I am pleased to recommend Darren's without reservation. I have participated in Darren's  Online Small, Intensive Accent Modification Class.  I was thoroughly impressed by how this course was put together. I have been looking for this class type for a long time; there is nothing similar in the market. Darren is an M.S., CCC/SLP  speech-language pathologist specializing in the communication skills of non-native English speakers.  PLEASE also don't hesitate to get the Online Communication Assessment. If you are a professional working in a corporate environment and having difficulties with business presentations, intonation, please reach out to Packard Communications read more

I was charged for an assessment, then the business owner stopped communicating with me and I was not able to take any classes or recover the cost. I received the assessment report, but the metrics proposed for measuring improvement were not clearly defined. In addition, this person has tried to convince me that speech therapists are not supported by health insurance when there are at least two such providers in my zip code. read more

Packard Communications - Linked In page of this service provider, that he appears to use to scam non-native English speakers. - Speech Therapists Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I have been living in the US for almost a decade. I was pretty confident about my English, though I knew I need to polish certain pronunciations to have better communication. There were a few things bothered me for years yet I couldn't pinpoint the issues until I took Darren's one on one classes. It has been tremendous help. Darren is a very experienced and knowledeable teacher with a strong expertise in accent reduction for ESL speakers. I strongly recommend him to anyone at any level needs a boost for their English speaking skills. read more

This is the place you can really improve your American English pronunciation, if you are seriously looking for a solid result at any cost. I had a problem in my English pronunciation that I felt in various situations in my life even though I have lived in the USA over 10 years, graduated from an American university and had a job in an American company. People around me asked what I said in English all the time and I wanted change this bad situation. Finally I found Darren's class and took a private Accent Modification Training class. Now I have almost finished the class and understand why Americans couldn't catch what I said in English. I also recognize how they pronounce English differently in words which I had never leaned in any English class. Nobody teach me like him how to use my lips and position of tongue in a mouth when I speak in English. This is a huge result I got from his class. My English pronunciation is not perfect yet, however I have more confidence when I speak with my coworkers and friends. I know I still need more practice with his method and which gives me tangible improvements. I really recommend Daren's class if you want to improve your American English accent like me. read more

The class is very helpful to identify the different sounds I wasn't aware and to improve your pronunciation. Darren is also very good to encourage and keep you motivated. I highly recommend it! read more

As a Korean, I had been struggling with English pronunciation. My friend recommended this class when I tried to get a tip for good English pronunciation. This class is perfect for the students who want to improve English pronunciation. In ESL classes, I rarely have chances to get corrected in pronunciation. In this class, Darren gives me the correction whenever I make mistakes. I learned how to make proper pronunciations, what is my weakpoint and how I can practice the pronunciation. I highly recommend this class to english learners. read more

I can't recommend Packard Communications enough. I was looking for accent reduction classes in Portland and came across Darren's website. After I read the other reviews I decided to send an email and I received a response within a day. Darren was very helpful and willing to meet with me in person in order to discuss about the classes. From the moment I met with him I felt comfortable and confident that he was gonna help me improve my accent. I signed up for the individual classes and I am glad I also added the evaluation test to the package as this helped Darren know before hand what I needed help with and plan out my classes. Darren was always very well organized and took notes so he could remember what we'd talked about in each class. He was also very flexible with my schedule and was willing to spread out the classes in order to give me time to study and prepare for the class. I particularly loved that he was always friendly and very professional at the same time. He was patient, fun and his teaching style was very clear, easy to follow and always to the point. The classes helped me feel more confident and equipped my with techniques that I can still use to further improve my accent. Whether you need to work on your accent, speech or presentation skills Darren is your guy! I highly recommend his classes. read more

I've been learning English as a second language for a few years. Although people can understand most of my English, there are things that can be improved, things are hard to be self-corrected since I can't really tell what's wrong or what's right. Darren's class covers all the American sounds. I got to practice each sound in the correct way. Darren listens carefully to each person in the class and corrects our mistakes. After a few classes, I was able to tell which sounds are my weaknesses and learned how to correct myself. I can now pay more attention to those sounds when I'm speaking. I've never had any classes like this one before - it's comprehensive and well-designed and Darren is a really great teacher! read more

