How did I change from an American accent to a British accent in less than a year?

The theme of this article was inspired by chatting with a good friend in Australia the other day.

I remember we were discussing interesting English names taken by people in China and those that made people in China laugh. Halfway through the conversation, he suddenly said that he thought my English was much better than when he met me in Australia.

I was actually a little unconvinced after listening to it, because I thought my English was my peak in Australia. Basically, I can understand what Australians say to me, and I don't have to think too much when I answer. I answered them naturally. There was no translation process.

However, this is not the first time he has said such things. I didn't pay much attention before, but I was a little curious this time, so I asked him how he felt better.

His reply is that my accent has become purer than before, and I sound like a lady in British upper class (hahaha). In fact, it immediately reminded me that a year after I graduated and returned to China, many foreign friends said that my English had improved or my accent had improved, but I was too busy at work to think about it.

Now that I think about it, I may have methods to follow and skills to use in this transformation. So I forced myself to think about what I did that year and made me like this.

Before I tell you how I do it, I'll give you some background to let you know that it's not easy for me to change from an American accent to a British accent.

Like most students in China, I began to learn English from the third grade of primary school, except for attending an English interest class. The textbook we used at that time was "Travel All over America", so from the time I started learning English to more than ten years later, I spoke American English.

Maybe after studying in Australia for one year, I was slightly influenced by Australian English, but it was not enough to make me change so much.

The real change happened one year after I returned to China.

After graduation, I joined a startup company to do management work. The only thing related to English in my daily work is communication with foreign partners. I will be an interpreter when foreign companies visit.

However, the above account for less than 5% of my usual work, so I have been thinking about what I have done to make my accent change so much.

After racking my brains, I thought of the only English-related thing I did at that time-listening to English books on my way to and from work.

At that time, the original intention of listening to English books was to let my mind empty and not think about so many things at work (I remember that before going to bed at night, my mind was full of all kinds of people to contact, and I was about to collapse), so I wanted to listen to stories to ease it.

I was listening to Pride and Prejudice and Pride and Prejudice.

This book has played a very important role in my life. I studied in primary school for the first time, then worked in junior high school, senior high school and university. I read it again at almost every stage of my life. It's amazing.

I happened to find its English audio book on the Himalayas, so I began to listen without hesitation. I was lazy then, too. I have been listening to this book on the way to work by car.

I drive home to and from work for less than an hour every day, so I can listen to this book for a week or two. I stayed in that company for about ten months, so generally speaking, I have listened to this book for about 20 times.

I was surprised myself after that. Because I didn't realize that I had done it over and over again for 20 times, what's even more surprising is that it had such a great influence on me imperceptibly when I didn't realize it.

Simply put, the secret is actually the power of repetition.

So I summed up a set of stupid methods to help people like me change or improve their accents.

(1) Find a favorite original English audio book and read it with your favorite accent. It is best to have read the Chinese version of this book, so that it will not be affected by the story. Look up words or sentences.

(2) Listen to this audio book at a relatively fixed time every day, preferably for 30 minutes to an hour at a time, during which you can do something else.

* * Suggested time: get up early for washing/before going to bed/during exercise/during cooking * *

(3) Listen to this book at least ten times in five months. Five months is based on my personal experience and the length of the book. You may have listened to it ten times in three months.

You may be worried about what to do when you encounter words you don't understand, or what to do with long sentences. Never mind, you probably already know what the story is about. Let's do one thing at a time, focus on accent, and let the brain get used to this pronunciation. I didn't listen attentively when I used this method myself, but I just created an environment.

All articles about shaping English environment will tell you to input widely and massively, but in terms of accent, I think it is more important to choose the right material and then repeat it constantly to stimulate our brains and let them adapt slowly.

This process does not even need to be consciously carried out, nor does it need to be regarded as a hard indicator or task, but as a way of relaxation, which may have more unexpected effects.

The reason why I listened to some podcasts recommended by you in the last article is that I am especially used to listening to British English after I found out that I can speak English. As a translator, this is actually not a good phenomenon, so I will strengthen my listening by listening to a lot of different accents.

So in the end, I hope everyone can choose the most suitable materials and methods according to their own situation and current needs. I wish you all a happy study. See you next time ~

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