1. A method of generating proxy acoustic models for use in automatic speech recognition, comprising the steps of: (a) training acoustic models from speech received via microphone from male speakers of a first language using an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system comprising the microphone, memory, and a processor; and (b) adapting the acoustic models trained in step (a) using the ASR system in response to language-independent speech data from female speakers of a second language, to generate proxy acoustic models for use during runtime of speech recognition of an utterance from a female speaker of the first language.