Nowadays, it’s common to hear different accents in this language, many students have problems at the moment to speak with native people because they are accustomed to hear their teacher’s voice so that this is a challenge for them. Students or even people who like this language believe that they have good progress, however, when they speak with other people and they pay attention to all the things they say, they can not understand a single word that they are saying. It can be hugely disappointing, can’t it? In this article we are going to tell you some explanations and tips to improve the listening skill, nobody knows when you will speak with someone with a different accent. Firstly, what do you know about this? Have ever thought about the accents? Can you identify the accents in English? and can you understand?
Why is it important to understand the accents?
People sometimes hear someone speak, they already have an idea of how the language is supposed to sound. When it doesn’t quite fit, they have to work a little harder sort it out. And that requires mental energy. This process slows them down, which means their comprehension is diminished.
If you have a hard time understanding other accents, you’ll want to do what you can to reduce any other interference so that you can focus on the other speaker, this is important to understand all the ideas that the speaker tells you. So, in this case if you are in this situation, you need to ask the speaker to slow down because it sometimes helps clarify things. Also you can expose yourself to different accents, for example, Youtube can be an ally or a great source online. Maybe, you can ask the speaker to write it down, you should send letters or mails because this is another way to say your opinion or idea.
Try to be understandable, charismatic and pay attention to all the words they say, speakers don’t judge and most of them are open minded, if someone corrects your way of speaking, it’s ok, calm down and remember what your error was. Certainly the new learners have a lot of errors and misunderstandings with others but everything has a rhythm, keep in mind when it comes to accent, what matters most is finding the time to do more listening comprehension. The more exposure you have the better you’ll do in understanding and being understood.