I came across this week's guest because she could do a grouse Australian accent. Which was unusual because it's not often a seppo can actually do an Australian accent correctly.

After finding out a bit more about Paula, I realised why she had this talent - she is an accent coach for actors and voice actors in video games and animations, specialising in training US based actors in these roles.

She is also a polyglot, which gives us lots of material to talk about when it comes to language learning and pronunciation.

As with the word grouse, a lot of differences in accents comes down to the vowel sounds, and it is also what makes it difficult to learn pronunciation, depending on your first language.

We debate the merits of learning the IPA chart, and in what circumstances it is most beneficial. We also explore the main differences between accents from the southern hemisphere and the vowel shifts that have taken place.

Enoy this grouse episode and let us know what you think. Paula can be found on instagram @accentcolors . If you would like a transcript for this episode, get access to all content and have a say in the creative process, or would just like to support the show, think about becoming a patron: patreon.com/AustraliansTeachEnglish