Suppose you want to improve your professional communication skills or generally improve your presenting ability, which will elevate you to the next level of speaking clearly and confidently. In that case, Darren is the coach you want. I have invested my time in meeting with Darren over ten 1:1 sessions, and this is the best investment I have made for self-improvement. Daren quickly understands your challenges and works directly to address the specifics of your challenge. His approach to coaching is easy to understand and follow. Daren can adapt to anyone's challenge and develop a unique training approach that will undoubtedly provide you with the needed coaching and support. read more

I took the first online accent modification class due to covid-19. There are two parts: 1) pronunciation training and 2) melody training. The first part is phenomenal. I realize a lot of mine mistakes in daily conversation. It also helps me understand English in American accent better. The second part requires student to talk which may be hard when other people are looking at you. As an online class, the camera can be turned off, you no longer feel the pressure. I highly recommend the class. read more

I highly recommended Darren's small intensive accent modification class. As a non-native English speaker, sometimes we missed the details on the correct pronunciations, but we didn't aware. Darren showed me my mistakes and how to solve it! Darren has excellent teaching skills, and also he knew the best way to give students advice based on what they need. These classes are precious! I enjoyed the time with Darren! read more

As a software developer I communicate a lot in English on a daily basis, still I always had a feeling that I can't express my thoughts as clear and precise as I would do on my mother tongue. Besides extending vocabulary, I've started looking for a way to improve my pronunciation and found that when it comes to verbal communication you need an accent modification specialist. This is a rare specialization mostly known by it's demand in big movies: sometimes actors need to imitate particular accent or reduce their own. That's how I've found Darin's class: * Darin is a certified speech-language pathologist with a big experience in accent modification: He knows the aspects of your language and how they affect pronunciation. * Class is set on achieving realistic results, focusing on words that you use most often. * You don't just learn how to speak right, you learn to understand what is wrong and why. * Darin's provides exercises that really help to engrave correct sounding into your memory, so you start speaking right without thinking about it. read more

I took private classes with Darren and it's been life changing. He was able to immediately identify what I should work on and provided me with all the tools and instructions to achieve my goals. Darren is extremely passionate not only about pronunciation but also about helping his students. I was impressed by his data-driven approach and being able to tailor our classes to exactly fit my needs. The materials that Darren shared with me and the videos on his YouTube channel are something I know I will be able to circle back to for years to come. read more

Highly recommend! Loved the personalized approach to accent reduction. Working with Darren was super fun, and we had a chance to tackle some of my biggest issues with pronunciation. I thought the upfront assessment was also very helpful, it was great to get a quantitative score on my accent, but also see all the sounds broken out and how I was mispronouncing them. After few sessions, I started to notice these sounds more in every day conversations, and I am definitely incorporating quite a few improvements. Would also recommend supplementing the sessions with Darren's videos. read more

This is the most effective way to improve your accent! Darren is an excellent instructor. Before I took his class I pronounced a lot of words in english wrong. He was able to identify my weakness in pronunciation right away after talked to me just for a short time. By the end of the class, my pronunciation had improved a lot. I am able to pronounce all the sound that I couldn't before. My coworkers can understand everything I said without I have to repeat it again. I highly recommend this class to anyone who want to improve their accent. read more

I've participated in Darren's (Packard Communications) classes for over a year now, and I can tell you why I keep coming back. Improving your accent to make you more understandable to native speakers can be a long and difficult process. When I moved to the US, I was fairly confident in my ability to read, write and understand English. What I did not realize is that being understood by my peers in a professional environment was a different issue altogether. I didn't even know what I was doing wrong; I only knew that people struggled to understand what I was saying. I was too literal in the way I spoke: I learned English mostly by reading it, but I had no idea how the words were supposed to sound, and I used the sounds from my native language. By participating in Packard Communications' different classes (the free Meetups, the affordable PCC classes, and the private, intensive sessions) I learned what an accent is, what are the sounds in the English language, how to identify them and how to pronounce them. In particular, in the private classes I've received direct feedback from the teacher regarding which are the sounds that I pronounce differently, and how to pronounce them properly so that people will understand me. These classes, and more importantly, the resources, materials and instructions that I've received to continue practicing and improving outside the classroom have been invaluable in helping me improve my communication skills in English. If you live in the Portland area, this is absolutely the best resource to improve your accent. Try the free classes first and decide if it works for you; I heartily recommend them. Then you can move to PCC or a private class for more specific feedback. read more

