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Timeline to developing an accent

  Tags: Accent
 Language Learning Forum : General discussion Post Reply
100 messages over 13 pages: << Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 8 ... 12 13 Next >>
beano
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 Message 57 of 100
28 March 2014 at 11:14pm | IP Logged 
A non-native accent isn't a "bad" accent.


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tarvos
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 Message 58 of 100
28 March 2014 at 11:21pm | IP Logged 
Retinend wrote:
Sure. But Serpent says it's positively the wrong way, or a
useless way, of
improving accent.

And this guy's English accent is very good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVWFGIyNswI


Anything that's ineffective is the wrong way, so there I agree.
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Serpent
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 Message 59 of 100
28 March 2014 at 11:22pm | IP Logged 
I've written this before your additional questions:

Shadowing is basically like learning to walk again after breaking a leg, and eventually being able to run. Improving further is like starting a new sport after that, with a specific goal in mind like becoming more supple or losing weight. But then there are also people who don't need this sport to be slim/supple. Something like that.

(what's it with these sport metaphors... oops)


I didn't say I've used any additional techniques to improve further. I stop shadowing when I'm satisfied with my speaking skills. I think it's just like any other method - when your progress slows down, it becomes a less efficient use of your time. If you continue long enough, eventually it will feel pointless. So if you are feeling improvement from shadowing, and native speakers agree with you, it's probably not a bad idea to continue. But when doubt creeps in, don't dismiss it.

And if you think you're not doing enough listening, be sure to change that. Shadowing shouldn't be your only time spent with high quality recordings.
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Retinend
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 Message 60 of 100
28 March 2014 at 11:51pm | IP Logged 
I don't undervalue listening time. Personally, over 50% of my learning time is spent
listening and shadowing. I listen silently to start with, when I have to concentrate
hard on the new vocab etc of a new chunk of the language, but as I become familiar with
the contents, I work with it, shadowing and writing it out, until internalized. Then I
start again with a new chunk. It makes sense to me that the more you practice with one
piece of audio, the more accurately you will be able to imitate the sounds on that one
piece of audio.

Not to advocate sticking to one and only one method, though - I do other things too,
like looking at grammatical explanations, reading articles, learning song lyrics,
drilling conjugations and highlighting morphology and gender.
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montmorency
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 Message 61 of 100
29 March 2014 at 12:17am | IP Logged 
garyb wrote:
I think Ari hit the nail on the head. There seems to be a common idea that
accent is something that improves naturally as you hear and use the language more, which
for most people just isn't the case.


Well, I don't know about it being a common idea, but it certainly seems intuitive that
that would be the case. That's assuming the person bothers to listen to those around him
or her.

So, if it really isn't the case, why is it not the case?
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tarvos
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 Message 62 of 100
29 March 2014 at 12:24am | IP Logged 
montmorency wrote:
garyb wrote:
I think Ari hit the nail on the head. There seems
to be a common idea that
accent is something that improves naturally as you hear and use the language more,
which
for most people just isn't the case.


Well, I don't know about it being a common idea, but it certainly seems intuitive that
that would be the case. That's assuming the person bothers to listen to those around
him
or her.

So, if it really isn't the case, why is it not the case?


Because you need to learn how to actually produce certain sounds. If you can't
distinguish the sounds, you can't produce them either. If a Korean doesn't naturally
distinguish between l and r, he won't hear foreigners do it. Listening is pointless in
this case because you can listen to the recording 100 times, you won't notice the
problem.

Edited by tarvos on 29 March 2014 at 12:25am

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montmorency
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 Message 63 of 100
29 March 2014 at 12:30am | IP Logged 
Retinend wrote:


And this guy's English accent is very good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVWFGIyNswI


I agree. I don't know what his native language is, but about 70-80% of the time, I could
close my eyes (to listen better and avoid his distracting hand movements) and think I was
listening to another British person. There were a few giveaway moments, but not bad at
all. He had a slight jerkiness of speech too, but some people just do anyway.
1 person has voted this message useful



Ari
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 Message 64 of 100
29 March 2014 at 7:54am | IP Logged 
montmorency wrote:
Well, I don't know about it being a common idea, but it certainly seems intuitive that that would be the case. That's assuming the person bothers to listen to those around him or her.

So, if it really isn't the case, why is it not the case?


Once you've been speaking for quite a while, your brain has made it into a habit. It's automatic and the brain no longer spends energy trying to figure out how to pronounce that word, you've said it ten thousand times and there's a finished shortcut for it in the brain. When it's time to say the word, your brain just activates the shortcut and out it comes. You're also listening to yourself as you speak, and your own output is probably a stronger model than other people's. And finally, since you're getting by, you're not getting any feedback that forces you to change.

That might be some of the explanation, at least.


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