Accents

Methods and Learning
#1

Hello everyone.

How do you improve your accent(s) in your language(s) that you learn?

Thanks.

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#2

Listening/watching and trying to imitate native speakers. Paying attention to intonations and overall “natural flow”. Recording myself, comparing to similar native-produced piece and doing correction work.

3 Likes
#3

I try to gain an understanding of where the sounds “live” in the mouth. From there I do a lot of mimicking of material that I’m hearing. And I try to listen to a lot of material of many varieties. I find that I don’t necessarily have a perfect accent, but it helps make it a little better.

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#4

Serhiy, I think you are right when you say “intonation”. This is one of he keys to sounding more like a native.

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#5

I record my self and sometimes I share my recordings with native speakers for feedback -it works when I want to memorize too- and I focus on the accent more when I can speak with ease/more automatically. Also, I enjoy practicing with tongue twisters.

Sometimes, the more options you have, the harder it might get, it is hard to focus on one accent but we need to make the most out of it. So, if you are watching a program/series with non native speakers characters, probably they will have a variety of accents, try to build a connection and note/record the similarities, work on the similarities first and hopefully you will improve.

4 Likes
#6

I consume a lot of media content in my target language and I practise shadowing a lot.

1 Like