Search results for 'tag:Learning English tag:Accents' matching tags 'Learning English' and 'Accents'

Re: Newcastle accent?

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:06:08 GMT

I wouldn't necessarily recommend someone learning English to learn a regional accent at all - not even south-eastern or estuary English (and that's not because I am from Newcastle, and biased (although I am from Newcastle!).

People from different UK regions use different accents and dialects, and while some are regional, others are social. The kind of Standard English (SE) which people talk about is an example of a social form; it's the language of formal situations, education, news, and so on. People can use this dialect, and a local one interchangeably, depending on their situation - it's called code-switching, and is a phenonmenon common to many languages. While that is a dialect, Standard English does not have an accent, although for many people it is associated with Received Pronunciation (RP; sometimes known as Queen's or BBC English). In fact, SE can be spoken in any accent, and RP is the natural accent of only a tiny proportion of people in the UK.

For a learner of English, the choice of accent depends on how they will use English - whether they will live in the UK, or an English speaking country, for how long, and so on... Personally, I have never been in favour of 'neutralising' learners' accents, as it is part of their identity - although it is necessary for speakers to be understood clearly by others. There are also social and identity issues concerned with the use of local accents which, for learners, could cause problems or misunderstandings. By that I mean, for example, not everyone from Newcastle speaks 'Geordie' - part of the use of accents and dialects is concerned with how people are located (in terms of the social construction of identities) in their local societies.

If any English accent (or perhaps pronunciation is better) is to be learned for international use, the most effective may be a Standard American English one, for that is the most widely used.

Anyhow, this thread seems old - but thanks for making me think about this topic!

Cheers mara, whehey the lads, gan the toon an all that!!!

Re: Reductions

Kooyeen — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:46:39 GMT

Hi Laura,
welcome to Englishforums.

Yes, they might be good to make learners aware of some common forms in spoken English, but that's not enough. Learners who are serious about spoken English should check out an accent reduction course first. I just posted those videos because... the one with the alien was curious, and pointed out the importance of reductions in everyday English.... and the one by Jennifer was just an example of all the material you can find online. JenniferESL at youtube.com has made a lot of interesting videos you can watch for free, I just posted one.
And I remember seeing another guy who made several videos about learning English... I'll see if I can find him again.

Allowing embedded videos from youtube was maybe the most important improvement in this community. Lots of material to discuss and learn from. Or just good for a laugh.

English accents

Punkybrewster — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 22:54:25 GMT

So for all of those who are striving to learn a certain accent while learning English, watch this

Re: the best way to learn english?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:35:55 GMT

Speak without Fear

The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they wonât say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they donât talk at all. Donât do this. The fastest way to learn anything is to do it â again and again until you get it right. Like anything, learning English requires practice. Donât let a little fear stop you from getting what you want.

Use all of your Resources

Even if you study English at a language school it doesnât mean you canât learn outside of class. Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to learn faster. There are many different ways you can improve your English, so donât limit yourself to only one or two. The internet is a fantastic resource for virtually anything, but for the language learner it's perfect.

Surround Yourself with English

The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it. Take notes in English, put English books around your room, listen to English language radio broadcasts, watch English news, movies and television. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin âthinking in English.â .

Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible

There are some good English teachers that have had to learn English as a second language before they could teach it. However, there are several reasons why many of the best schools prefer to hire native English speakers. One of the reasons is that native speakers have a natural flow to their speech that students of English should try to imitate. The closer ESL / EFL students can get to this rhythm or flow, the more convincing and comfortable they will become.

Watch English Films and Television

This is not only a fun way to learn but it is also very effective. By watching English films (especially those with English subtitles) you can expand your vocabulary and hear the flow of speech from the actors. If you listen to the news you can also hear different accents.

Listen to English Music

Music can be a very effective method of learning English. In fact, it is often used as a way of improving comprehension. The best way to learn though, is to get the lyrics (words) to the songs you are listening to and try to read them as the artist sings. There are several good internet sites where one can find the words for most songs. This way you can practice your listening and reading at the same time. And if you like to sing, fine.

Study As Often As Possible!

Only by studying things like grammar and vocabulary and doing exercises, can you really improve your knowledge of any language.

Do Exercises and Take Tests

Many people think that exercises and tests aren't much fun. However, by completing exercises and taking tests you can really improve your English. One of the best reasons for doing lots of exercises and tests is that they give you a benchmark to compare your future results with. Often, it is by comparing your score on a test you took yesterday with one you took a month or six months ago that you realize just how much you have learned. If you never test yourself, you will never know how much you are progressing. Start now by doing some of the many exercises and tests on this site, and return in a few days to see what you've learned. Keep doing this and you really will make some progress with English.

Record Yourself

Nobody likes to hear their own voice on tape but like tests, it is good to compare your tapes from time to time. You may be so impressed with the progress you are making that you may not mind the sound of your voice as much.

Listen to English

By this, we mean, speak on the phone or listen to radio broadcasts, audiobooks or CDs in English. This is different than watching the television or films because you canât see the person that is speaking to you. Many learners of English say that speaking on the phone is one of the most difficult things that they do and the only way to improve is to practice.

Finally

Have fun!

