LONDON, August 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Speak Easily's new eBook, How to Lose Your Accent, makes the accent reduction course from London's most successful elocution lessons available to people throughout the world. Speakers of English as a second language can now learn the practical solution to speaking with a Received Pronunciation (RP) accent, (often known as Standard English, or BBC English) where they want, when they want and how they want.

The last census showed that over 4.2 million, or 7.7% of the population, in the UK now speak English as a second language. In London that figure is 1.7 million, 22% of the population. There are significant numbers of these people whose English is good or even fluent, but whose accent gets in the way of clear understanding. This can mean frustration for listeners and speakers: most listeners have wasted time deciphering someone whose accent is so strong it's not clear what they've said; and many non-native speakers worry that they aren't clearly understood, in some cases even limiting their career progress or ability to find suitable work.

It's no wonder that demand for elocution lessons is soaring. Last year Speak Easily taught 800 people from over 90 different nationalities to speak with a Received Pronunciation (RP) English accent. To meet the growing demand from people who wanted to study on their own and in their own time, they've now adapted their course to produce an accent reduction eBook.

The eBook is available to download at http://www.speak-easily.com/ebooks, for only £19.95. How to Lose Your Accent also comes with over 9 hours of audio files and a practice book, The Sounds of RP English, for free.

Speaking with a more neutral British English accent will help speakers of English as a second language in three main areas:

1. Clarity of spoken English - "People keep asking me to repeat myself or sometimes they look blank when I speak, as if they're not really understanding me. I think I've lost work because of it. I just want to be understood"

2. Integration - "I've lived in London for 15 years and speak really fluently, but I still have a strong accent and I don't know why. People still ask me where I'm from. I'd like to blend in after being here so long!"

3. Creating a good impression - "My accent is strong so people seem to think I'm not as intelligent as I am, or that I can't speak English properly! It's so annoying that my speech gives the wrong impression about myself"

Author Morwenna Rowe, who founded Speak Easily in 2007, has worked with CEOs, politicians, university professors, judges, actors and top surgeons to help them soften their foreign accent. She said "Our courses have been highly successful, but many people cannot attend classes in London. That's why we've turned our course into an eBook. Now people can change their accent quickly, accurately and simply in the comfort of their own home, for a fraction of the cost of our courses."

SOURCE Speak Easily