Accent reduction: why it matters a lot

A roundup of mostly free resources to help with accent reduction

Two accent related things happened recently quite independently of each other.

The first was a speech I listened to. The speaker: informed, intelligent, and enthusiastic, was passionate about his topic. The audience should have been enthralled. They weren't. Instead, they fidgeted, looked embarrassed and after waiting impatiently for him to finish, gave him a half-hearted clap.

The problem? He had a thick accent and the more impassioned he became, the more impenetrable his words. Despite obvious careful planning, his speech failed.

The second was an email from a visitor to my site. He wanted help with accent reduction and his ultimate goal was to sound like he came from America. Having to speak in public had made him very self-conscious and aware of the barriers his pronunciation of English placed in the way of good communication.

Both events combined to stop me in my tracks. The majority of my concerns with pronunciation have been how people, predominantly native English speakers, do, or do not sound vowels, consonants or word endings.

That's quite different from the issues arising from heavily accented speech. Mine is a personal preference. I like listening to clearly articulated English and although habitual mispronunciation can skew communication, it doesn't entirely block it.

The email and the speech reminded me English can present serious challenges for non-native speakers.

The purpose of language

Regardless of the language spoken its primary purpose is communication. Before that can occur, speech must be understood by those who hear it.

For 99.9% of native speakers who speak to other native speakers, being understood is not a problem. They talk. The person they're speaking to, listens and communication happens without a hitch.

But that doesn't happen quite so reliably when the speaker and the listener don't share the same cultural, linguistic or geographic background. What can occur instead is mutual confusion. The listener doesn't understand what's being said, or misinterprets it, and the speaker struggles to find a way to make their meaning clear.

Although I am a qualified English teacher, I am not specifically trained to teach people for whom it is a second, third or more language. However, with site statistics showing visitors to write-out-loud.com come from multiple countries, I realized a great many of them were probably in a similar predicament to the person who contacted me, and I want to offer some help.

The key to accent reduction

The key to accent reduction is 'live' English. You need to hear and practice it. Your written English skills and comprehension may be superb and while that's a wonderful base to work from, it's not sufficient. Reading and writing English doesn't give you the sounds, the rise and fall of stresses, pauses - in short, the musicality of the language. You need it in your ears before you can replicate it with your mouth.

3 free accent reduction resources

One way to get attuned to the patterning of a language is to listen to talking books read by people who speak it well.

Try starting here: The 20 best places to find free audio books online|Reedsy Discovery
This is a great list, which includes one of my favorites: Learn Out Loud. The link will take you to their free audio book page. This site offers a vast selection of material in varying formats and much of it is free.

Another option is to listen to podcasts made especially for English language learners.

Here's a superb collection of them to dip into: English podcasts: 14 best podcasts for learning English in 2023

You’ll find help with American English, conversational English, British English, IELTS information, vocabulary, and beginner level material right through to advanced. It’s a complete mix. In addition to how-to instructional podcasts, you’ll find ones covering literature, news, comedy, and other topic areas.

I like the long-running 6 minute English podcast from BBC which has hundreds of episodes dating from 2014 onward.

The third resource is a self-directed free online course, on American English speech from the Carnegie Mellon University which has been put together by experts.

Here's an excerpt from the course description. I’ve made the key sentence bold.

"The purpose is not to increase your vocabulary, nor to improve your grammar, but to deal with the sounds of the words that you speak. Your message is of primary importance, but it may not be understood if your pronunciation is imprecise, inconsistent, or regional."

Accent reduction is complex. Re-training the spoken habits of a lifetime is a difficult quest that more and more people are embarking on because as the world is made smaller through increasingly refined technology, the challenge to communicate effectively beyond borders becomes more and more important. This is particularly true if you want to pick up on work or study options.

Regardless of what we think or feel about it, how we sound to others matters. If your accent is blocking communication, it is more than likely shutting you out from opportunities in many areas of your life. Work with accent reduction could open the door.

For more on its importance see: vocal aspects of speech delivery: references.
They should convince you!

Until next time,
Cheers,
Susan

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