Tips for Speaking with a Convincing Accent, when Conversing with an Alien:

Sometimes when learning a new language, getting the pronunciation, rhythm and voice intonation can be  very difficult. Of course, there are the gifted few, who seem to pick up accents like chocolate cake soaks up cream. But, for the most of us, lets be honest, it's a bit of a struggle. 

I have brought together a few tips from our students: How to sound convincing when attempting to converse with an alien.

1) A great tip Lilly Ann gave us: Record your own voice and play it back. You can hear what you need to work on and what is sounding spot on. See if you can understand yourself! 

Some smartphones have a  voice recorder or buy a cheap MP3 Player with a voice recorder feature.

2)Read the local newspaper, from the region you would like to match your accent to/use audio books and slang dictionaries. The English accent is very different to the American English. This will help you to understand expressions in everyday speech, reading the local newspaper is going to keep you up to date, so you don't 'feel left out the loop' when you get there!

3)Get hold of a person you want to learn the accent from, a native of that country/region if its an English accent, find an English person! There are three main texts used by voice coaches – Arthur the Rat, The Rainbow Passage and Comma Gets A Cure. Get your new best friend to read these books aloud, whilst you copy their dialect as best as you can, playing close attention to the rhythm and resonance of their speech. Watch how their lips, cheeks, jaw, tongue and teeth move as they enunciate each word.

4) If your chosen accent is American, then choose an American song to listen and sing along to; research shows states 'at the top of your voice, in the shower, is the most effective method for this type of activity'.

 5) Forvo.com. If you are unsure about how to pronounce a word, this website has different words spoken by native speakers of over 250 languages. 

I love to pass on knowledge and to save others time, so I hope these tips from our students have been useful. If you have any other great tips you would like to share with us, then please post below.

By Amber Williams.

www.bearlainternationalstudies.com