ACCENTS OF ENGLISH SPEAKERS

When we learn another language, it’s generally considered to be easier to ‘understand’ than to 'speak' ... "I can understand quite a bit of Spanish but I can't say very much".

I’m not so sure.

Have you ever been in a situation where, having learned a few simple phrases in another language, you have spoken them so convincingly that the other other person has assumed you are totally fluent and replied with such an incomprehensible torrent that you can only smile?

It’s happened to me many times.

When we speak, we decide which words and grammar to use. We are in control. If we DON’T know something we can find other ways to express ourselves using the language we DO know.

Conversely, when we’re listening, we can’t control the language of the person speaking. Yes, we can say ‘Sorry, I don’t understand’, ‘Could you repeat that, please’, but we are largely at the mercy of the other person.

The vocabulary and grammar the other person uses, how quickly they speak, their accent ,,, these are all outside our control

Yes, ‘understanding’ in another language is difficult. But the good news is that it becomes easier the more we practise.

These free training tools help us all (native and non-native speakers of English) become better at understanding accented-English.

• GENERAL English - here (username = saywhat  password = 456#WLT)
• AVIATION English – here