Why Learners Don't Need a Native English Accent
As some people improve their skills in English, they don't just want to enhance their vocabularies or brush up on grammar — they also want to develop a native English accent.
You'll find a lot of blogs that share tips designed to make learners sound just like native speakers.
But is it really necessary?
In order to answer that question, we need to know why people want a native accent in the first place.
Some people believe it helps them connect with native speakers, helps improve pronunciation or boosts their confidence.
Others think it will help them get a job — for example, if they want to work as an English teacher, in an English-speaking country or in a multinational firm.
But the answer to that question above, say experts, really has to be "no" — it's certainly not necessary.
The point that many people make is that our accent is part of who we are. It's not something we need to change, whatever language we're communicating in.
Instead, says English teacher Katie Salter, "concentrate on making sure that you can speak clearly and be understood easily."
She adds that accents vary from place to place, and learners "will want to speak English to people from all over the world and not just British people or Americans." They'll probably speak English to a lot of non-native speakers too.
Another English teacher, Fabio Cerpelloni, says on his blog that it's not necessary for English teachers to have a particular accent either — there are lots and lots of wonderful English teachers from all over the world!
Language website Pipplet adds that it's important to remember that accent and pronunciation are different things: "Only change your native accent if it's causing you to mispronounce words," the site says.
The message, then, is just to be yourself. That is, unless you want to be an actor or a spy, says Salter!
