Why You SHOULDN'T Speak ENGLISH "LIKE A NATIVE"

If you're learning English there is a lot of pressure to speak like a British person or an American but this 'speak English like a native' is bad advice and I'll explain why. It's advice I gave myself in earlier videos but not any more.
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[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

"Don't speak like a native. Aim higher." I think that really summarizes it perfectly :)

[@kaitlyng7850]

So true 😂 people who speak English (especially Americans) make so many errors in speech

[@mavsworld1733]

@@kaitlyng7850 No, they just aren't trying to speak the dialect that the rules of grammar were extracted from. Looking down on people for not speaking the dominant dialect is just as bad as making fun of non-native speakers for not having a native accent.

[@Olivia-W]

@@mavsworld1733 There's quite a bit of difference between creatively bending the rules of commonly accepted grammar, and to be unable to use said grammar at all.

[@mavsworld1733]

@@Olivia-W I'm not quite sure what your point is. I'm not saying that there isn't a big difference. I'm just saying that mocking people for speaking different dialects in response to a video where one of the main messages is not to look down on people for not speaking a certain way is kind of missing the point.

[@Olivia-W]

@@mavsworld1733 Fair enough.

[@thienkimnguyen1260]

I used to work in a company that has client from Italy, Spain, Hong Kong, Canada... We used English to communicate. According to my colleague, I had American accent but couldn't get the Italian client to understand me. Meanwhile, my supervisor had rather bad English, she just spoke in key words but the client understood what she said because she was speaking with ITALIAN ACCENT. So yeah, it doesn't matter if you don't pronounce a word "like a native", just mind your audience.

[@jmg3344]

I am a native Spanish speaker. I used to work in the airport here in Alicante, 90% of my colleagues were foreigners from every where (germans, french, italians, romanians, etc...) and same the clients... And i tell you, 100% demonstrated, its A LOT easier for a non native english speaker to understand to someone who is not an native english speaker rather to someone from the UK, USA, etc...

[@moladiver6817]

As a native Dutch speaker even I had to break down my English and rebuild it to be able to communicate in SE Asia where I still live today. Full blown English grammar and vocabulary goes way over many people's heads here and completely misses the goal. I remember tourists struggling to make a point and I stepped in and translated their questions into a sentence that made more sense in the local English vernacular which essentially means stripping it of most grammar, taking out things like the past tense because people derive that from context here. The message came across and the tourists were left bewildered of what just happened but they got their question answered. Of course I didn't leave them behind completely clueless and gave them some useful tips. Simplification does sometimes go wrong though. When people ask "where you go?" depending on context this can either mean "where are you going?" or "where have you been?" I remember in my early days here people asked me this question late at night when I was very clearly headed home or even about to enter my house. Somehow it took me several years to have their question click in my mind and that they actually meant to ask where I had gone (and come back from). Having a past tense in your native language is very hard to let go as it makes you think quite literally about past and future events. Whereas here people live in the moment and thinking about time is culturally quite different.

[@marinmarinhola]

@@jmg3344 that is also augmented by the fact that Native speakers tend to rush a lot more, which adds an extra barrier for someone who is getting to grips with the language. Lo cual pasa en todos los idiomas en realidad, especialmente en ciertas partes del mundo como Chile (mi tierra natal) o España, donde se habla a 1000/hora.

[@scarletdragon1019]

But the point of speaking a new language is to understand and communicate with native speakers of such language, as well as non-native speakers....The other person failed just as much. If you are a native English speaker, you didn't fail to communicate, you're not expected to speak your own language in a different accent. Besides, if you're a non-native English speaker, you're not supposed to learn English with accents other than American and British. There's no reason for an English speaker (native or non native) to be able to speak English in "Italian/Japanese/French/Chinese/Spanish/Russian/Indian" accents

[@adamcylee]

@@moladiver6817 I hope you are not living in Singapore. I am Singaporean but I dislike Singlish immensely!

[@sazji]

This summarizes something that I spent a lot of my life obsessing over. I’m a total language geek. I love learning languages, I love phonology, I love analyzing different accents and understanding what makes them sound like they do, and if I do say so myself, I’m pretty good at it. But I’m also 62 years old now! When I was 16 and learning Greek, I literally got the accent down in two months, to the point that people were confused when I asked them to speak slower. People very rarely asked where I was from (and that can get annoying after a while); the most I ever got was, “oh, have you lived outside the country for a while?“ That spoiled me a bit in terms of my expectations. Later, I started learning Turkish, and was faced with a lot of those questions you mentioned here. Do I want to sound “completely native?” “Which complete natives do I want to sound like? Why?” In a way that question answered itself, because I was interested in a particular type of music from eastern Turkey, and practiced songs in that accent for years. It’s a “non-prestige” accent, so I sound like a Sivas American I guess. :-). But the concerns about having a “perfect accent” and never making a mistake, made me way too self conscious, and that takes the joy out of life. I will always have one. I will never again be 16 and immersed in a language that I’ve heard since before I could talk. Just accepting that and doing my best makes it a lot more fun. I sometimes wished I wouldn’t get asked where I was from every time I just wanted to buy a bottle of water… 😬 But there’s no conversation starter like curiosity, and getting to know the people was the whole reason I was there. Perhaps the ability to physically fit in (Turkey is extremely diverse) made it more tempting to hope for “native speech”. So now I’m learning Vietnamese, and yes, people always comment on how well I pronounce things, but I know I will never learn to sound “like a native,“ and even if I did, I’m still a 6‘2“ white guy, so…yeah. 😅 It’s really of no practical use to set an unattainable standard and then feel shame over failing to attain it. To understand people, to be understood, to enjoy the challenge of learning something really new and different, are more realistic and enjoyable goals.

[@markusfreund6961]

What a great comment, I completely agree. "It’s really of no practical use to set an unattainable standard and then feel shame over failing to attain it." -- that's an all-too-common strategy for self-sabotage I've been caught up in for decades as well. On a side note, this same perfectionist fallacy is also at the core of the collectivist bullshit ideologies that have been ruining Western civilization for about 150 years now. Clinging to unattainable standards leads to inevitable failure, and being so deluded as to try and impose them on others leads to totalitarianism. I'm about 10 years your junior btw, so I guess life experience is a huge factor.

[@rominamalla977]

I’m totally accurate with you!, great comment 👌

[@Brandespada]

@@rominamalla977 Accurate!? You are taking it too far. The words have at least to mean the same 😝

[@waverider8549]

"Where you're from?" Gets so damn tiring after a while. After 25 years it's a nightmare

[@tarvisponsdebeaumont794]

@@waverider8549 Yes, it is a nightmare (25 years mark for me as well). The only bit that is clearly a positive is that they ask "Where you're from?" which means that they cannot identify our accent: obviously we are doing something right, but non enough! 😄

[@dgillett41]

My wife is Russian and speaks excellent English, but I wouldn't like her to lose her lovely Russian accent.

[@omegaalex601]

I am always embarrassed by my russian accent lol

[@gameon2000]

@@omegaalex601 I now right. 😁 But it has it's perks too. I often pass for a scot, trying to sound RP... but with that rolling "R"😁👍

[@englishchannel3786]

Relatable!

