Hey everyone!
I'm testing out a method that focuses on an unconventional approach to learning a language. The conventional method is - learning reading and writing, conversation, and then pronunciation. I think this method is absolutely absurd and that speaking with a good accent is like the "cherry on top". I'm focusing on working in the reverse order - pronunciation, conversation, and then reading and writing. That way, the language I'm learning be acquired a lot quicker, easier, and is more fun right off the bat.
Do you think that speaking with a good accent is less important than knowing how to conjugate a verb? I'd like to know your thoughts!
I agree with Phil.
Pronunciation, then grammar, then everything else.
@Phil I appreciate you shining the light on the importance of prosody, which I think is often overlooked in traditional approaches to language teaching and even language analysis. Differences in prosody between different dialects of the same language can make them difficult to be mutually comprehensible. Personally I find it embarrassing when it happens to me, but indeed there are people from another continent who speak English with native or near-native fluency but with prosody so different from my own that it takes energy to follow.
One suggestion I have is to listen to music sung in one's target language, especially folk tunes or those taught to schoolchildren. And then, of course, to sing along with the kids.
As for a language like Arabic for example, I consider elocution of utmost importance, just as I do grammar and everything else.