Accents

When learning a foreign language, many of us are so worried about our accents that we’re afraid to speak, therefore losing the opportunity to use and practice the new language, which is so crucial throughout the learning process.

There was a time when I did the same thing when I was learning Spanish. I didn’t want to speak Spanish unless I knew I could perfectly express what I wanted to say. Initially, it was because I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself; later on it was because I wanted to appear as being a native Spanish speaker. I was doing myself a disfavor in both cases.

As far as making a fool out of yourself, my advice is to forget about this nonsense when speaking English. People will understand that English isn’t your native language and they’ll even help you through it. That’s been my experience when learning Spanish.

Later on, as I became quite fluent in Spanish, I became reluctant to speak for a different reason: I didn’t want people to know I was a foreigner. Looking back, I find this ridiculous. Accents are what make us who we are. And besides, unless you start learning English in a native environment at a very early age, you’re going to have a non-native accent when speaking English. So what? Your English teacher -assuming he or she is doing a proper job- will correct you when you mispronounce words anyway. So go out, leave your “sentido del ridículo” at home, at start talking!

Reluctant. Reacio

So what? ¿Y qué?

To mispronounce. Pronunciar mal.

And speaking of accents (and talent!), take a look at this. Her name is Amy Walker and she’s an actress from Seattle, Washington. In this video she recites her name and age in 21 different accents, all in 2 minutes, 35 seconds!




Published by: Drew Crosby