Re: Gramatical Mistakes Common to Chinese English-speakers

Goodman — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:22:42 GMT

Hblaw wrote:

Hi all,

My native language is Chinese and I am learning English as a foreign language. I am wondering if you could name a few mistakes that are commonly seen in Chinese people who speak/write English as a second language, so that I can be more conscious in avoiding them in the future.

Any advice (relating to gramma) will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Best Regards,

- HBLaw

Well, I think this is right up my alley, so to speak. Speaking from experience, the most common problem for Asian learners, including Chinese are the followings:

In writing:

Capitalization

Third person/ singular rule

Gender (he/ she)

Space

Punctuations

Incorrect choice of word

Grammar Structure

Speech-wise:

Awkward Accent

Frequent Iteration

Unclear or incorrect pronunciation

Change of gender in mid conversation, i.e. switching he to she or vise versa.

Mixed grammar

Re: How to learn English from music/songs?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:30:46 GMT

Teroff wrote:
Hello. I think this is bad idea to learn English from musics and other.

First of all you must learn a gramma and after that you may learn English from Music/song, but not gramma only vocabulary bank.

But this is my IMHO

Sometimes I thought of it as you did.
But I take me back in time, when I was a kid, I just listen, listen, and listen...and I speak. I think learning English from songs is one of the ways to improve your skills. It must be accompanied with other ways not only way.
Grammar, ok, I think you are right. In a song, I can learn new words, pronunciation, maybe...accent...and so on. Do you agree?

Re: Improving English listening skill

Titithi — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:30:58 GMT

I have the same opinion as you and Benita. Listening to the English songs, seeing films, playing games and especially try to find any occasions to talk to some native English speaker (it's not easy...) are various forms of learning English. It is also an impetus to give us a basic of knowledge of English. All of us have known children from 3 to 10 learn foreign languages more quickly than the older. They repeat and repeat all the times,and they learn everything as nothing by sing a song, watch films, cartoons, play games and it seems they don't write anything.

If you listen to the BBC or Special English on VOA , you will obtain a Received Pronunciation, an attractive accent spoken to the educated upper classes which has some features as Hanoi Northerner accent. Do you believe? A woman had a missing husband. She tried to listen to the BBC every night on Vietnamese programme because she thought that was the voice of her husband .Unfortunately, her father-in-law didn't approve that was his son's voice. She was very sad and stopped to listen to the BBC every night and one day, she discovered this attractive voice has belonged to a British.

No much people could listen about news, policies, political sciences....for hours by hours every day like you. When we obliged to learn politic sciences, some of us used to fall asleep in the Meeting Hall . Let's listen to "How deep is your love!", "Hotel California","Sleeping Child","That's why you go away",.... unless you are an oracle in politics or even a secretary of state, you will see what I mean.

can't understand WOULD

Monalisatuan — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 04:22:57 GMT

Hi,

I am very interested in learning English . but I really don't understand exactly the use of WOULD in the following sentences:

1/ The man on the phone had an Australian accent - That WOULD be John.

2/ A: I saw a girl in his house.

B : That WOULD his daughter

Can I say : 1/ That WILL be John . 2/ That WILL be his daughter.

Many grammar books and dictionaries say that WILL is used to indicate present and future predictions . How about WOULD ? can WOULD be used to indicate present and future predictions like WILL in the above two sentences ?

I should be very grateful if someone could help me understand exactly the use of WOULD in this situation

Monalisatuan

Re: Why do english boys like french accents???

Arvsworld — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:00:32 GMT

Point 1/5. Few people think their native accent is sexy when they speak in English.

Point 2/5. People tend to develop some attraction to others who have accents that are foreign to their ears, most especially when the speaker is of the opposite gender.

Point 3/5. It's human nature to explore. And how much easier would it actually be to get a chance to explore a foreign person who is in your own homeland?

Point 4/5. Combine all of those things, and you get the situation you are in.

Point 5/5. Younger boys ALWAYS think girls are already sexy anyway. Your foreign accent just magnifies their "hormonal surge."

**And I agree with the post that said that the French culture is strongly associated with romance. This magnifies their attraction to you even further. So to your ears, your accent may not be sexy. But to their ears (and eyes, and ESPECIALLY in their minds, generally speaking), just for a few seconds, they will have already fantasized that you are the grandmother of their grandchildren.

Don't let these things discourage you from learning English.

Re: How can I learn to talk with a British accent?

Jpmiles — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 06:55:30 GMT

When I started learning English, I had no idea there were things like American and British English. I just knew that English was the name of the language people used in films. I was very excited as I was going to learn to speak the language of Hollywood. Actually, I reckon I had no idea what Hollywood was either.

My two cousins were taking English lessons at an American school. I knew very little English at the time but I really liked their nasal English as it was very much like the one in westerns. However life is tough and we can't get everything we want. I was attending lessons at the Anglo Institute that teaches BRITISH ENGLISH. My cousins would mock me. They didn't like the way I pronounced certain words. For example: mistah, teachah, peetah for Peter.

There I was learning the wrong variety. Anyway, I soon came to terms with accent. I have a nice British accent of my own. I switch it a little sometimes although deep inside, it's TEACHAH.

You can learn the British accent although it's not the same as acquiring it from the beginning. There's something to it that transcends words. There's wit, a many other things, not just propah English.

Now, if I have to choose from the so vast list of local British accents, I prefer standard RP as the core. If you want to sound like a Cockney, go to London. RP as the basics will keep you in business.