Cher Gunderson M.S., CCC-SLP
Compton Pronouncing English as a Second Language (P-ESL)-Certified Instructor
Founded by Cher Gunderson, M.S. CCC-SLP, Master Your Accent offers proven, researched-based methods using the Compton P-ESL program that are guaranteed to neutralize foreign accents.
Our clients quickly develop the clear and effective communication skills necessary for success. Always taking an interest in language, accent modification, otherwise known as accent reduction, was a natural progression in my career. My first encounter with accent modification was in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I had a fabulous clinical instructor who had her own business and also trained students in the university Speech-language Pathology department. Up to that point, although I had loved the training I had with children who had speech and language impairments, the experience of working with healthy adults who wanted to improve their English communication thrilled me! My first clients were from Russia and Germany, and the seed was planted (to learn more about figurative language, click here).
I love the clientele! I am passionate about inspiring people who want to improve their communication! I know first-hand the importance of communicating in a language other than one’s own native language! I’ve had the fortune of experiencing various language exchanges in the home setting. My family and I have stayed with a family in Germany and a family in Mexico. Students from Pakistan, Japan, and Mexico have lived with us. My husband, Kevin, and my daughter, Brittney, have been able to learn about their languages and unique cultures.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee I worked in a multitude of settings, with children aged 19 months to teenagers. Then I began volunteering at the Literacy Council of Green Bay, Wisconsin. After training to teach English to non-native English individuals using the Laubach English as a Second Language method, I began teaching on a one-to-one basis, and in the process, had the wonderful fortune to learn Spanish from my student! I so much enjoyed teaching that I reached out and also assisted another volunteer who taught English to non-native speaking individuals in a class format, which was a ball! The students especially enjoyed learning the pronunciation of the English speech sounds! What seemed to really help them was learning that the way a word is spelled is not necessarily the way it is pronounced. They began to realize that one speech sound can be spelled many different ways! Click here to see a short video with examples of spelling-sound correspondence.
I since began to express both of my passions; working with the elderly in rehabilitation centers/nursing homes, and speeding the progress for foreign-born English speakers. Fortunately I have been able to use my gifts with people who have medical and cognitive complications as well as with healthy people who are on an English communication journey. In my medical practice, I specialize in educating families and staff members about how to provide stimulating activities for elderly residents who have dementia in health care centers/nursing homes. I also directly treat individuals who have had strokes and help them become more independent with their communication and thinking skills.
In my medical practice, I noticed that patients were having trouble understanding their international physicians. I knew that if they were having difficulty, then most certainly, there were other international professionals (entrepreneurs, IT professionals, nurses, priests, engineers, call center professionals) who were experiencing communication barriers. I now am living my passion and working with those individuals.
Master Your Accent supports international speakers of English to fully express their skills, talents, personalities, and spirits. We help them learn business communication tools to advance their careers and personal lives. Cher is a nationally certified speech-language pathologist with post-graduate accent modification training. She is in private and corporate practice and gets results using the Compton P-ESL program. Cher offers individual and group (depending on client availability) classes in a variety of formats. You can download her FREE Transform your Accent: Transform your Life Kit, complete a free screening, contact her at (920) 362-2359, or email her: cher@masteryouraccent.com.