[@beargrylls7399]

Very interesting and nice.

[@hrpvlogs980]

Please teach me English 🙏

[@christophdenner8878]

I´m from Austria and I always think I sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger (I´m even from his home region). I used to be a bit ashamed of my accent, but accepted it as I can´t get rid of it anyway.

[@marynolan4994]

I wouldn’t worry about it. And don’t worry about this guy’s comments about Arnold‘s accent. Austrian and German accents, plus Asian and Spanish/French/Portuguese accents are difficult to work around when speaking English. With these accents, plus Baltic accents, it is very difficult to come across as a 90-99% native speaker accent. This is because in German, for example, certain sounds in the English language are not in the German language. The same is true for Asian languages. Again, ignore his comments about Jackie Chan. “Rolling” Rs is very ingrained in native Spanish speakers. Precise (soft) pronunciation of Rs, etc. is very ingrained in native French speakers. Again, ignore his comments about that actress. She would need to go to speech classes for many years, and then she would perhaps have a fairly difficult time rolling her Rs when speaking Spanish. Finally, whenever I hear someone speaking English with an accent, I am very impressed. Because, English is not a very easy language to learn. Also, knowing more than one language is very good for people’s brains.

[@TheGrmany69]

You could, actually, but yet Arnold is an incredibly smart man, extremely successful business man and strategic individual on his own merits.

[@sonjak8265]

You do sound like Arnold and that is a good thing.

[@redhen2470]

Worked in West Germany for 5 years. Never could roll my "r's. You get used to the jokes. /shrug

[@braulindisla-elburrodelaba5361]

Its a nice accent

[@agaw1448]

I can't agree more, I have been learning English for more 20 years in my home country, but only after coming to UK I have realised that my pronunciation could be difficult understood by others. Now I work on it, feel much confident. And I know I'm not British speaker, I'm Polish speaking English. Thank you Let's them talk, your channel it's not only English tuition, it's philosophy of learning languages.

[@stemom]

My personal stance is: You don’t have to speak like a native, as long as you speak the language. But it’s pleasently nice if you can.

[@RaduRadonys]

The fact is that nobody can. As said in the video it's almost impossible for adults to lose accent. Like 0.000000000001% of the population can sound native in a foreign language.

[@GuyRobertKernisant]

@Ecard Ecardian Sufficient = just the right amount, not too much not too little... Signs over letters change the sound but doesn't give the language more power, as a native french speaker à, â, é, è, ê, î, ï, ô, ù, û, ü (œ = ö sound, ô = å) doesn't give French advantages over Scandinavian languages...

[@alessandrosiccophoto]

@Ecard Ecardian Enough?

[@sluggo206]

It's pleasantly nice if you have a foreign accent too.I listen to The French Whisperer and he has a French accent and his English pronunciation is bad, but I like to listen to it anyway, and it would be losing something if he had a perfect RP or Cockney accent.

[@k.5425]

Exactly it's your own choice if you decide whether or not to put in the effort to sound native.

[@teacher.natchee]

FINALLY SOMEONE WITH A GREAT MESSAGE!!!!!! It’s so sad to see what’s going on in the internet with this crazy marketing “speak like a native”! Speak as yourself!!! Thank you so much! I loved this video!

[@gianlucac.8944]

Great video! They usually call it "Pareto principle" or "80/20 law" or something like that: with the first 20% of effort, you can get 80% of accuracy; but if you want to get the remaining 20% of accuracy, it'll cost you another 80% of effort. It's applicable in most fields and you showed a beautiful example with English pronunciation. Good job indeed and powerfullly inspiring!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Yes, it's exactly like that. I'm aware of the Pareto principle

[@hni7458]

I thought the 80% principle meant that you do the best you can w/o nitpicking, w/o being a fusspot - that's 80%. Then it's good enough. Then - if you feel for it, after evaluation - you take the next 80% step along the principle of continual improvements. Perhaps that's what you meant.

[@Thyme2sea]

“Become the best version of yourself”. That’s the purpose of life, really!

[@marwankarim2153]

how do you know?

[@Thyme2sea]

@@marwankarim2153 it’s my purpose in life.

[@TroyQwert]

Just yesterday I learned a bit different idea: don't become the best, become unique.

[@tedpertzborn1480]

"Some of us are brilliant, but some of us are just cattle wearing clothes." 110% truth. Seriously, that's one of the most brilliant quotes I've heard in quite some time, and I have a rather sharp grasp on turns of phrase in the English language. Well played, sir. I give a chef's kiss for your linguistic artistry.

[@rudolfnechvile5023]

I'm bilingual, but I used to have an Afrikaans accent when speaking English and I was embarrassed by it because it was an "unsophisticated" accent, so I forced myself to speak with received pronunciation until it disappeared. Now I regret doing it since it was quite unique and I can't ever revert back to it. Although, it does somehow come through when I'm quite drunk...

[@brostelio]

Same here!

[@seramer8752]

Drink more!

[@sluggo206]

But you can raise your children differently than you were raised. You can probably re-adopt some Afrikaans traits even if you can't get all of it. Maybe think of it as a new sophisticated (or at least accepted) accent, not the one you left. Because it has changed too, if not in pronunciation, at least in status and context.

[@rudolfnechvile5023]

@@andreilukyanov4286 it's definitely a fun language, but it's never too late to learn!

[@fwcolb]

Yes, as an anglophone, I find the Afrikaans accent pleasant.

[@puchululina]

This is exactly what I think, I want to speak English just as a means of communication without the bizarre idea of being the one I’m not.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Good point

[@DM-ul5yc]

That doesn't make sense. You can't be a native as you were born in a different country. The whole point of learning a language is to copy and imitate the way other group of people communicate. Invent your own vocabulary and grammar if you wanna be an individual.

[@loligarcia5145]

Giving up the obsession of reaching the perfect pronunciation is absolutely liberating. I did so after 15 years living in Germany and learning the German language. After that I felt much more confident - and recieved so many compliments on my "charming Spanish accent" ♥☺ Greetings from Argentina!!

[@jmg3344]

I am a native Spanish speaker. I used to work in the airport here in Alicante, 90% of my colleagues were foreigners from every where (germans, french, italians, romanians, etc...) and same the clients... And i tell you, 100% demonstrated, its A LOT easier for a non native english speaker to understand to someone who is not an native english speaker rather to someone from the UK, USA, etc...

[@llamasugar5478]

I am American, but had French teachers from Vietnam, Senegal, and the US (but she studied in Paris). A couple from France asked me if I were Belgian! I decided that being understood was going to have to be my aim. ☺️

[@CheetahJona]

This is true! I was so conscious of my accent I used to force myself to sound like a native all day but at the end of the day, my jaw muscles would physically hurt! That's when i gave up it's just exhausting and u will never be comfortable speaking with forced mouth movements. I speak pretty decent English and people tell me they like my accent! I've learnt to embrace my accent it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's also part of my identity!❤️

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Embrace your accent. Well put.

