Some immigrants in the northeastern state of Maine are learning to lose their accents. Some of the immigrants speak English fluently, but have a difficult time being understood because they have heavy accents, reported the Portland Press-Herald newspaper. Assouma Nyirabahizi says she left her home and job in Rwanda two years ago, coming to America on a green card “in hopes of a brighter future.” Nyirabahizi has a master’s degree in computer science and speaks English fluently. She says all of her classes in Rwanda were taught in English, “but here I have to learn again because of (my) accent.” She attends a free class to reduce her accent with seven other students. The city of Portland conducts the class. Marta Greenlaw is the teacher. She is also a speech therapist. She says immigrants who reduce their accent have better success at work. And they can communicate more easily with store workers, teachers, doctors and neighbors.
Title: Immigrants Learn to Lose Their Accents
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/imm_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Immigrants Learn to Lose Their Accents' data-article-id='1296'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='7646'>Some immigrants in the northeastern state of Maine are learning to lose their accents.</span> <span data-start-time='7646' data-end-time='21958'>Some of the immigrants speak English fluently, but have a difficult time being understood because they have heavy accents, reported the Portland Press-Herald newspaper.</span> <span data-start-time='21958' data-end-time='36250'>Assouma Nyirabahizi says she left her home and job in Rwanda two years ago, coming to America on a green card “in hopes of a brighter future.”</span> <span data-start-time='36250' data-end-time='44958'>Nyirabahizi has a master’s degree in computer science and speaks English fluently. </span> <span data-start-time='44958' data-end-time='56250'>She says all of her classes in Rwanda were taught in English, “but here I have to learn again because of (my) accent.”</span> <span data-start-time='56250' data-end-time='63063'>She attends a free class to reduce her accent with seven other students. </span> <span data-start-time='63063' data-end-time='66979'>The city of Portland conducts the class.</span> <span data-start-time='66979' data-end-time='71000'>Marta Greenlaw is the teacher. </span> <span data-start-time='71000' data-end-time='74000'>She is also a speech therapist.</span> <span data-start-time='74000' data-end-time='81125'>She says immigrants who reduce their accent have better success at work. </span> <span data-start-time='81125' data-end-time='89688'>And they can communicate more easily with store workers, teachers, doctors and neighbors.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/accent_image.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=5464 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/what_does_accent_mean.m4a'>What does accent mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a way of pronouncing words'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/a_way_of_pronouncing_words.m4a'><span>a way of pronouncing words</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/different_from_each_other.m4a'><span>different from each other</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/to_plan.m4a'><span>to plan</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/a_foreign_country.m4a'><span>a foreign country</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=5465 data-hint-location='44958' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/why_does_nyirabahizi__say_she_has_to_learn_english_again.m4a'>Why does Nyirabahizi say she has to learn English again?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='her accent'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/not_fluent.m4a'><span>not fluent</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/bad_grammar.m4a'><span>bad grammar</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/her_accent.m4a'><span>her accent</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/different_dialects.m4a'><span>different dialects</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=5466 data-hint-location='7646' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/the_individuals_have_a_difficult_time_being__blank__due_to_their_accent.m4a'>The individuals have a difficult time being <span class='blank'>understood</span> due to their accent.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='understood'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/understood.m4a'><span>understood</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/hired.m4a'><span>hired</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/heard.m4a'><span>heard</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/871/helpful.m4a'><span>helpful</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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