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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[KRAFTWERKK]

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

[thienkimnguyen]

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.

[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.

[teacher.natchee]

FINALLY SOMEONE WITH A GREAT 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!

[agaw]

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.

[gianlucac.]

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!

[loligarcia]

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!!

[christophdenner]

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.

[tedpertzborn]

"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.

[Thymesea]

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

[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.

[llamasugar]

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. ☺️

[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.

[dgillett]

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

[rudolfnechvile]

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...

[gastonkosloff]

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!

[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!❤️

[jorgelrobayor]

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.

[aleksandrasz]

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 !