Living in US for a while, thinking that my pronunciation is very good. Talking this class I realized how much I still have to improve and learning IPA was like an opening to a different world, no one have ever told me about that. I'm very happy I took this class, had a lot of training with Darren one-on-one. Darren is awesome, very patient and fun instructor. Highly recommend if you want to sound like native English speaker. No regrets whatsoever! read more

To start off, Darren has great teaching skills. I was hoping to learn the actual American accent, because I still lacked few crucial ingredients, that actually makes the accent sound American, but you get to know it only through courses. Luckily enough, Darren understood my status in the accent and taught me exactly what I was completely oblivious to, before starting out with his course. The one-to-one classes helped me gain more insights and target the exact misconceptions I have had in my understanding. You are sure to have a transformation in your accent provided you put equal efforts from your side. As, practice is the main factor that determines your progress in this, to a large extent. I would definitely recommend his classes. read more

I met Darren at one of the free classes Intel offered to its employees who wanted to improve communication. Here at Intel we are a truly melting pot. All kind of accents from all around the world. My tongue language is Portuguese. I've studied English in Brazil, also in Ireland for 45 days summer class, back on the days. Then, I moved to USA in 1997 on a job offer. My English accent is as good as it gets, I used to think. But, on that free class at Intel, I learned pronunciation of the " f" word correctly. If you are Brazilian, you know what F word I'm talking about. Most of us have problem with this word and we do use it a lot. Yes - FOCUS / FOCUSED. I was impressed and enrolled for Packard Communication small group classes. My main goal is to make easy to my audience, customers and friends, to understand me and not having to put much effort to hearing my message and ideas or having to get used to my "Bios". I'm finishing my 10th class now and the improvement is very noticeable. Darren is an excellent teacher and I truly appreciate his work. On top of pronunciation/accent, you will also improve melody, volume, confidence and pace. Excellent ROI for my investment of time and money. I highly recommend Packard Communications. Thanks Darren. I truly appreciate your work. -Angela read more

I met Darren from his classes in PCC, and took his accent modification class afterwards. His expertise was so helpful for me to learn the American English pronunciation. He is very patient and knows the best way to teach. After taking his class, I was able to correct myself something that I never realized in my ten years of English speaking experience. I would absolutely recommend his class for anyone who's interested in improving their American English skills. read more

Attended the 10 week small group class with no expectations and Darren exceeded my expectations. He was patient and persistent in helping each of us improved our accent, and even took the extra efforts to stay back after class for 1 x 1 coaching with some of us. The classes were very structured and packed with materials we need to improve our verbal communications. Despite the packed syllabus, Darren made the classes fun and enjoyable. Thank you for the 10 week's of fun and intensive learning! read more

Darren's communication training is very helpful. I found my weak point in Oral communication in working and was eager to improve. This communication class help me focus on my shortage and perform a systematic training and self study. Darren is a nice trainer with patience. read more

The Intensive Accent Reduction class is a 10 week class with 5 people. It helped me reduce my accent and improve my speaking skill. Darren is a very good teacher. He is willing to answer you with any questions you have. My classmates are also very nice. We helped each other correct our pronunciation and give feedback to one another. The size of the class is pretty small, so we got a lot of things from the instructor. This class not only teaches me how to pronounce different words in English correct, but also helps me become a better speaker among my friends, my classmates at Portland State University, and other people in the US. I feel more confident. :) I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who wants to improve their pronunciation and reduce their accent. !!! - Britney read more

I am grateful to have found Darren (packard communication) for years i was trying to improve my pronunciation, I had to travel almost 1 hour to be in his class, it was a sacrifice that was worthwhile, I improved in my accent/pronunciation. I don't think there is another class like this one anywhere. I'm excited to keep practicing what he has taught me! read more

I highly recommend Packard Communication. I took the small, intensive accent modification class with Darren. He is a very knowledgable and caring speech instructor. He used the course material effectively and worked closely with everyone to teach different sounds, correct pronunciations, and speaking melody. I wish I had taken this class years ago. I really see significant improvements in my accent as well as my other classmates. This class is very helpful for any non-native English speaker. read more

