Why is it harder for some people than others to pick up a good accent?

Hi everyone, thanks for coming back for some more of my ‘language treasures’!

At our last International Coffee Morning* in St Albans, someone asked the question:

‘Why is it that some people pick up a ‘good’ accent really quickly, while others may live in a country for years surrounded by the language they’re learning but still struggle to get rid of their foreign accent?’

Good question! As a language and pronunciation teacher, and having learned a few languages myself, it’s a question I ask myself a fair bit, so I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts and discoveries about this issue.

Many people tell me they’re ‘no good at languages’. It’s true that if you have a ‘musical ear’ or a ‘linguistic gift’, you may pick up correct pronunciation more easily. When I was studying Translation, one of my favourite things was to use the language lab at the university to “listen and repeat’’ beautiful BBC English on tape (!) until I felt I was getting it exactly right! I was enjoying it because languages are ‘my thing’, and getting it right was a personal challenge, so I was very motivated. It probably also helped that I love singing, so I was able to pick up the tune and the rhythm of the language, where it goes up or down, how long the sounds are, which bit is stressed etc. (It’s been said that if you sing foreign words it really helps you learn to pronounce them!)

But I believe being ‘gifted’ is only part of the picture. I was lucky enough to have a good foundation early on, owing to the fact that my first English teacher was an Englishman, and to the wonderful language lab mentioned above. This meant I didn’t ‘learn’ mistakes. And yes, linguistic ability does run in my family.

However, as we saw earlier, motivation plays a big part, too, which in turn is influenced by a person’s experience with regards to the language they are trying to learn. For example, coming to England and meeting my future husband suddenly gave me huge motivation to improve my accent, as well as a great model to copy. J On the other hand, I have met people who have to learn English out of sheer survival necessity, but don’t like being in this country. And others who are desperate to integrate and make friends but are tripped up by the fear of their accent being laughed at, because someone somewhere did make fun of them. And still others who are urged by loved ones to please keep their ‘lovely accent’ because it is seen as endearing. All of these are psychological factors that will have an effect on a person’s learning.

Another big factor I believe is the learning method.

Ever noticed how kids often seem to be able to get a native-like accent much more quickly than adults when they are immersed in a foreign language? Based on what I am told by many lovely retired people I teach French at Language for Fun (www.languageforfun.org), this is partly and age thing – kids simply benefit from a much greater brain ‘plasticity’, the ability of forming new connections in the brain, which over time is gradually lost. (Although I am also told this process is slowed down by language learning, which is why so many retired people come to my lessons – thanks guys!J) Also, I think kids pick up the accent more easily because they are already tuned to listening for the sounds of language. This is because they’re used to learning new items in their first language all the time anyway.  And it could be argued also that kids are happier than adults to try and fail and copy people. Plus there are issues such as a greater need to fit in and be like their peers, meaning kids will work harder at copying sounds exactly. (This last point is why, growing up as a German expat in Brussels, I very quickly lost my regional German accent in order to fit in with the more ‘standard’ German spoken by the majority at the German School. And it may also help to explain why second generation immigrants who grow up as kids in the host country often develop an even stronger local accent than the locals themselves!)

But I believe one of the most important reasons kids  who are immersed in a second language environment often achieve a better accent in their second language is that as children, they are more likely to focus on the spoken sounds before they learn how words are spelled. This means they concentrate on copying what they hear, which they are busy doing all the time anyway, and they are not trying to figure out how to interpret the spelling of a word. Trying to guess how to pronounce a foreign word based on its spelling can be tricky if you don’t know the language well, and you are likely to base your guess on the rules of your first language.  If you guess wrong, you mispronounce the words, which in turn leads to a foreign accent.

In my next post, I will suggest some ways of overcoming some of these hindrances to learning ‘good’ pronunciation, and I will ask the question if it’s right to refer to pronunciation as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Thank you for reading! Please comment and let me know your views and experiences, and if you like this blog please share it with others. See you soon!

Sigrid

(*If you would like to know more about the International Coffee Morning in St. Albans, please leave me a note in the comments field and I can send you the details.)

about me, this blog and English pronunciation

Hi guys, it’s time to dive into Sigrid’s Language Treasures!

