I know a lot of people including myself who are obsessed with getting rid of their native accent while they’re speaking another foreign language.
I totally understand this approach particularly if you want to become a language teacher. You obviously want to be professional and give the best value to your students. I remember my colleague mates – they beautifully imitated different accents. I did look up to them!
But what if we’re not that naturally gifted in terms of our vocal (?) capabilities?
Surely, there are various and fairly effective ways to lose our accent. It’s incredibly hard to lose it 100% though.
In today’s world there are also different expectations and trends than, say, 20 years ago.
I’m pretty sure you have heard of the notion: “Global English”. This is a sort of trend in education; English is becoming international and therefore it’s supposed to be more easily understandable by non-native speakers of English.
Well, as long as your pronunciation is clear enough and the vocabulary you use is up to date we shouldn’t be ashamed of our accent. My American friends say …
Well, see for yourself and watch this short episode in which I talk about my experience and my American friends’ perspective.
Hopefully, you’ll use this vid to your advantage!
Take care of yourself,
Agata
PS And if you haven’t subscribed to my channel yet, please do it. It will mean the world to me! Thank you in advance!
Useful vocabulary:
Get rid of = get free of something
I did look up to them = I really admired them.
Capabilities = abilities
In terms of = in connection with
Fairly = quite, pretty
Though = although (mind you: we often use this word at the end of the sentence, which may sound odd to many non-native English speakers.
Notion = an idea, concept
Be ashamed of = be embarrassed
See for yourself = look at something with your own eyes (this is a very nice conversational phrase!)
Use it to your advantage = use it
It will mean the world to me = It will mean really, really a lot to me (another great expression; you mean the world to me = you mean sooooo much to me)