About Rachel Holmes
Accent coaching grounded
in speech science
Rachel Holmes is a Toronto-based accent coach with a Bachelor's degree in Speech and Language Pathology, an Ontario English Language Teaching certificate, and over 10 years of experience helping non-native English speakers communicate with clarity and confidence. She is also the director of a non-profit ESL School for newcomers to Canada.
Rachel's Approach
Background & Methodology
The training behind the teaching, and the philosophy behind the method.
Speech and Language Pathology
Rachel's undergraduate training in speech-language pathology gives her a clinical understanding of how sounds are physically produced, including tongue placement, lip shape, breath control, and jaw position that most language teachers never address.
Language Teaching
As an Ontario Certified English Language Teacher (OCELT), Rachel brings structured pedagogy to every session with clear explanations, deliberate practice, and measurable benchmarks so clients know exactly how they're progressing.
Continuing Professional Education
Rachel is continuing her education with a Master's degree in Speech Therapy, ensuring her methods stay current with the latest clinical practices.
This combination: clinical speech science, formal language teaching, and ongoing professional education is rare in the accent coaching field. Most coaches have one background. Rachel has all three.
Why 'listen and repeat' isn't enough.
Most accent programs rely on imitation where a student listens to a model and then tries to copy it. This approach has a ceiling. Without understanding how a sound is made, clients plateau quickly and can't self-correct outside of sessions.
Rachel's approach starts with the anatomy of speech: where the tongue sits, how the lips move, how airflow changes from one phoneme to the next. Clients leave sessions knowing exactly what their mouth needs to do and not just what the target word sounds like.
Sessions are built around each client's specific language background. The pronunciation challenges a Mandarin speaker faces are different from those of a Spanish speaker or an Arabic speaker. Rachel designs every coaching plan and group class around the phonological patterns of the client's first language and the English sounds that cause the most interference.
Qualifications & Memberships
Ontario Certified English Language Teacher (OCELT)
Demonstrates the knowledge and skills required to teach English to adult learners in Ontario, across Canada, and internationally.
Bachelor's Degree in Speech and Language Pathology (BASLP)
Undergraduate training in the theory and clinical fundamentals of speech-language pathology, including phonetics, articulation, and motor speech.
Master's Degree (in progress)
Obtaining a graduate-level degree in Speech and Language Pathology, ensuring Rachel's methods reflect current best practices in Speech Therapy.
International Phonetic Association Member
Member of the organisation that promotes the scientific study of phonetics and its practical applications in language education.
10+ Years of Experience
Over a decade coaching non-native English speakers from backgrounds including Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, and Arabic.
5-Star Google Rating
Consistently rated five stars by clients across private coaching and group workshop programs.
Work with Rachel
Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your goals and find the right programme.