Arguelles discusses 5 ways to learn an accent:
He has found that children up to about age 12 can learn accents very well: their ears are willing to hear new consonants and vowels which are slightly different from their native language, and their mouths are willing to form these. After that age, depending on natural ability, many students can learn a good accent, when learning from good models, but a completely native accent would be rare. I see this distinction for example in recordings of native speakers and US teachers at Middlebury Language Schools. The US professors are excellent speakers, but their pronunciation and rhythms are not quite the same as the native speakers'.
The Foreign Service Institute, which teaches US diplomats, makes a similar point, "Most adults are not good at eliminating accents and developing a native-like pronunciation, but, for FSI, as stated earlier, proficiency refers to the ability to use language as a tool to get things done. Native accent is typically not a practical criterion for success in this ability (although intelligibility is) (p.74).
A good accent, which does not cause barriers to communication, is a reasonable goal. Learning from native speakers is a good starting point (items 1, 2 and 4 above). Starting with teachers who themselves have poor accents, and perhaps never learned from native speakers, would be a handicap.
There is even a small potential problem with native teachers who have learned your language well enough to interact with you. A study of 7 native French-speakers who had learned English well, and 7 native English-speakers who had learned French well, found the pronunciation of T in the native language had shifted away from the norm in the native language, in some respects, to be more like T in the second language. So bilingual teachers may not be the best models to learn from! (Flege, Journal of Phonetics, 1987 v.15 pp.47-65)
On the methodology of item 1, Arguelles notes that recorded didactic voices often have pauses for you to repeat. He prefers no pauses, so you speak along with the native speaker. This approach is discussed in the reviews of Language Guide and Book2, both of which offer didactic recordings without pauses.
You can practice with native speakers by skype through SpeakSurfing.com
- Recorded Native Speakers - very helpful, starting with slow, clear "didactic" speech, and advancing to authentic broadcasts, recorded books, and movies.
- Interacting with Native Speakers - the next step after recordings. Especially helpful is consultation with an expert phonetician in the target language who knows the most common pronunciation problems which learners from your language have. An encouraging idea is that hard work on any one pronunciation problem will help your other problems, because sounds are related.
- Understanding Phonetics Principles - very helpful to understand how your mouth forms sounds, how sounds differ between languages, and how to change the habits of your mouth muscles to form new sounds. He mentions the example that T is formed by the tongue touching the top of the mouth; different languages have the tongue in slightly different places, and Hindi has 2 different T's, in 2 different places. Learning the principle may help you listen for and create the right T. He has an introductory video on phonetics principles
- Immersion - in a country where the language is used everywhere, spoken and written, it becomes a "living thing" and has power to pull you in.
- Text and Phonetic Symbols - too hard for most people.
He has found that children up to about age 12 can learn accents very well: their ears are willing to hear new consonants and vowels which are slightly different from their native language, and their mouths are willing to form these. After that age, depending on natural ability, many students can learn a good accent, when learning from good models, but a completely native accent would be rare. I see this distinction for example in recordings of native speakers and US teachers at Middlebury Language Schools. The US professors are excellent speakers, but their pronunciation and rhythms are not quite the same as the native speakers'.
The Foreign Service Institute, which teaches US diplomats, makes a similar point, "Most adults are not good at eliminating accents and developing a native-like pronunciation, but, for FSI, as stated earlier, proficiency refers to the ability to use language as a tool to get things done. Native accent is typically not a practical criterion for success in this ability (although intelligibility is) (p.74).
A good accent, which does not cause barriers to communication, is a reasonable goal. Learning from native speakers is a good starting point (items 1, 2 and 4 above). Starting with teachers who themselves have poor accents, and perhaps never learned from native speakers, would be a handicap.
There is even a small potential problem with native teachers who have learned your language well enough to interact with you. A study of 7 native French-speakers who had learned English well, and 7 native English-speakers who had learned French well, found the pronunciation of T in the native language had shifted away from the norm in the native language, in some respects, to be more like T in the second language. So bilingual teachers may not be the best models to learn from! (Flege, Journal of Phonetics, 1987 v.15 pp.47-65)
On the methodology of item 1, Arguelles notes that recorded didactic voices often have pauses for you to repeat. He prefers no pauses, so you speak along with the native speaker. This approach is discussed in the reviews of Language Guide and Book2, both of which offer didactic recordings without pauses.
You can practice with native speakers by skype through SpeakSurfing.com
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