Many deserving candidates lose out on job
opportunities because of their vernacular accent.

Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to
speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you
speak your mother tongue.

How do you train yourself? By inculcating certain
practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you
closer to sounding like a native English speaker and
equip you with a global accent — and you will speak
not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be
it American or British or Australian.

Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of the
Accurate English Training Company in Los Angeles,
offers these tips to help ‘neutralise’ your accent or
rather do away with the local twang, as you speak.

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak
English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth
movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are
saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of
their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm
of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong
intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a
hard time understanding you.

Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient with
your slow speech — it is more important that
everything you say be understood.

iii. Listen to the ‘music’ of English.

Do not use the ‘music’ of your native language when
you speak English. Each language has its own way of
’singing’.

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols
of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation
of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find
difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the
language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying
them. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book.
Compare the sound of your English with that of the
person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to ‘S’ and ‘ED’ endings. This
will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you
use when you speak English.

viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every
day.

Research has shown it takes about three months of
daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for
speaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation
mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and
avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is
a very important exercise because doing it will help
you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen
overnight. People often expect instant results and
give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if
you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin
by identifying the category you fall into and start by
improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and
the ‘Indianisms’ that creep into your English
conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like
Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies
and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We’d recommend
Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and
Connie Francis among others.

Studying a foreign language can be fun and frustrating at the same time. Most of us don’t mind learning to speak another language when we are motivated to do so by a good reason, such as necessity, travel, or someone we know.

People born in another country who want to learn English generally have good reasons for wanting to do so. Some of them plan to move here or have immigrated already, while others know that English is the primary language of international business.

If you want to help a non-native person learn to speak English, here are some easy ways to help him or her:

1. Practice informal conversation skills. Most people who are trying to learn English are eager to speak the language with a native. They will try out a few words or an expression, hoping to make a good impression and draw you into conversation so they can learn more. If that happens, speak naturally but distinctly so that the person can understand to the best of his or her ability. Use basic conversational words while avoiding slang or regional expressions, which the non-native may not know.

2. Offer help with grammar drills. If the non-native person is not already in an English class, you may want to write out a few basic grammar drills. For example, write a verb at the top of a page, and below it, conjugate the verb’s usage with all the singular and plural persons of speech:

To Talk:

I talk

you talk

he or she talks

it talks

we talk

they talk

Repeat each expression, encouraging the other person to say it after you.

3. Suggest television viewing. Thirty-minute weekly television programs are helpful because they set up a situation that is ongoing and easy for the viewer to follow in terms of understanding context and learning names. If possible, watch the show together and point out characters’ names, along with basic traits or actions in simple terms the non-native speaker can follow. Try to discuss the show afterward, beginning with easy phrases or comments:

“Funny, wasn’t it?”

“Did you like it?”

4. Pass along newspapers and magazines to read.

Even if the person has limited English skills, becoming familiar with the shape of English letters and print of common words will help the non-native begin to identify them. If you have time, point to a word or sentence and pronounce it, encouraging your friend to say it after you.

5. Visit public places. Go shopping, see a museum, stop by the park, or take the bus in order to experience new sites together. Use simple expressions to name or describe each location or main features. Your friend will begin to learn these as you say them, and the time spent together will hopefully prove mutually enjoyable.

In addition, you can recommend that your friend look up English grammar skills on the Internet, or pick up a grammar guide at the bookstore. Many of these are geared to people from other cultures. Remember to be patient, and consider referring your friend to the local International Institute or other agency that provides free or inexpensive English classes or tutoring.