Tag: accent

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Surviving a meeting in a foreign language

Last week I brought a student to tears. Well, actually, I just happened to be in the same room, and you know what women are like. Wait, wait, y’all supporters of the #MeToo movement (moi aussi/ me too) … women are more emotionally intelligent than men and they know that tears clear the soul. But my point is: My student was so nervous about attending a meeting in English the following week that her vulnerability spilled over in her tears.

One thing she must remember is that a charming and intelligent woman can go monosyllabic during a meeting in English.

Native speakers must remember they may not be seeing all of a person because they are afraid they look ridiculous when speaking English. “I’ve seen people lose a job because of this issue. It’s a real problem.”

So I told my intermediate student to make the effort to speak English clearly. That’s it.

PREPARATION

Secondly, she had to prepare. Practice in front of a mirror, look up words and their pronunciation that might come up during the meeting.

Thirdly, I told her to have a glass of wine 🍷, yes I did. Why? Because if that would help her loosen up and relax that would be a plus. Yoga and other relaxation techniques also help.

In other words, her main concern was not the content of the meeting, not even the language barrier, but the fact that SHE would have to speak in English.

People hate meetings that waste time. Use these tips to be a time saver, not a time stealer.
  1. Research the attendees. … 
  2. Determine clear objectives. … 
  3. Plan a suggested agenda. … 
  4. Consider any obstacles. … 
  5. Remove any roadblocks. … 
  6. Decide on desirable outcomes. … 
  7. Think about follow-up activities.
I’ll let you know later how the meeting did go.
Cheers,
Mo
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Accent v Pronunciation

This is another question that comes up quite often in the language classroom:

“Teacher, what’s the difference between accent and pronunciation?”

Well… in simple terms, accent is the voice you’ve developed based on where you were born and raised, your parents, family, classmates, etc all played a role in developing your accent in your mother tongue. Anyone has an accent! You realize it every time you move out of your area or comfort zone where most people speak like you.

Don’t even get me started with different British accents – one for every village and town.

Now… pronunciation refers to your intonation – the way you enunciate words and phrases.

I always tell my students that they don’t have to lose their accents – they are many times even considered charming by other speakers…. but they must be careful with their pronunciation so that they can be understood and not break down any communication attempt.

One example is the pronunciation of the letter R /r/ as a consonant sound. Many Brazilian, French and Spanish-speaking students find it hard to pronounce words such as

Rabbit  – Raccoon – radio – red – Recipe – run etc

many times their default pronunciation with be with an H sound – they’ll say

Habbit – Haccoon – Hadio – Hed – Hecipe – Hun etc

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My role as the teacher is to identify these problem sounds, raise the student’s awareness to it and encourage them to produce the adequate sound.

Speaking another language requires skills which can and must be developed.

So happy practice and keep on speaking.

Cheers,

Mo

 

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How do I get rid of my foreign accent?

Get rid of your foreign accent? Quite often students approach me with that question.

First, you’ve got to be aware of your limitations and set “realistic” goals.

We can talk here about accent elimination – when you will be talking exactly like a native speaker as long you stick to that corner of the world forever – or we can be talking about accent reduction – ranging from communicating clearly with the people around you knowing you’re not from their village but not being able to figure out which village you come from.

Some people (a few I’d dare say) have a special gift for impersonating another language as if they were acting before an audience (channeling another accent). But most mortals can be content with being clearly understood and focusing on something else.

I honestly think that the second path is more realistic. A language learner’s goal must be to be able to communicate clearly and accurately (within certain parameters).

How can you achieve that? First, start exposing yourself – no, not to children on a playground – don’t be a pervert! Expose yourself to different accents – listen, repeat, shadow others. Record yourself and play it back. Compare. Evaluate.

See that not only isolated words sound ok but practice linking words. Make clear sentences. Follow the rhythm and intonation of the language. There is a musicality to the language that will make life much easier for you if you start “singing” to the right tune.

I know, I know, some people can’t even hum “Happy Birthday to you.” I’m not saying it’s going to be easy but remember that sometimes we’re making progress but we don’t feel like it. But other people can tell.

I remember when I started dabbing my feet in Teaching English as a Foreign Language here in Brazil – the owners of a little language  school near Paulista Avenue told me during a hiring interview: “Your accent is hard to pinpoint. Some words sound more British other times more American”.

And that was who I was at that time. My only international experience had been to America, the music was American but the radio was BBC shortwave. And after I started working with them, I started using the textbook American Streamline series and every week they’d say – ” oh, your English has improved a lot.” Even though I couldn’t think of anything I’d done to improve except teaching a few classes the past week.

And even today, after spending a few months in Ireland, people in America will say – “oh some words sound Irish”, but the moment I arrive at the immigration point at Shannon Airport the officer tells me – “you’ve got an American accent”. There! Don’t try to please everybody. Just be happy with what you’ve accomplished. You’ve come a long way and enjoy being a citizen of the world.

So, get those lazy ears of yours working and make that tongue positively productive.

Cheers

Mo on-language