I’m ‘the new kid on the block’ as far as blogging is concerned, so I’m a little nervous to start, but there’s so much I would like to share, and language learning affects so many of us, that I feel I’ve held back long enough! So here goes:

Basically, I’ve been interested in linguistics since early childhood. As a native German speaker who has lived in Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and England, I have a passion for languages, different cultures and all things international.

I have always loved languages, have learned a few myself, and love finding out how language and language learning works. From a young age I’ve been fascinated by how meaning is expressed and changes, how different languages express things differently, and how language, culture and world view affect each other. On finishing school I started ‘collecting linguistic treasures’ more formally as a translator, then as a private language teacher for the past nearly 10 years, but some of the best gems I found during my studies for a Masters in Applied Linguistics.

These days, my passion is not only to teach languages, but to help people find effective ways of learning them. Foreign language skills can affect so many aspects of our lives, and many times hold us back from fulfilling our potential. I hope that with my background and experience I can make a small contribution towards helping people overcome those restrictions. That’s why I’ve decided it’s time I shared some of what I’ve picked up along the way. In this blog I hope to talk about language learning and teaching, including practical tips as well as more theoretical and philosophical thoughts about how it works and doesn’t work and how language affects every-day life and vice-versa. Teachers, language learners, linguists and anyone who is interested in languages and different cultures, please read, share and comment!

Another thing I am passionate about is teaching English Pronunciation, i.e. helping non-native English speakers to learn a more native-like accent. I first discovered my love for this field during the Pronunciation module of my MA studies, and then developed my skills further by attending a Pronunciation Teaching Course a few years ago, and teaching private pronunciation classes.

I want to dedicate the first post of this blog to this topic, and I will no doubt come back to it regularly.

Speaking to English language learners on a regular basis, I am amazed how many will say ‘my English isn’t very good’, when actually there are no major problems with their grammar, vocabulary, comprehension or fluency. Many people are aware of having a strong foreign accent, which in many cases also means that others find it hard to understand what they say. What they struggle with is simply their English pronunciation, yet it feels to them as though all of their English is ‘bad’. There is no doubt that pronunciation affects a speaker’s confidence and prospects like nothing else. However, it is also, I believe, an area of language learning that is easier to ‘fix’ compared to other areas like vocabulary and fluency.

If this describes you or someone you know, I have good news: better English pronunciation or a more native-like accent is achievable! You don’t have to have a ‘natural’ language talent – although of course it helps if you do. There are some simple rules and techniques which will make a big difference to your pronunciation. Just simply by becoming aware of the English sounds and intonation and learning how to produce them, you can achieve a change, and with careful, regular practice, changing your accent is no more complicated than learning to use correct grammar.

Sadly, too often pronunciation is neglected in language teaching, and unhelpful teaching techniques such as introducing writing too early, result in learners having to first unlearn wrong pronunciation in order to improve their accent. However, the good news is that even small changes can make a big difference.

Take for instance the English sound known as the ‘schwa’. It is the most common vowel sound of the English language, produced with a completely neutral, relaxed mouth and tongue position, the one you would use in the English word ‘a’ as in ‘a table’. Often, speakers of other languages are not aware that, in so many English words, the English vowel letters – a, e, i, o and u – are pronounced as ‘schwa’ rather than as the distinct vowel sounds you might expect. Learning how to pronounce the ‘schwa’ and where to use it therefore makes a big difference to a person’s accent. A great example is the word ‘photographer’. In Southern British English (SBE, sometimes considered ‘standard English’), all the vowels in this word, except the ‘o’ in ‘-to’, are pronounced with the neutral ‘schwa’ sound! (To find out more about schwa try this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPsr58dFkNw)

There is of course not room in this blog to teach you English pronunciation systematically. Rather, I want to use it to discuss pronunciation-related issues more generally, e.g. questions like “Why do some people achieve a native-like accent quickly whereas others struggle for years?’’ – see my next post. (This question was just one of many fascinating discussion topics at the last International Coffee Morning – a monthly event in St Albans, England, which is an opportunity for people from around the world to meet informally to share and compare experiences.

That’s it for today. Watch this space for more about pronunciation, language learning and teaching, different cultures, linguistics and other fascinating things! Do please share and like the posts, and please add your own comments, thoughts and experiences. I look forward to your contributions!

Also, if you live in or near St Albans, England and want to find out more about my English Pronunciation classes, the International Coffee Morning, or Language for Fun (French conversation classes for adults www.languageforfun.org), please get in touch. Thanks for reading!

Sigrid