[@josealbarran7202]

It's a matter of training those new facial muscles for the new sounds of the new language. Once they get trained, they stopped hurting. I'm not a native btw!

[@Brandespada]

@@josealbarran7202 In other words, you're suggesting people should train their muscles to play football and basketball at the same time. You know what? You'll end up playing both very bad.

[@josealbarran7202]

@@Brandespada I don't think it is how it works, I can actually speak three languages and my accent in the three of them is pretty good. At the beginning it did hurt and it was tiring, but not anymore. It's like when you play a guitar for the first time, your fingers will hurt at the beginning, but if you try hard and aren't lazy despite the pain, your body will get used to it. However, I do also think that knowing about phonetic rules is also very important because when people don't know how speech sounds work they might approach them the wrong way, and get frustrated by never getting them right.

[@Brandespada]

@@josealbarran7202 Your point about playing the guitar is a good one. I went through that process myself. 😃

[@DidierMelki]

Thanks for this video. I teach English in France like you and I'm French. I always try to convince my students that the accent doesn't matter as long as they are understood by native people. We still have a long way to go in France because many students focus so much on the pronunciation that they just don't dare to speak.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Best wishes my fellow teacher in France

[@andremoniy]

but still, it'd be better if they learn to pronounce the "h" sound ;)

[@samanthainwood8488]

I think this is a reflection of how many anglophones feel about french in particular haha

[@bubblybull2463]

In France, they sure need to work on their accent… I’m French, I speak with no discernable French accent and I find it absolutely ridiculous to hear French speakers mumble in English as if they were talking French. It sure doesn’t have to be perfect but a bit of effort goes a long way, people will understand better, and yes, even if the French accent is considered cute…

[@jandron94]

@@bubblybull2463 Sans accent ? Quelle blague, tous les Français d'origine ont un accent ! Et il vaut mieux l'assumer que de prétendre ne pas en avoir. C'est tellement pédant cette prétention au "sans accent".

[@aleksandrasz1376]

I have never ever wanted nor want to pass for a native speaker. I am Polish who have mastered the English language. For me it's a means of communication, way to learn more and get to come into contract with other people. I love English, I love the culture of the English-speaking part of the world but I don't want to pretend that I am somebody who I am not and never will be. I believe I have achieved success - with hard work and devotion I mastered the language that enabled me to read beautiful books, watch fabulous films and, what's most important, meet wonderful people: English, American, Spanish, Izraeli. Why would I want to stress myself only in order to sound like a native ? I am Polish speaking English and I am proud of that !

[@shelbynamels973]

"I have never ever wanted nor want (meaning unclear, no internal logic) for a native speaker. I am Polish who HAS mastered the English language. For me it's a means of communication, A way to learn more and get (not needed) to come into CONTACT with other people." I recommend the 'Grammarly' app. I hear it's really helpful.

[@f.xavier45]

I am veree hapee for you 😌

[@gastonkosloff9072]

First of all let me say that I love your videos. As an English teacher myself, you've taught me many colorful and natural ways to teach the language that I'm so passionate about. I get the idea of encouraging someone to keep learning and to forget about sounding like a native; however, I think that attempting to sound native shouldn't be a burden. I think that attempting to sound native in any of the English varieties, it gives you a new identity so to speak.

[@Thingybob]

This is great advice. I have been learning English for ages. My goal? Being able to have a conversation without being asked at the end, the tiring "where I am from" question. By removing my mother tongue sounds, I have now what I call a "teasing accent": it doesn't sound completely native, something is off...but only God can guess where it is from, which tends to make people look at me in an attempt to guess based on my appearance.. which by the way, very rarely works. Trying to talk like a native is like trying to fit in at the expense of denying oneself. I think that what really matters is to have as much vocabulary, grammar knowledge and clear pronunciation as possible. The aim should be to be perfectly understood when conveying a message, not only as if read, but including one's personality, intentions, mood and nuances. There are occasions, like at a work meeting, where standard English pronunciation is essential, and other moments, like with friends, where relaxed playful sounds with some idioms are the right thing to do. My English now is sometimes as precise as I can, and others, lazy and even "inventive"... Once we've achieved the level of understanding and being understood, we should embrace and enjoy all those colourful accents!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

All very interesting points

[@phabyo77]

Hi Gideon, thanks for sharing your perspective and being an example that it's OK to review our opinions. It helped me see that this "speak like a native" thing is an ideal, which I aim for, knowing I will never achieve. It doesn't make me feel anxious. It just reminds me that I always have something new to learn. It's a continuous process.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

The only difference between a native and non-native accent is that the 'native' accent sounds like it's from an "English-speaking" country. There is no inherent difference in terms of the accent itself. An Irish accent is a native English accent, but historically it may have been an accent from people whose first language was Irish. All that's changed is that people have added Ireland to their mental list of English countries

[@ericwinter4513]

The same thing happens with people of Italian and Spanish-speaking descent in the US.

[@wolfthequarrelsome504]

The Chinese don't consider the Irish as native English speakers.

[@oilslick7010]

Same with South African English. It's considered to be a perfectly viable accent, an organical part of the English speaking world. But when I speak English with a slight Dutch accent, which is somewhat similar to the SA one, it's all boos and hisses. Especially from the community of Dutch students of English at University, they act like I'm some sort of retard for not perfectly emulating SOMEONE ELSE's natural accent instead of my own.... And yes there is a limit, there is some horrific 'Dunglish' on display, especially from our politicians....

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@oilslick7010 The Dutch students at my Dutch university (TU Delft) are exactly who I was referring to. Some of them will complain about other Dutch students or teachers just for having a Dutch accent. (Ik heb het niet over steenkolen Engels, maar vloeiend Engels met wat Nederlandse kenmerken). For example, since I'm a native English speaker, one of my friends asked me to agree that my other friend was saying "the" wrong because it was closer to "de". I said that if it's considered correct in an Irish or Jamaican accent, why would it be incorrect in a Dutch accent? There are so many native or near-native English speakers in the Netherlands that I expect the Netherlands to be added to people's list of "English speaking" countries within the next couple decades, just like South Africa. Then a Dutch accent will be accepted as another type of English accent.

[@xXJ4FARGAMERXx]

@@OntarioTrafficMan I once read a youtube comment in dutch and I was like "isn't this just broken English? Why is the 'Translate to English' button here?" If the native language is so similar, then the accent must be as well!

[@jorgelrobayor1618]

I am pretty sure this is one of the most educative videos I've watched in my life. I am Colombian and from now on I will pay more attention to really improve my English instead of just trying to sound more like a native speaker with the small English I have right now.

[@colomba8722]

This is great advise Gideon! 👏🏼 I always wanted to sound like a native but I will always sound like an Italian, because I am Italian! And that's ok! 😊 The most important is to speak properly and to have a normal conversation without stress 😊

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I love the Italian accent. Best wishes

[@colomba8722]

@@LetThemTalkTV awww! Thanks! 😊

[@igorkazagrandi6298]

Dear Colomba, and to boot, I also wanted to sound like an Italian, as well as a native English

[@igorkazagrandi6298]

😊 - I forgot to add!