After taking Darren's class, I strongly feel that all non-native speakers who are serious on their career advancement should really take the intensive accent modification class. Darren is a very very good instructor not only pointing out where I missed (mostly due to the misleading English educations back in my country), teaching useful tricks to correct, but also giving me the capability for future self correction. He knows very well the common issues of speakers from different countries - my classmates and I are so surprised as we haven't even realized about those problems, while coming out of our mouths in every word, until the class. I am amazed in the beginning of class, and even more amazed in the end of class seeing all my classmates got so significant improvements. Highly recommend. And again, if you are serious about career advancement with lots of communications required, I believe this is a must-have training. read more

Working with Darren was an awesome experience, I could identify my accent weak points and work precisely where I needed. I would never be able to notice my accent details if not worked with Darren. I strongly recommend his classes to anyone wishing to better understand and improve the american english accent. read more

Darren is a very knowledgeable speech pathologist and instructor. I had been taken many English language classes in the past but was still having a hand-full of unresolved issues affecting my ability to communicate clear. No one explained to me before how to pronounce most difficult sounds in English alphabet. No one worked on the melody of my speech before this class. On Darren's classes, I've been learning how to minimize my accent and how to apply acquired knowledge to my everyday life. A small size class is very beneficial - each student has a chance to practice one to one with the instructor and get a personalized homework assignment. I would highly recommend this class to anyone. read more

*Expert in Accent Reduction* As an Education major, and who takes so many classes in my whole life so far, I would rate Darren's class 95-97 out of 100. I can feel that he is passionate about what he is doing. And he is an expert in the field of accent reduction and speech. He can quickly identify where is my difficulties, and which place I can improve. This helps a lot and saves a lot of time from wondering. He not only just pointed your problems but also provide custom-built scaffolding for each student. Darren helps me figure out where my problems are and also guide me how to solve those problems and make improvement. *Good teacher* He explained very clear, used different way to elaborate. I remembered once, he used some wire to demonstrate how the muscle in our throat work. Through clear explanation, he gave students the fundamental knowledge, which is meat and gold! Less is more! He carried out the knowledge in a very clear and "less is more" way. Very organized class, you know what you need to focus. It is very effectively. *Bonus One! --Excellent Community* The community, is great. People came to this class for different reasons. But one thing in common is that they are all pay attention to their pronunciation, which I think is a detail thing. Being around those people I felt that is a blessing and inspiration for me. *Bonus Two! --Sustainability* I got the tool and the practice model. After this class, you can practice by yourself. It is sustainable. read more

This course was enlightening, I learnt the real pronunciation of vowels and many consonants that are so different from Spanish, my mother tongue. You also learn to manage your melody and intonation. I was recommended this course by another person at work. You need to take this course if you really want to speak as an american. This is also an opportunity to meet different people from all over the world in a friendly environment. I'd recommend this course to anybody that wants to learn to speak like american people. read more

I've been living in the states for long time, but for my work I wanted to reduce my accent to improve more effectively. By chance I came across Darren's Meetup group, and I am so glad that I did! His approach is very logical and technical. He pinpoints where you need to focus your energy, and these tricks and tips make sense when you understand the logic behind them. It only helps when you practice them until they become your second nature. I enjoy meeting other people with the same goal, and appreciate he keeps classes light and fun! I would recommend his classes to anyone who is looking to improve accent for personal life and/or professional life! read more

Highly recommend taking classes with Darren as i felt my English accent dramatically improved in the first 4 weeks. I encountered several obstacle's in my work place that I cannot express myself very well, therefore I lost some good opportunity to shine. Ever since I started the session with Darren, I felt much more confident talking in front of people .Each sessions last's for 2 hours which are totally productive and i didn't find any time being wasted .I hope i will get a lot better once the session's get completed read more

Absolutely enlightening experience. I would highly recommend this to every level of non-native English speakers. The detail put into every individual's issues is best part of this program. read more

Great classes to take if English isn't your first language. The instructor is professional, knowledgeable and has many years of experience. Would definitely recommend. read more