What English accent should I learn?

Do you speak the right accent?

Shall I learn British or American accent?What accent is best to pass IELTS test?

Those are questions that concern many people. However, the truth is that it is irrelevant, since long time this issue is not as important as it is the ability to express ideas in a way that can be understood. The accent is a taboo from the past.

Nowadays, there are many more people speaking English as second language than native speakers speaking it. It means that, statistically, you are more likely to speak English to someone from Spain, China, Poland, Somalia, Brazil, etc. than to someone from the US, the UK, Australia or any other country where English is the main language.

I remember in the beginning of my career as a teacher how common it was to hear a student ask "Teacher, do you teach American or British English?" I don't teach any accent, I keep the accent neutral so it can be understood by everyone. As a matter of fact, I don't speak any English native accent. I'm Colombian thus, I certainly have my particular English accent. The question that really matters, though, is "What is the impact of my non-native accent in my communication?".

It has very little impact, everyone has an accent, even native speakers have their own accents depending on what region they come from. To me, it is more relevant the credibility. If you speak confidently, your words will be more effective.

Even if you are presenting your IELTS, TOEFL, CELTA, or any other exam, there is no score for accent. The score are given for fluently, coherence, vocabulary, grammar use.

Whatever accent you speak will have no influence on your speaking test score. They simply don't assess your accent. It has no relevance whatsoever. So, don't be afraid nor ashamed of your accent, after all, accent is nothing but a cultural characteristic. It is part of who we are. It is us. It shows our origin, our ancestry. That being pointed, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Accent is not a problem.

What is the problem, then?

To solve this question answer:

Do people understand you?

Do you need to repeat yourself frequently when you speak in English?

Do the other people look like they were struggling to understand you?

Do you feel there is some tension in the air?

Are your conversations filled with silence or body gestures?

That could be the problem.

In that case, you should direct your efforts in speaking smoothly, pretty much like you would speak in your native language. Another mistake people do is to think that they have to use fancy words or uncommon vocabulary to make an impression. However, trying to memorise lists of "weird" words can make a sentence confusing and produce an undesired outcome. Make sure that you know how to use those weird words first.

Now we know your accent isn't a problem, let's talk about real problems. This is to help you reflect on your own speaking so you can self-assess and diagnose what you need to improve in your spoken communication.

The first things first, focus on is 'individual sounds'. I am sure that you, just like me, struggle to produce some sounds from the English language. due to the fact that those sounds doesn't exist in our mother tongue. Some sounds don't exist in our mother tongue, and that is a fact.

Work to enhance the difficult words, make phonetic exercises. Identify which sounds are more difficult for you to achieve and put some extra effort in improving them.

Finally, we can conclude that one of the cornerstones of improving speaking is to be aware of how we truly speak so we are able to understand our weaknesses and know what we need to change. Get feedback, work with your teacher or tutor to work in your problem areas.

Tell us, which features of English language are the most difficult for you?

I would like to hear from you.