[@morris4490]

I think your point is there will be no uniqueness for your accents?🤔

[@tomtruhelka]

This is a text book example of truly deep paradigm shift and I can only congratulate you! I have recently been through a similar process of transformation (rather painful way through leukaemia treatment). All I can say, that I always tried to reach the language perfection by studying grammar and imitate others - mostly natives, but then don't have enough courage to express myself freely due to potential of 'making mistakes'. Oh boy, how amazingly wrong approach! Now i value THE TIME as the most valuable commodity in anyone's life, there is no time for perfection. Message is the key, the language is a mere tool to share the message. I realise that a sentence of three words at the right time and place can have a more punchy and lasting effect than the whole book of written text. Need to be understood by others is the ultimate target , language is just one of the forms how to achieve this target.

[@marcosceles2789]

Actually, I believe pronunciation is very important even for learning the language: only when I started correcting myself the way I was speaking I could be able to start understanding English and being able to comunicate myself more fluidly. For example: English is a language where people tend to fuse the words when they are speaking, the don't usually say: "the cat is sleeping", but "the cat isleeping". That kind of logic was the first step to not to think in Portuguese when I was speaking English, but to think in English. I believe the best way to learn a new language is not to copy totally the way the natives speak, but to understand how they think in their languages, and be able to build a "new you" able to think in that language.

[@rosiefay7283]

Oh, don't Portuguese people run words together like that? I thought that running the words together was typical -- for European languages, anyway.

[@marcosceles2789]

@@rosiefay7283 not like anglo-saxon/germanic languages

[@rorychivers8769]

Have.. have you tried French? Those liaisons run so deep, they have entire internet articles devoted to trying to explain them. Come on man, every language has that. Even Russian, which so proudly announces how "phonetic" it is, even Russian has that. Even German has it. You only can't see it in Portuguese because you _are_ Portuguese. [or Brazilian. Or Angolan. Don't hate me, you didn't mention either way] Anyway, in English we try and represent it in writing, hence, "The cat's sleeping". That's a contraction. That's the best thing we can come up with in the face of obvious early onset diglossia. What the hell should we all do, should we do spelling reform, should we do language reform? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH PANIC!

[@marcosceles2789]

@@rorychivers8769 Good point actually, I'm Brazillian, don't worry, at least you know these countries speak portuguese lol. Anyways, you are probably write, we tend to fuse more vogals than consonants tho, and that's kinda different compared to English

[@rorychivers8769]

@@marcosceles2789 I was trying to learn some Portuguese and the first thing that made me feel crazy was that you don't even pronounce the letter "r", you pay for your shopping in 'heais" I mean I thought us English were cheating by not trilling our r's but clearly someone else in the world agrees that the letter 'r' is basically useless :) Anyway, saude

[@dianapohe]

Thanks for your positive motivation 😊 I am an Italian living in Edinburgh and I'm actually a bit of a language nerd, so for every foreign language I approach my ultimate goal is indeed sounding like a native. I often get frustraded about this, because I know it's not realistically possible, not even in English, which is the one I started learning at a younger age (though I'm confident my pronunciation is still pretty good). On the other hand, my Canadian colleague says she loves my Italian accent and I always go "awww" 😅😍

[@TheRainbowSpecial]

Great message! I am a native English speaker from the USA and whenever a person apologizes for their "poor english" I say dont worry about it, I understand you! 🙂 Also, your hair is such a cool color and it looks so nice!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Much appreciated

[@TheRainbowSpecial]

@Black Goat I like the videos and I am subscribed I also learn about more about grammar and things like that. Why are you here friend?

[@magnus_norgren]

@Black Goat What a weird question :)

[@cstaeger]

Thank you for reminding us all what the true nature of "communication" is. There are a lot of people e.g. on KZbin who are excellent communicators even if they have an (thick) accent. I appreciate though all the "British insights" you provide on a regular base! I couldn't learn any language without a cultural context. The British culture has a lot to offer and I am thankful for people like you who allow me to get a tiny glimpse of what is behind dry grammar and vocabulary! You are my favourite British ambassador!

[@Stella-dd7xv]

This idea is super good!! Speak like yourself, become the best version of yourself. I am Chinese and I 've learn English for many years, I always want to speak like a native, but currently your opinion really inspires me a lot. The point is that you are able to express the complex ideas or abstract emotion in English as you express in your mother language.

[@christophiluslovingchristb5441]

I speak English as my primary language & I love hearing people speak English as a second language with other accents. It shows character & even indigenous English speakers have such diverse accents. It would be sad to loose those distinctions.

[@kerryalbany3922]

Definitely, as a native English speaker myself, I love hearing English spoken in an accent, British or non-British. I really enjoy the different ways that other nationalities use our language. English sounds more exotic and so much sexier when spoken in a non-British accent lol

[@carolmarques1748]

Thank you for making this video. It's about time that Someone talk about the Crazy Idea of sounds like a Native person. Communication it's the word. Also, I love accents, it's so beautiful and unique to have an accent, it makes you a special person.

[@a.b.6233]

Cattle wearing clothes. Brilliant, I put that one in my repertoire.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I heard it somewhere in a different context. I don't claim it's my own.

[@monkeytennis7477]

I like that one too. It's like reading a cookbook to a dog.

[@mariacebrecos303]

@@monkeytennis7477 😅😂

[@lamambanegra123]

Me too!

[@gameon2000]

He's brilliant!😁👍

[@cassianowogel]

Thank you for this. This level of honesty is so rare among English teachers, let alone those on KZbin.

[@greers7296]

As a native English speaker, I personally love when I hear someone with a thick foreign accent! It's a part of their identity and makes them unique. I just appreciate the fact alone that they took the time to learn the language I speak, and I love them the more for it.

[@MiereTeixeira]

A piece of advice from someone born and raise in South America and living in the heart of Sydney: they will ever judge you based on your accent. I’m not saying you should aim to speak like a native, but you definitely need to carefully pronounce the words in a way that they understand. Eventually, I realised that using their own expressions, borrowing their vocabulary and even, only occasionally, copying their own conversation pace significantly improved their reception to the topics I brought up. I’ll never sound like a native, but the fact I’m trying to adapt to their culture made them more willing to accept me. Learning British English from this channel actually helped me a lot to integrate in the local football community - packed with people from UK. Again, I’m not saying you should sound like a native. But in my experience, and some other mates that came from my country, it really helps if you learn how they think, speak and communicate.

[@qing2034]

This is the most candid English learning youtube video I've ever seen. However, I wouldn't be able to appreciate its value if I myself have not gone past my own identity crisis... Right now, I would only use an idiom if I feel like I'm speaking it in my own voice, and from my own intention. I'm finally done with the "imitation" stage and on to the "finding my own voice". I strongly wish others to have this enlightenment asap.

[@Acadia26]

Idioms add colour to a language. They can set the mood you're trying to convey, be it serious, humorous, gentle, forceful etc. He wasn't inferring that you shouldn't use idiomatic English but that it would be just fine to speak with a non-native accent.

