The 4 Reasons Why You Don’t Sound Like a Native Speaker
Your accent is comprised of all the sounds you’ve learned to make in your own language since you started speaking it. It is a collection of tongue movements, airflow control, and mouth shapes, among others, on which you’ve been dependent for your entire speaking life.
So how do you “lose” your accent when trying to sound like a native in a new language?
Learning a new language doesn’t consist of “losing” those skills. It’s quite the opposite! Your focus should be on how to acquire new skills to correctly voice the sounds in your target language!
So read on to find out the 4 main reasons why you might be struggling to sound like a native speaker!
Reason 1: You haven’t defined your target accent
What does the English language sound like? How does an American say the word “park”? If you ask a Bostonian, you will hear a very different sound than, say, someone from Texas or North Dakota.
Most languages differ in accents within their native communities, cities, regions, or even different countries, so start by listening to those different accents and picking one! This should be your first priority. Listen to various native speakers from different countries, regions, and maybe even dialects and start focusing your vocal studies onto one particular target accent.
Do you have to pick just one? Absolutely not! Nothing’s stopping you from speaking like a Geordie or an Aussie… or both! While most people retain their mother accents, many people will transition from one accent to another if they tend to move around. Plenty of Londoners will sound completely different after a few days of visiting their families in Liverpool or Wales, then right back to cockney when they’re back in London. Australians who come to live in the U.S. will sound foreign to their homeland counterparts after a short while of living abroad. There’s no need to limit yourself!
The main thing to keep in mind is choosing an accent that will work with your goals. If you’re learning your target language to conduct business in multiple areas in the native land, choosing an accent that’s more universally understood and accepted may help you reach a wider audience. But if your goal is to connect more personally with your partner’s family, for example, learning to speak in their regional accent could add some cultural insight for a more personal understanding of their family. Be sensitive to how people will receive you: different accents can carry different connotations within the target culture and you should understand those before jumping into a specific accent.
Reason 2: You do not know what sounds to learn in your target accent
Every language has a (somewhat) finite set of sounds, called phonemes, which you need to learn to produce in order to speak like a native speaker. Subsequently, students focus their efforts in learning about each letter sound which, don’t get me wrong, is a good start. But in many languages (especially non-phonetic languages like English), multiple sounds can be attributed to a single letter and when trying to communicate these sounds to a student, vocal coaches will often use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
I recommend that all my students learn the IPA the same way they learn the letters in the alphabet. It’s an invaluable tool in truly understanding the sounds in your target language and it helps facilitate communication in an immense way between students and teachers.
Learning the IPA is the first step in recognizing the differences in sounds between similar ones in your native language and your target language. If you’re finding yourself saying things like “I can’t hear the difference between what I’m saying and what you’re saying”, the IPA will open new ways for you to do so.
(one of my favorite English teachers and YouTuber, Rachel’s English, has some really excellent videos describing each and every English phoneme with IPA notations, so be sure to check her out!)
Reason 3: You haven’t put in the proper effort to learn how to sound like a native speaker in your target accent
You’ve logged hours on Duolingo. You’ve listened to hundreds of songs and watched dozens of movies in your target accent. You’ve even learned the IPA above and feel like you have a good grasp on all the sounds of your dream accent. But yet, you sound like a toddler when trying to give a speech or order a coffee at the local brewer. Your voice is robotic, your sentences are dry and your words flow like… mud.
The truth is simple: learning an accent at a native level takes a LOT of effort. But if you’re not focusing on the right things, all your effort is being wasted and you’ll never make any significant progress. When I was learning English, I annoyed the living crap out of my friends, constantly asking them to repeat words while I listened intently and asked for feedback on my own efforts. I was incessant! And I’m pretty sure they hated it.
Working with someone who has a good ear, is patient, and can provide useful feedback is the single best thing you can do in order to achieve your vocal goals. Students will sometimes spend many hours and a ton of money learning grammar but will hesitate to do the same in acquiring proper coaching for improving their accents. They will speak like a foreigner for years after mastering the written language while movie actors and actresses will sound like a native within a few weeks of training with a voice coach in a language they don’t even understand!
You should spend an equal amount of time in guided accent acquisition with a qualified coach who understands the nuances of your target accent and can correct you in a productive way, hopefully earlier than later, before bad habits are cemented in your speech. A quick search for accent coaches in your target language will open up new ways for you to really improve your new accent by leaps and bounds!
Reason 4: You cannot produce the sounds in your target accent
Sometimes there are legitimate barriers to sounding like a native speaker in your target accent. I’ve met many people who struggle to make certain sounds, no matter how much they practice. This could definitely hinder your ability to sound like a native speaker and discourage you from continuing to learn.
Evaluate what’s keeping you from achieving those sounds and consider switching your focus towards an accent that may be more friendly to your abilities. Some accents are strict in the collection of sounds they contain (e.g. Boston English) while others are a bit more forgiving in including slight variations. Don’t be afraid to play with different accents, focusing on those that give you a better chance at sounding like a native speaker!
An added benefit to working with a qualified coach is asking that person to guide you in deciding which accent may be well suited for your needs and natural abilities. However, if you’re not working with a coach, don’t let this stop you. Play to your strengths and try to get as close as you can in the sounds you ARE able to learn and you may still be satisfied in your accomplishments.
Learning a foreign language is a cultural endeavor much more than just acquiring new written and spoken skills, so have fun and enjoy the many ways you can blend into this new culture! Besides, a slight foreign accent can be a charming characteristic and a welcome trait to most people!
If you are looking for language partners to improve your foreign language skills you can find one for free at swaplanguage.com. Additionally, you can join our weekly free live Spanish and Danish lessons. Grammar, vocabulary and culture, taught by native speakers.
