Many students want to eliminate their accent so they sound just like native speakers; however, eliminating your accent is probably impossible, and it it might be undesirable. First, everyone has an accent, including myself, and reducing your accent in areas that affect understanding is a more realistic goal. Furthermore, our accent identifies us to our country, which is part of our identify. What do you think?
Randall
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Well, some people feel that they are discriminated against in their work because they have an accent. They can't move up in the company. Sometimes, trying to eliminate an accent is important.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought this way before... But you've got a point... now i agree...
ReplyDeleteI don't know you guys, but most of british girls I have met, find my way of speaking English very sexy. :P, so, why to lose my accent for? (of course I need to pronounce words better but that's another issue.)
ReplyDeleteWell, I think that the more you're exposed to the spoken language, the more you have the chance to speak like a native speaker of the language you're studying. However, there are many other factors involved when it comes to acquiring native-like accent. I've never thought of completely eliminating my accent. I know that when I speak English there's still a trace of my mother tongue accent, and I think that's part of our cutural identity.
ReplyDeleteI agree everyone's got an accent. And by the way, which accent are you talking about? Is there just one accent every learner of English should model themselves by?? H'm... It's quite a complex issue, isn't it?
I also agree that we should reduce our accent in areas that affect understanding. Trying to speak more intelligibly is much more realistic than trying to acquire a native-like accent. That's what I think.