[@shaikhomaranuar6429]

I've been preaching this to my students for years. Glad you're just realising it.

[@markusfreund6961]

Hi there, only recently did I discover your channel, and having been a language nerd for most of my conscious life I really find it to be a great source of information. My idea of language mastery is largely about being able to speak the language on a level that will allow me to blend in with native speakers (at least benevolent ones), you're presenting a whole new angle here. Being German, toning down my accent has always been a major goal for me, and it seems I've managed to an extent where native speakers still instantly recognize my lack of an "original" accent but can't seem to pinpoint where I'm from. Or maybe they're just being polite. Anyway, I've found that, in order to actually learn a language, memorizing words and grammar is merely the first step (coming to grips with idiomatic speaking being the second). There is a whole universe of concepts and outlooks behind any language, and developing the intuition to grasp those is -- at least for me, at least so far -- a life-long endeavour. And on this cheerful note, back to watching more of your vids 🍻

[@TheBassOnTheBass]

It seems you did this video FOR ME. I am now in the process, finally, to professionally record the songs I wrote in the last 20 years. All in English, but I am Italian and of course a non-native speaker. I was an English teacher, and I am an English graduate, and have been studying the language for 30 years. Before going to the studio, I thought I NEEDed to sound perfect, and there are many many words that are quite difficult to pronunciate (that Schwa nightmare, that Dead/dad, course/coarse/curse fiasco, or Bitch/beach sheet/shit, not to mention Can't/C**t or Bat/But/Bet, etc) ... I have to accept the fact that I Will NEVER sound like a native, and that's fine with me. I just gotta be... acceptable, decent, and understandable. It will be MY peculiar thing, my Venetian accent, after my also peculiar way of singing. Ciao, e grazie!!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for you comment. I find those who joke about bitch/beach can't/c**t etc are just being mischievous. We know exactly what you're saying from the context and nobody would notice it in conversation. However, some childish people try to make it seem that you're causing offence if you don't pronounce it perfectly, which is not the case

[@normabeatriz4247]

Io sono argentina e come tale, madrelingua spañola castigliana. A Buenos Aires usiamo il "Yeyeo" in italiano suona "scesceo". La fatica di pronunciare "giorno" invece che "sciorno". In questo caso, per la frequenza in cui la parola viene utilizzata. Ma che imbarazzo tra "cugino" e "cuscino". Senta questa " Osci ho parlato al telefono col mio cuscino" 😂😂😂

[@IubescViata]

@@normabeatriz4247 I am Romanian and I know some Italian. You make me laugh. 🤣

[@maximillienrobespierre7262]

@@normabeatriz4247 Sono polacca e conosco bene l'italiano, hai fatto ridere anche me :D

[@LetThemTalkTV]

@thebassonthebass I've quoted you in my latest video. I hope that's ok. Many thanks.

[@yellowglider]

I have been living in the US for twenty years, and for the first ten years I made really a lot of efforts to lose my accent. Then one day someone told me “Why would you want to do that? We perfectly understand you, you have a great vocabulary, and you sound “exotic”, you don’t need to do anything else!” After that I gave up… rather gladly, actually… :-)

[@w.geoffreyspaulding6588]

With which “exotic” accent are you blessed?

[@yellowglider]

@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 well, I’m Italian but my accent is “not” the typical Italian accent, having worked trying to take it away for many years evidently just morphed it into something different… Or, at least nobody in the past ten years or so has ever guessed that I’m of Italian origin…

[@ekaterinasavenko8316]

Gideon, You are just phenomenal! So thoughtful and intelligent!! Listening to your videos is a great motivation! The ideas aren’t about studying language only but the work at yourself! Many thanks to you and take care!🙏

[@loicbossennec167]

Cheers for that my man ! And btw I laughed so hard when you said "Bonjour !", that made my day ❤️ keep up the good work 🤙

[@rodrigodepierola]

I've tried to instill that same idea to my own students. Especially when you won't live in an English-speaking country, don't be ashamed of your accent.

[@rodrigodepierola]

Trying to sound like the people on the class book is just settling yourself for failure.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Glad we agree

[@sofitocyn100]

i'm French, meaning that my accent, although not as thick as my countrymen's, is still there. I hate it, because people always remind me of my frenchness. Before I even introduce myself, they'd say "and you are obviously french, given your accent", after I only said "hi, nice to meet you". It's irritating and I find it rude. I would never tell anybody that. Yes of course there is no point in trying to speak like a native given that we aren't natives...But god does that help speak with no accent. Native english speakers never realize how easy they get it in life just by speaking the international language without a foreign accent. It also helps when you are a youtuber. Successful youtubers are usually natives.

[@darkgoethe8239]

I'm a native Spanish speaker, I speak French and whenever I speak English people with natives they think I'm from France or Québec, Canada. My French accent is impacting my English. On the other hand, when I speak French, they suppose I'm from Spain lol XD

[@ericlind6581]

Mais ton accent t’aide dans beaucoup d’occasions et les anglophones le considèrent mignon en général. C’est la même chose si l’on parle le français avec un accent anglais en France. Les français sont plus ouverts si l’on parle avec eux spontanément, sur la rue, au supermarché, dans un magasin, etc.

[@snitsch68]

C'est vrai que les anglo trouvent l'accent français 'mignon' sauf qu'étant de Mulhouse je parle couramment l'allemand mais avec l'accent suisse-alémanique - même mon italien sonne bâlois :-), le français - ma langue maternelle je le parle avec l'accent alsacien du cru/mélangé parfois à du suisse romand (12 ans de carrière chez nos amis helvètes laissent des traces)et quant à l'anglais ayant de la famille près de Toronto je n'ai pas trop d'accent français quand je le parle. J'ai remarqué un moment que à trop vouloir "sonner" anglais native on est davantage dans l'imitation le résultat final fait un peu caricature de toutes façons on va tous ralentir son débit de parole lorsque l'on s'exprime dans une langue qui n'est pas la "sienne" et si on force le trait ça va se remarquer. Lorsque j'ai commencé en Suisse cela m’énervait que mes collègues suisse qui entre eux se parlaient le dialecte/suisse allemand s'adressaient à moi en allemand "standard" pour que je comprenne comme ils le font avec tous les étrangers qui ne parlent pas suisse allemand, venant d'eux c'est cool sauf que moi qui parlais un peu le suisse allemand j'avais l'impression de ne pas être accepté par le milieu, au bout de 3 ans tout le monde me parlait qu'en suisse allemand et je sentais que je faisais enfin partie de l'équipe. Par contre cela ne me dérange pas à la différence de Google user lorsque je voyage par exemple si on me demande si je viens de France, car pour ceux qui sont intéressés (pas les sempiternelles commerçants des magasins à touristes qui demandent d'un air convenu du genre : ah yes France, where Paris ?) j'aime bien échanger et agis en tant qu'ambassadeur de notre pays et en profite pour jouer à fond le capital sympathie et pour montrer que les français savent parler anglais et ne sont pas que des individus condescendants qui critiquent tout ce qui est différend de chez nous, en gros j'essaie de "casser les clichés" et parfois les gens sont surpris car ils pensent vraiment que tous les français sont pareils

[@Edgar2023ES]

Yes, you are a Frenchman! I could notice your accent in your text.

