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I was born in the United States, and as a child lived with my family first in Malaysia and then in England. Living in both Asia and Europe at an early age gave me a love for the tremendous variety of sounds, rhythms, and textures that make up the music of human language.
As a teenager, I attended the well-known alternative school in England, SUMMERHILL, and wrote a book called INSIDE SUMMERHILL about my experience, which was published along with my photographs, when I was 17 years old. After publication I lectured about my experience at Summerhill at colleges around the United States.
I’ve been playing with my voice, writing songs and making music since I was a child. In 1981 I moved to Japan for 16 years, working as a voice talent and musician. I performed and recorded original music and songs, wrote and recorded TV and radio commercials, did voice-overs, narration, and every kind of voice job imaginable.
After returning to the US in 1998, I decided to help Japanese speakers of English improve their American-English pronunciation.
While Japanese education emphasizes reading and writing in English, effective training in pronunciation is rare. This has resulted in generations of Japanese who may be well-educated and ambitious, but are hampered by their poor English pronunciation.
Ultimately, I developed the POPENOE METHOD, a practical and effective American-English pronunciation course designed for Japanese and other foreign speakers of English.
I currently live in New York City, where I teach the POPENOE METHOD, make music, swing dance, and enjoy eating Japanese food!
Joshua Popenoe
