacher LisaMojsin hired to help Martinez reduce his accent said the word slowly; "Sit-chew-a-shun．" "I wish he had taught me this 20 years ago．" said Martinez 37 who comes from Mexi

co and lives in Los Angeles．In private tutoring classes throughout the nation immigrants are focused on sounding more American．
Accent reduction classes have been around for years but experts say．"As our workforce becomes more and more global these classes are becoming more and more popular．" Private tutors said they answer calls almost daily from students when just a few years ago the phones rang only occasionally．Author Amy Gillett said that sales of her book and CD set "Speak English Like an American" have increased three times in the last few years．Judy Ravin President of the Accent Reduction Institute said she has hundreds of students who follow her program "Lose Your Accent in 28 Days"．
Though there is a general tolerance for diversity experts said reality has made some immigra

nts who sound different feel unwelcome．If someone speaks with an accent associated with an Asian language they may work as engineers or computer scientists．If someone speaks with certain Spanish accents people may think they are recent immigrants working in landscaping or the hospitality industry （招待性行业）．A French accent gives images of romance．An Australian accent brings to mind adventure and fun．
Accent reduction students said they are aware of how they sound and whether their accents limit their job opportunities or spoil their social lives．Jennie Lo aged 43 said her accent has been an embarrassment．Sometimes people couldn't even understand her when she said her name．While in college in Oklahoma Lo said she didn't make many friends tearing that no one could make out her words．Lo is now taking accent reduction classes and hopes to apply for a manager position at work．"I just want to feel good about myself " she said．"If I really work hard if I practice every day I can't be perfect．But I can be bet