[@nanotektor]

Well, you may sound like Jean Claude Van Damme!

[@samcan9953]

Wow! Such a refreshing and smart piece of advice. Finally, a YT English teacher that understands the reality of language learning and speaking in today's world. From another ESL teacher with 25+ years experience: Well done, Sir!

[@Elaiden]

Exactly what I've been thinking for the last few months, nice to see someone agree!

[@dalmirogr6449]

Thanks for this advise!! I always struggle with trying to sound native, and I just end up speaking a mix of British, American and Argentinian accent. A fun fact: when I'm with my British friends and I've had some beers, I start expressing and communicating much better than when I'm sober. I think that's because I get more relaxed and try to communicate my best instead of focusing on sounding British.

[@samanthainwood8488]

This is absolutely a thing! I'm pretty sure there are studies confirming it. I'm the same with french :)

[@jandron94]

@@samanthainwood8488 L'alcool ça désinhibe, c'est connu ! Mais à petite dose de préférence pour éviter la gueule de bois. La meilleure façon d'apprendre une langue c'est de la parler et quand on boit de l'alcool on a tendance à parler comme un moulin à paroles…

[@katitadeb]

Argentinian accent? How do you pronounce "you"? You say you or "shuu"?

[@cupceasandu]

Sometimes saying o in not and sometimes saying nat. It is ok.

[@lamazeitoun7915]

Agree ... but....Still so in love with the british accent 😍 and grateful to who professionaly teaches it and enjoy it when i sound like a british 💫

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I agree. My point is that if you want to 'sound British' that's fine but it should be your decision not an external pressure that it's the only acceptable way to speak.

[@lamazeitoun7915]

Sure ... appreciated 🌷

[@harixav]

​@@LetThemTalkTV here's the thing. I don't want to sound exactly like a British, American or Australian. However, I don't want to sound like from where I belong when speaking English which I am able to do fairly easily aka naturally now. You could say I speak with an accent that has elements of British Australian and American in it. Nevertheless, I am just focused on getting the pronunciation right, and that's it. I think a little bit of intonation is also a transferable aspect of some languages and in my case, that helps.

[@TosinAnimashaun]

I share your opinion.

[@sagarstoryspot]

Hello

[@Sylasksa]

This was helpful too, thanks for sharing the knowledge 💪🏽

[@littlebylittle.ingles]

Couldn´t agree more! Thanks for this video, I am sure it will help lots of English students out there.

[@konghowemah878]

Great message, Gideon! Thank you. Residents of Sydney, Australia are referred to as Sydneysiders.

[@kamalaakshi]

I kept playing this video again and again... I immensely like it . "Eloquence is transferable." My favorite line.

[@joszeb]

Inteligence is transfarable and so is dumbnes.

[@ivanadzidic4012]

What a fascinating way to look at things! I worked as a language teacher, so I find this topic very interesting. I think there are some people who can benefit from 'learning to speak like a native', but on the other hand, it can be incredibly stressful on others. I absolutely agree with you. It's not something we should 'push' onto others. Moreover, some people might even feel that their accent defines them from a cultural point of view. As language teacher, we don't have the right to rob someone of what they see as their culture or identity. There are so many complex psychological reasons that can impact language learning in a variety of ways. As a language teacher, one must always think about the psychology behind it. Everything in language is psychological, as the founder of linguistic said. Often people feel they are less worthy if they cannot speak like a native, but they might have a fantastic command of the language. It's a complex issue. One has to ask oneself- why is that person learning a language? If it is to communicate, then sounding like a native is not the ultimate goal. If one wants to be cast in Downtown Abbey, one must master the accent, but for communication a complete mastery of pronouncing a certain variety of English is not the ultimate goal. At the same time, some people do want to sound like a native (for whatever reason) and that is why these 'sound like a native' language courses, videos and so on make perfect sense and exist for a reason. I always found your videos very educating, interesting and well presented. Cheers!

[@tuandinhanh9764]

I owe you a big thank you for the nice video & keep watching your stuff.

[@shahnazamin7006]

This what I’m used to saying to my students that never feel bad if u don’t speak like a native English speaker as we are learning it as a second language and our purpose is to get higher education in that language and get a job in English country. Keep on learning and speaking that’s it. I tell them that English speakers don’t feel embarrassed when they don’t speak out language that is Urdu correctly and we don’t make fun of them so u also be confident. I can speak English but of course not like a native speaker and keep on improving my English through your videos to get more knowledge as most of books in today’s world related to science and technology are in English. Thanx a million for supporting my view. As normally native English speakers make fun of those who can’t speak their language good but we never do this.

[@atarax232323]

You're an english teacher and write "u" and "thanx" 😕😑😑

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Very interesting comment. Best wishes my fellow teacher

[@mariacebrecos303]

@@atarax232323 I can't stand spelling mistakes in my mother tongue, so I can't stand it in English either. and even less coming from a supposed teacher. Wich has nothing to do with pronunciation.

[@DJ-gl8rw]

*Wich 😉

[@mariacebrecos303]

@@DJ-gl8rw If you're correcting my grammar, thank you ever so much, 🙏 And by the way, how would it be correct?

[@dericm.lisboa7574]

I've learned american accent since I began to study english and I was always trying to sound like a native american, but when I found out the prejudice suffered by latinos from american people because of their accent, like Sofia Vergara, I started to see strong accents as a way of resilience and from then on everytime I'm going to talk in english with some native speaker I like to emphasize my latin accent and honestly, I really don't care at all if they make fun of me.

[@sicko_the_ew]

If someone makes fun of you for your accent, they've at least done you the favour of revealing that they are ... the dark orifice from whence the digestive tract of any creature with one of these expels its waste. No disguises, at least, so you know right away to avoid that person, and protect others from them.

[@azcreative5514]

Latinos have more Native American ancestry than Americans.

[@PauloPereira-jj4jv]

@@azcreative5514 ... in a way, yes.

[@Erikingr]

Hay gente mala y prejuiciosa en todos lados. Pero no me parece correcto decir que todos los americanos (o su mayoría) tienen un prejuicio contra los acentos latinos. A mí jamás nadie allá me ha tratado mal, o se ha burlado de mi acento, ni nada, al contrario, siempre han sido todos muy amables, hospitalarios y me han tratado con respeto. Y he estado por varios años en diferentes estados. Jamás nadie me ha hecho algún desprecio por mi acento o mi origen.

[@sluggo206]

And "native american" is ambiguous because it usually means pre-Columbian indigenous peoples. I assumed at first you meant a native-born American, but then in he middle I wasn't sure because it could go either way. In any case, you're right, there are advantages to a Latin accent, and whether you should keep it or not depends on the particular accent and which philosophical position you take -- there's no universal answer.

