New-Languages

Over the years I have worked with many people from different parts of the globe: from all over India, different parts of Asia, Europe, South and Central America. It is always a joy to help people learn the English language as spoken by Americans. And it is always a challenge to help them reduce or modify their accident. But when you can see the frustration on their face, and realize the tears that they shed inside, it makes you realize the need to stop and help them improve the way other people understand them. In this series of articles, when making reference to accent reduction or modification, we will use the expression "accent reduction", even though it is very common to hear other terms being used, such as: accent modification, accent acquisition, etc. The term accent reduction is the most commonly used and accepted.

If you are among those who have difficulty being understood, you're not alone. And you should not be frustrated. (I should have said that you should not be OVERLY frustrated.) Help is here! In this article, when making reference to reducing your accent, or making yourself better understood, the point is that you have pain. Many people do not understand what you are suffering. What you're suffering is real. And since your suffering is exactly what millions of people have faced over the centuries, your suffering is something that many people have overcome, and that you too can overcome. Let us investigate a couple of things that must be understood so as to relieve your pain and suffering.

Frustration- There's no question that when you go to a fast food restaurant, or when you have a meeting with one of your children's teachers, you can become very frustrated when the person with whom you are speaking does not clearly understand you. To begin with, you have to realize two things. First, you are not the first to climb this mountain. Second, others have climbed this mountain before you.

Admission- Each and every one of us must come to the point where we admit that something is wrong or that we need help. This is a basic life lesson that we all need to learn. The sooner we learn this lesson, the sooner we can pick up the pieces and move on with life. Do not let pride stand in your way. We have to recognize, or admit, that we need help. Then, we need to reach out and grab it. Modesty is a quality that each of us must learn. But the one learning a second language is placed face-to-face with this reality more quickly than others. The faster you meet this challenge and can admit the difficulty you face, the more readily you will begin to grasp a second language, and the more rapidly you will begin to realize the desired accent reduction.

TSE- (Test of Spoken English) Quite often, learners of a second language often fail this test miserably. It could have been that they were nervous. It could have been that they were overconfident. But a more commonly repeated factor is that they were ill-prepared. They did not know what to expect. But more often than not, they tripped over their own accent. This emphasizes the need to have help in overcoming your accent issues, that is if you prefer to sound like an American, no matter where you learned your English.

Accent reduction is not a matter of where you learned your English. It is a matter of overcoming built up frustration, admitting that there is a need, and obtaining the necessary help from someone who learned your "target language" as a native in the country of your desired accent. In this we sincerely hope to help. Please follow our series closely, and enjoy our free videos at the link below.

Mr. Wilson is a teacher and trainer who has over 25 years in the education field. As a double certified TESOL Instructor he has volunteered much of his time over the years to help people learn language and reduce, or eleminate, the accents. He now teaches language live over the internet in both an individual and group format. He has engrossed himself in the study of heightening memory capability and accent reduction while grasping a new language.

Find a complete album of videos for learning English for ESL learners on my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/englishsponge