My attitude towards accents
Kazuki Suetake
There are many ways to be a good speaker. Accents are an important key to be able to speak English fluently and communicate well. For many Japanese students, it seems that accents are an inevitable challenge and I’m no exception. If I don’t care about accents when I speak English, I usually tend to speak flat. Thus, since I came here in New Zealand, I’ve tried to put stresses in my speaking. In English, you should put stresses on the important words that you want to emphasize. On the other hand, you can pronounce unimportant words, for example prepositions, slightly. However, although I keep this factor in my mind every time I speak English, it often does not go well. I know the reason. It’s that I focus on making sentences rather than caring about accents. As I speak English, my brain works to compose English sentences using proper grammar, appropriate vocabulary and trying to tell a joke. I’m not able to do all of the things together in my English brain so far. Therefore, now I overweigh making better speaking, but I of course try to include accents when I read textbooks. Come to think of native accents, I’m not sure up to now. In my opinion, my problem in English is listening so I can’t distinguish which accents are English, American or Australian. I hope one day I will find the difference between them.
It is quite interesting what you says, especially because I thing this situation has happened to everyone who has gone to a foreign country to learn a new language. The most difficult thing is to change your mind from your native scheme to your new one, but this occurs automatically, and one day you will wake up and you will realize that you can not help thinking in english. Till then, take it easy and keep practicing!!! But I think your english is pretty good though!!
ReplyDeleteHi Kazuki. Your text is well written, with good links. I agree with your opinion, and it happens with everybody, doesn't matter the country. I have the same problem of you, sometimes I speak with portuguese accents and write with portuguese spelling.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you!
ReplyDeleteMy brain also doesn't still work like native speakers... Many Japanese have the same problem.
I think Japanese education system is no good because we didn't focus on speaking or listening skills in school. Of course, we should study and practice by ourselves.
Anyway, we must improve these problems by studying hard and practicing many time!!
Masayuki
hi Kazuki, I comoletely understand what you're taking about especailly the part about concenterating on doing one thing right which makes you do mistakes on the other part, we are on the same page . However, i believe we should have the guts to speak loudly and bravely becuse it's the only way we can learn with.
ReplyDeletetake care
Hello, Kazuki. Very nice writing!! I can exactly figure out what you wanted to mention. An accent should be a kind of predicament we have to get over, when we, Japanese, study or learn English. We spontaneously speak English with flat accent because of a characteristics of Japanese language. Therefore, I partly agree with your opinion about the accent and we should practice more intentionally. But I'd like to give you a different perspective for the accent. As you mentioned before, our accent is very flat and I surmise flat accent can represent our language identity. Although, of course, our flat accent should be improved and we should have an attempt to do, we must simultaneously admit the difference between English and Japanese. An accent is NOT just an accent. Japanese language itself has been refined and formulated over and over in a long history. So, I'd like to let you be proud of your language. Oh, I don't intend to deny your ideas or the ways of practice.
ReplyDeleteFinally, I'd like to respect your attitude toward study English.