[@SomtimesHeron]

Love this video Gideon, as an English teacher, I often say some very similar things to my students. I think your first part of this is correct, ive spent too much time focusing on how to speak like a native. I do seperate between international and native, but I think you are right to show people these things but encourage the fact to be a good communicator not speak perfect English. I also very much highlight that people will never sound perfect, it is important to be understood and an accent is part of your personaility.

[@gabrielcasas8539]

Love your approach! I teach French and my students, understandably, try to force a French accent so hard that they add too many hurdles to their eloquence and their overall flow. I always tell them to take it easy. Just make sure you do pronounce this or that correctly, to maybe avoid confusion with another word, and that's it!

[@HermannSchachner]

Very inspiring advise, thank you! Although it wasn't my conscious goal to sound like a native, this unreachable ideal was always somewhere in my mind. It feels good to get rid of it :-) Having said that, I know it is still a good idea to reduce my German accent :-)

[@DinoAlbert.]

One of the reasons I watched fanatically the citcom "Big Bang Theory" is to listen Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyan) speaking with that foreign accent

[@leonpolev]

I am happy to have a teacher like you, Mister Gideon. Thank you so much.

[@osmarkeiroz7304]

Best advice and best tips I've ever heard about learning the English language. Thank you so much for this valuable lesson!

[@johanna5312]

Thanks you for your words, in my country this aspect gives lot of anxiety to our students no matter age or level of knowledge. I always thought we shouldnt speak like an native speaker,. You expressed perfectly what I have thinking for years about this aspect. Many thanks!🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Well put.

[@seymakorkmaz2589]

Wow this video is so inspiring. I have a big obsession with pronunciation. I don't know why but I think I will seem more successful if I reduce my accent as possible as I can.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

It's up to you how far you take it. My point is that you shouldn't feel pressurized to be perfect.

[@-kattya-]

Thank you so much!! This is exactly what I needed 💕💕

[@oscarhugoduenezborjas5050]

I'm an English instructor from Mexico, and even though I'm not so eloquent as you are, That's what I've been telling my students since I started giving lessons. I've told them that the only thing people will notice when they speak English, is that they're not native English speakers simply because they're NOT. I don't reallly know if this works in other languages but I guess it does. I always encourage my students to speak English as if they were speaking Spanish. Aiming for communication over pronunciation. Later on and with a lot of practice, they may "improve" their pronunciation skills. So I totally agree with you and I'm really happy to know I'm not the only one to think that way 'cause traditionally many teachers I know focus their efforts in pronunciation and have told me I've been doing it the wrong way. Now I may prove them wrong.

[@holger_p]

You are right, and there is rather another effect coming around also. As a Latino in USA, you rather have to make people believe you are a native-english speaker, altough you speak accent free and maybe don't speak spanish at all. People have associations by seeing your faces alone. ... so having a accent, is just fullfilling expectations.

[@exs3574]

When I started to learn English a few decades ago everything was about grammar and learning as many words as possible but no one put any pressure on my accent. Then I moved abroad and suddenly realized how important the way I speak and my accent was... so I tried. After a while though someone has told me that as soon as you change your accent you change your personality... and I couldn't agree more on that. So eventually I focused on being understood but still tried to improve anyway. Recently some American guy told me my English is great however my accent is all over the place. Oh well :) Thank you for pointing this out. At the end of the day the most important thing is to be understood. As said - "no one f**** cares about the rest" 👍 Great job! Keep it up!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Yes, I agree. Say interesting things but the accent is less important.

[@monkeytennis7477]

The "fountain of youth" is in St. Augustine Florida, where I reside. Hit me up sometime and I'll pay your way in. I speak with a North Central-Midwestern American accent which shares some vague characteristics of a North-East English accent due to familial influence, Ulster-Scots heritage....(edit) and now that i've watched this entire video, I want to say, you probably already know this fact, but Americans are very classist and picky about accents within our own country too. I was raised in northern Indiana and moved to Florida 20 years ago. If I try to speak with some sort of southern accent (there are several variants) I get made fun of and told "yer not frum aroun' heer, arr yuh?" So speaking in my own accent I get told, "Oh, you're not FROM here, are you? How long you been livin' in Florida?..." So I'd rather sound like an educated Northern dialect speaking person, than an uneducated Hillbilly who sounds like they're from Hee-Haw. Florida is a state that has a lot of East-Coast American speakers, some Midwestern, and some Southern with all the variants of that. I honestly think living in England and trying to pick one of your regional accents and adopting that, would be WAY LESS COMPLICATED....but that's just my opinion. Thanks for reading my overlong ASD-brained post. Have a wonderful day!

[@marianomontero3286]

It's really amazing to hear someone who gives those encouraging advice and better if he's an English native speaker. Thanks a lot.

[@sophie1564]

This is such an important video and something I wish more English teachers understood. I loved the point about how your goal should be being the best communicator you can be. Everyone has an accent when they speak English and no accent should be considered more 'native' or 'better' that another.

[@taticerve]

I'm also a teacher and I love your videos. Cheers from Brazil 😃

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Best wishes my fellow teacher

[@sagarstoryspot]

Hi mam

[@ilFedeVR]

Great advice! After all, what Is more charming than a foreign accent (French, Italian, Spanish...)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Exactly

[@alvincent00]

It's the second video I watch from you but this made me subscribe inmediatly. I couldn't agree more with you. I'm chilean and I never realized how american I'm used to pronunciating. It's really interesting to discover new tips and ways of saying things in different accents but the most important thing is to be understood. So thank you for encouraging us (specially the latin guys like me). I say the same in spanish to americans or british when they try to speak like us.

[@samuelmacedo]

Perhaps your best video ever. We see eye to eye on that topic. Thank you ever so much 🙏🏽

[@geraldoxavier5581]

"Um homem só deve falar, com impecável segurança e pureza, a língua da sua terra: todas as outras as deve falar mal, orgulhosamente mal, com aquele acento chato e falso que denuncia logo o estrangeiro." Eça de Queiroz

[@abrito1185]

I'm so sorry most of the foreigners herein might not get the powerful meaning of this quote. Thank you.

[@KalilIllinois]

A Man must only speak, with outstanding confidence and purity, his mother tongue: all others he must proudly slur, bearing a false and annoying accent that quickly denounces his status as a foreigner

[@vincoletto2]

Não

[@drelmb]

Bullshit!

[@CATELlegend1]

Uma frase bonita, bem estruturada, nota zero. Porque no fim das contas, falou falou e não falou nada XD Devemos sim ser confundidos com estrangeiros. Falar como eles falam lá fora, no dia-a-dia, se não for pra ser advogado ou político, é o ideal. Ah, cuidado pra não ser dissuadido por palavras bonitas. Tem cada citação que só prova o orgulho que alguns tem de serem imbecis. Alguns o provarão só por cair na falácia deles.

[@lamambanegra123]

But I want to sound like a native 🥺 , I love how British prononciation sounds!!!

[@belle_pomme]

It's up to you if you want it😌

[@mz5736]

I utterly agree with you:')

[@leod-sigefast]

Please don't watch any English football players speak! That may change your mind! Or the 'yuff' of most British inner cities.

