Articulation Training for Adults: Residual Errors, Accents, and Clear Speech

Two different reasons adults seek training

• Speech therapy for adults — who to see, online or in person
• Speech exercises for adults — a 5-minute daily routine

Residual errors in adults

A 2015 review estimates that 1–2% of young adults have residual or persistent speech errors, typically distortions. It describes residual errors as leftovers of an earlier speech delay and persistent errors as distortions from an early age that reflect long-held habits — and notes that treatment may still be justified to reduce negative social consequences.³

Those consequences are real: children with residual errors face an increased risk of social, emotional, and academic challenges, and ASHA notes that people with persisting speech difficulties may be at risk for psychosocial problems such as low self-esteem. ASHA lists teaching self-monitoring strategies among the elements of treatment.^4,2

Evidence in older learners is thinner than in children, but case reports exist: an adolescent with a persistent frontal lisp showed notable improvement on all targets after an 11-session program that ended with direct articulation therapy and visual-acoustic biofeedback, and largely kept the gains four months later.⁵

Accent modification

ASHA states that accents — regional, foreign, or nonnative — are not a communication disorder, that every person has an accent, and that accent modification is an elective service sought by people who want to change their speech. It cautions that terms like “accent reduction” are not preferred, and notes alternatives such as pronunciation training or intelligibility enhancement.¹

ASHA distinguishes accentedness from intelligibility — “the extent to which a listener actually understands an utterance.” Someone can have a noticeable accent and still be fully intelligible.¹

What adult training looks like

1. 1An evaluation pins down the exact error — a frontal versus lateral lisp, or which part of R is off.
2. 2Establishment: learning the placement in isolation and syllables, often with a mirror or visual feedback.
3. 3Generalization: words, then sentences, then conversation.
4. 4Maintenance: self-monitoring at work and at home until the new sound is automatic.

These steps follow ASHA’s establishment–generalization–maintenance sequence. Find a certified SLP through ASHA’s ProFind directory.^2,6

A home practice routine, step by step

1. 1Pick one sound, ideally the one an evaluation named.
2. 2Warm up with the sound alone and in syllables, checking your tongue and lips in a mirror.
3. 3Say a short list of words with the sound at the start, then in the middle, then at the end.
4. 4Record yourself and play it back next to a clear model; your own error is easier to hear on a recording.
5. 5Move to sentences, reading aloud and conversation once words are easy.
6. 6Pick a few moments a day to monitor the sound in real conversations, such as phone calls or meetings.

• Try a practice session — free account; an adult tier for 18 and over
• Articulation training: the three steps
• Articulation exercises by level

Frequently asked questions

References

6 sources from authoritative bodies. Last reviewed October 2026.

1. 1.ASHAAccent Modification — Practice Portal page.
2. 2.ASHASpeech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology — Practice Portal page.
3. 3.Peer-reviewedFlipsen — Emergence and Prevalence of Persistent and Residual Speech Errors — Review (Seminars in Speech and Language), 2015.
4. 4.Peer-reviewedHitchcock, Harel & McAllister Byun — Social, Emotional, and Academic Impact of Residual Speech Errors in School-Aged Children — Survey study (Seminars in Speech and Language), 2015.
5. 5.Peer-reviewedLipetz & Bernhardt — A Multi-Modal Approach to Intervention for One Adolescent’s Frontal Lisp — Case study (Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics), 2013.
6. 6.ASHAASHA ProFind: Find a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist — Referral directory.