Do you need a British accent?
Plus tip of the week and fun with English
Hello!
Let’s start today with my most popular post from last week. I’ve thought about this topic some more since then and made some changes to the post so please have a look even if you’ve seen it before.
1. How can I learn to speak with a British accent?
This is a question my students and followers often ask me.
(Or maybe they want to learn an American, Australian or other accent. I said “British” because I’m British so that’s what people ask me but my answer is the same for other accents.)
Here’s how I answer the question.
💙 Why do you want to?
A lot of learners are embarrassed about their accent when they speak English and they really don’t need to be. Your accent is beautiful and interesting. It’s a part of who you are. If you still want to work on reducing your accent, that’s fine of course, but please don’t do it because you’re embarrassed. There’s no need to be ashamed of an accent.
💙 Is it necessary?
Most people probably don’t need a British accent. The most important thing is to speak clearly and be understood. Focus on any individual sounds that you have difficulty with and getting the word stress right. Then people will understand you easily. (If you’re facing pressure from an employer to sound more British, then I’m very sorry. All I can say to you is that I don’t think that’s right or fair.)
💙 Is it a realistic goal?
It’s not impossible to learn a British accent but it’s extremely difficult and probably needs specialist training and a huge amount of practice. Even American actors sometimes find it difficult to do a British accent (and sometimes vice versa). There might be better and more important things for you to work on that are easier to achieve, like improving your vocabulary or fluency.
💙 Which British accent?
There are so many different accents in Britain, depending on where a person lives. A person’s accent can even depend on their social class. So when you say you want to learn a British accept, which one? There is an accent which is considered to be more standard. This is called Received Pronuncation or BBC English, but you have to understand that only about 2% of British people actually speak like nowadays. These are all things for you to think about.
💙 Again, is it necessary?
I know people personally who have successful careers despite a non-British accent. I see more and more people on YouTube and on TV who have a non-native accent. There are famous Hollywood stars like Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz with their own accents. This proves that you don’t need to change your accent to be successful in life.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I do think it’s important for English learners to work on their pronunciation. It’s an important part of learning to communicate effectively. I just don’t think it’s necessary for most people to aim for a British accent. And I don’t want people to be embarrassed about their own accent.
2. Tip of the week: practise, practise, practise
Do you want to speak English better? Then you have to practise! Reading, learning vocabulary and studying grammar are all useful to help you speak better but they will only really help if you actually practise using what you learn.
So practise speaking as much as you can. Don't be shy! Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Just speak!
For more ideas, have a look at this page on my website and this one too.
3. Fun with English
Last week, I asked you, “What word begins with E and ends with E, but only has one letter?”
The answer is “envelope”!
Here’s a new challenge for you.
Words and sentences which read the same forwards and backwards are called palindromes.
Look at this sentence:
“A man, a plan, a canal, Panama.”
OK, it’s a strange sentence but if you read the letters from the end and go backwards, you’ll see that they spell the same words!
Some examples of words which are the same backwards: “mum”, “level” and “racecar”.
Can you think of any more? Leave your ideas in the comments!
See you next week!
Katie
PS I have a free email mini-course for professional women who want to use English at work with more confidence. If you’re interested, please click the button below.
