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Old Tue 18-Dec-07, 07:30 PM   #22 (permalink)
teacherj
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Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: American accent, but wait, I love my Aussie accent!

I would NOT try to put on a fake American accent for them. Like others have said, they are going to encounter lots of different accents, and it's best for them to hear it while they are young. Speak slower, by all means - but don't change your accent.

My accent isn't strong - it's very clear and indistinct. People sometimes have trouble working out where I'm from. I have been told by students that I am the easiest teacher to understand - and my students largely don't like me so that's saying something

I teach adults in Australia, and my current class (pre-intermediate) are about 50% Japanese. With so many Japanese choosing to study English in the UK and Australia, I think it would actually be detrimental to limit their learning to just one. We teach them both UK and US English variations as well - they need to know them, because a lot of things they have learned don't always work outside of the US.

We teach from British books, and the audio that goes with it usually has British accents - but sometimes has the most appalling fake US one, broad Australian, NZ and SA. Variety is good

We have teachers from all different places here - Aus, NZ, South Africa, UK, US - even Poland and the Czech Republic. The only complaint about accent has been about the Czech teacher. The students get used to accents suprisingly quickly

Quote:
The Yanks pronounce A as eh and I as ire. If you've ever met an American, you will know for sure their pronunciation of A I O Z are completely different than the Aussies.
Really? Because those both sound the same to me, and my American colleage and I pronounce them the same way?
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