How do you think about accent? I am from China , I lived in USA and learned American English this year. Some of Americans told me I have a heave accent when I spoke English. I felt really sad for tha

Jie

How do you think about accent? I am from China , I lived in USA and learned American English this year. Some of Americans told me I have a heave accent when I spoke English. I felt really sad for that. It is so tough for me to speak English like native speaker as a foreigner . I told my friend who was a native speaker about this,and he told me that I didn’t need to shamed of my accent, because there are many English accent in the world such as British accent, Australia accent,African accent . We couldn’t say which accent is better that other one. His words encouraged me .But I thought about it when I went back home, I thought that all these accent such as British accent, Australia accent,African accent , that means this is a real language in the world and many people use that just like dialect . But my accent only means I can’t speak English very well. So how do you think about accent ? The goal to learn one language for foreigners is that speaking like native speaker or just can communicate with local people. Which goal do you choose when you start to learn one language.

Dec 24, 2014 9:11 AM

Corrections · 9

How do you think about accent?

I am from China , I have lived in USA and learned American English this year. Some of Americans told me I have a heavy heave accent when I speak spoke English. I felt really sad for that. It is so tough for me to speak English like native speaker as a foreigner .
I told my friend who was a native speaker about this,and he told me that I didn’t need to shamed of my accent, because there are many English accents in the world such as British accent, Australia accent,African accent . We cannot claim couldn’t say which accent is better than that other one. His words encouraged me .But I thought about it when is not interesting"> <a id="img_badyes" class="vote bad2" style="display: none;" title="Not available"> </a>

<ul> <li><a href="/user/1756490">Jie</a></li> <li>1 minute ago</li> <li>0 corrections</li> <li class="last">6 views</li> </ul>

December 24, 2014

What do you think about accents?

I am from China, I lived in USA and have begun learning an American dialect of English this year. Some of Americans have told me that I have a heavy accent when I speak English. I felt really sad about that: As a foreigner, it is so tough for me to speak English like a native speaker. as a foreigner .

I told my friend who was a native speaker about this, and he told me that I didn’t need to feel ashamed of my accent, because there are many English accents in the world! Examples include such as the British accent, Australian accent and African accent. We couldn’t decide which accent we preferred (?) is better that other one. His words encouraged me greatly. I still thought about it this conversation when I arrived back back home. I thought that all these accents such as the British accent, Australian accent and African accent indicated that English that means this is a real language in the world, and many people use it in various dialects (?) [that just like dialect?] .

But my accent only means I can’t speak English very well.

So what do you think about accents? Is the goal to learn a language to attain native fluency, or just to communicate with local people? Which goal do you choose when you start to learn a language?

Great work Jie - !

I learn languages to equip myself with the necessary skills to get around when I am travelling :)

December 24, 2014

I think that accent is part of where one comes from, and one should not be ashamed of or want to hide where one comes from. It's fine to have an accent as long as you are mastering the sounds of the language you are learning. As you might know, not all Americans have the same "accent"with our spoken English and some accents are characteristic of where we're from. But one would not shame a Bostonite for having a New England accent, or a Texan for their Texas accent as long as their words are intelligible. English is not a language in which one's accent completely derails the meaning of what you're trying to say, though I have experienced that it very much does in Chinese. As long as you endeavor to fully pronounce words and make use of appropriate intonations, people can understand you. Please continue to learn the laguage and do not become discouraged if people notice your accent.

April 1, 2015

Thank you, esl Larry! Your words really encourage me, I will try to keep improving my English.

December 27, 2014

Jie, it is okay to have an accent. I have an accent too. People who live in other parts of my country would say that I have a West Coast accent. Having an accent does not mean that your English is poor. I am 64 years old and I am still learning things about my language. You are probably still learning things about your language also. If I tried to learn your language, I would have an American accent and my Chinese level would be primary. I have learned a few Chinese words from my students and have been told that I have good pronunciation. However, I am sure that my "good pronunciation" is still with an American accent. You have an accent and you also have an English skill level. It doesn't matter where your level is. The fact that you are here trying to improve it means that you want to become more skillful. Don't ever feel unhappy because you have an accent, but always keep improving.

December 26, 2014

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