[@andyleighton6969]

What sort of native? The narrator has a strong London accent. I was born and live in the East Midlands, picked up a bit of a Manc' twang at university, and have the ghosts of Geordie and Clydeside parentage in my accent. Radically different - both in accent and in choice of word and idiom - but equally valid as "native".

[@brighte2712]

@@leod-sigefast lol yeah

[@Trayan6]

Thank you for this brilliant video. You are indeed an inspiring English teacher.

[@user-om2ti8jj1f]

Thank you! It was very helpful and interesting. A lot of new words for my vocabulary. :)

[@InfernalStateMachine]

Exactly how I feel. If I moved into another region in my home country where they speak another accent, would I try to sound like a local? No, so why do that for english? I just need to communicate efficiently, no need to sound like something I am not. Trying to sound like a native feels like imitating or acting, and the worst part is that it's gonna fail anyway. I've learned to like and appreciate all accents. Even if I could -theoretically- manage to sound like a british, I'd still prefer to spend that effort understanding the culture or history instead.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

A very good point.

[@christianspanfellner3293]

Thank you for your insightful commentary, Gideon. Appreciating diversity makes it so much easier to get along and respect each other in modern societies. While I sometimes find myself quietly ranting at a customer's poor vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, this only happens when it really hinders communication. And I hate it much more when some people are looking down their noses at others for speaking with a foreign accent (or even just a regional one, for crying out loud!). - On a lighter note, funny things can happen when you study several languages, to various degrees of depth, over the course of a lifetime. Like dabbling in Polish to impress a girl, eventually giving up in exasperation, taking up Czech a few years later and sticking to it-- and one fine day, a native Czech tells you that your accent doesn't sound German but kind of Polish. :-D

[@LetThemTalkTV]

very interesting. Thanks

[@marinathea990]

This video was so inspiring and insightful! Thanks for that!

[@CoisasDaLingua]

You have no idea how important this video is. Thank you so much.

[@ayorkii]

Foreign actors frequently learn how to change their accents .... and sound “native” in different countries. I don’t think it’s easy ... and usually they only do it while filming and don’t keep it up ... but it’s certainly possible to do with a coach and by keeping it up.

[@Olivia-W]

I pick it up naturally. I start to speak with a slight accent of whoever I'm speaking with after a while.

[@ayorkii]

Olivia I also start picking up peoples accents unknowingly. My grandmother hated that when I was little. She wouldn’t let me hang out with people if she didn’t like the way they talked because I started to sound like them.

[@Olivia-W]

@@ayorkii XD. For me it's just a little annoying sometimes- I'm just chatting with a German and all of a sudden I notice my words sound wierd as heck.

[@rory2698]

Long term exposure does allow one to change their accent to a degree. I've noticed that even among 1st gen immigrants the ones who have spent 10 + years in the country will start to have a *slightly* lighter accent compared to others who are "FOB". That being said I know some people with really good non-native accents despite barely visiting the countries, so individual aptitude plays a role too.

[@MrMASess]

This is a controversial viewpoint that is rooted in reality: in the U.S, an accent is perceived as sexy and attractive when you are European, white to be specific. If you are a person of color with an accent, that is when people are turned off. I know most of you will disagree, even though it is the truth.

[@victoryroussotte7596]

You can tell where the person is coming from and also degree of their education from their accents.

[@walterrivas9509]

Incredible reflection, recognizing something from the past and giving auto feedback to a higher purpose to provide a meaningful development experience, to aim higher, THIS IS SELF EVOLUTION, I am NOW following your channel, Cheers Gideon!

[@kynla1]

Thank you for pointing important stuff! 😆 Love your way of thinking

[@PM-yz8fx]

Very wise and practical advices! Actually I love people that speak good English with a nice foreign accent :)

[@gianlucac.8944]

pieces of advice

[@gianlucac.8944]

or just advice without the s

[@PM-yz8fx]

@@gianlucac.8944 It's uncountable, I see

[@LetThemTalkTV]

yes, so do I

[@NothingMaster]

There is no such a thing as standard or native English, anyway. From accents to expressions, English is perhaps one of the most colorful, regionally distinct, and colloquially diverse, languages in the world. The point is not to speak like a native; the point is to be able to communicate effectively in the environment that you live in, and hopefully make yourself understood away from that venue, as well.

[@adapienkowska2605]

It is not. There are Arabic and Chinese, which are even considered macrolanguages ;)

[@noronhaajc]

"most colorful, regionally distinct and colloquially diverse" i thought about my language while reading it (brazilian portuguese is incredibly flexible)

[@sebastiaosalgado1979]

I loved your comment! The flexibility of the English language is amazing indeed.

[@fwcolb]

@@adapienkowska2605 Yes, I once spoke Egyptian colloquial Arabic and could easily understand and be understood by Saudis, Kuwaitis, Syrians, etc. I was once asked if I was from Syria. My Egyptian colleagues used to laugh when they heard me talking on the phone, because they had never heard an anglophone speak colloquial Arabic.

[@sazji]

@@fwcolb I lived in Turkey for 14 years and because I had a lot of friends from the east, I picked up a little of their local pronunciation of certain vowels I guess. Taxi drivers would sometimes ask me if I was from Urfa or Diyarbakır. Not that anyone from those areas would ever have mistaken me for a local. (I also don’t look even remotely like someone from there.) I just always thought it was kind of amusing. :-)

[@pilargonzalez8193]

I couldn’t agree more, it’s so nice to here it from someone in the business of teaching English.

[@merollibruno]

You are great Gideon ! I found casually your video , and you are the best of all english teachers on you tube . Really brilliant

[@RickyDBerny]

As long as we can understand each other that's good enough for me.

[@cyberp0et]

Me Tarzan, you Jane. Good enough for me :p

[@igorT487]

@@cyberp0et good enough for I

[@Haran400]

Wisdom, the fountain of wisdom! Great video, too.

[@yvonnesmith8245]

Thank you so much, Gideon! Love your wonderful videos!🥰❤️

[@allofuspilgrims]

A great video with a very important message for everyone. It actually grants freedom both to the teachers and students. Thank you!

[@everythingwithfeeling3305]

In additional Sir Your looking dashing in this colour , It's really suits your personality.💖😘

[@LetThemTalkTV]

You're too kind

[@fnaaijkens69]

Hahaha. First thing I noticed!

[@sagarstoryspot]

Hello

[@rogerlephoque3704]

@@LetThemTalkTV Indeed you are and a mensch to boot. Gideon, old bean, I want you to know that I avoid idiomatic English like the plague.

[@VickiBee]

How can they NOT think that's British? It sounds like my friend, Andrew, who lives in Oxford, England and sometimes London.

[@CristinaHumbleHustle]

Hi Gideon. I’m glad I found your KZbin channel a few days ago. I really like listening to your English accent. I’m Italian but I’ve lived in the UK for a while. I’ve come to terms with the sound of my English only recently. For years I tried to fit in, and adjust the melody. I couldn’t help myself, until I realised my accent was good as it is. It’s ‘colourful’, with a lot of influences, but it’s mine! So thank you for this video.

[@havana2006]

Finally !!! A really sensible video about learning any language. Well done !