Learning a foreign language is not easy at all as you have to master a lot of things and on the top of it speaking like a native makes it even tougher. Speaking a foreign language like a pro and then getting a hold on the accent is not about impressing people, it is all about how you perceive what others say and how you incorporate the same while you are speaking. It helps you grasp faster and connect easily with people around you especially when you aren’t a native speaker.
Learning a language is the first step and speaking like a native is another stepping stone towards getting a hold on the language. It can sometimes be very annoying to do everything to learn a language, focus on the pronunciation as well as the vocabulary but still speak like a non-native. Want to learn a foreign language and speak like a native? Do you want to refine your accent and sound more like a native? Obviously! Who doesn’t’? If your goal is to learn a foreign language and at the same time speak like a native speaker you should be very patient and keen to learn. There are a number of snags you have to master while trying to learn a foreign language and learning that accent is just one of them. So, now let us discuss some of the factors and tips that can help you in mastering the language just the way you desire.
• Your Centre of Attention must be on Pronunciation
Pronunciation is the prime aspect of learning a language. If you know the correct pronunciation of a word it will only help you in speaking it accurately and grab a hold on the accent. If you’re a beginner all you need to do is learn how to pronounce the words accurately. You will also have to focus on pointing out your problems like the words you feel more difficult to practice and pronounce. You can take help of Google Translation to practice pronunciation with precision. Listen to the words and try it yourself as many times as you want.
• Focus on Vowels and Consonants
Vowels and Consonants are used in almost every language but the level of stress varies on the type of language, dialect and the native accent. Pronouncing the consonant is quite common in some of the languages like English but in Latin more focus is on pronouncing the consonant and vowel as well making it sound more like Spanish. Trying to adjust with these changes in different foreign languages can be the most difficult part in case you want to master that language. But take it as a challenge as ‘Nothing is Impossible’ if you try.
• Check Intonation and stress
If you want to master good pronunciation you got to focus on everything rather than just mastering the sounds. It also includes intonation and stress in the words. An intonation is generally rising and falls of the words while stress is when some sounds in words are louder and clearer than other words. Listen to sounds, recordings, songs, read books and concentrate on the word intonation and stress to make it sound like a local.
• Use fillers to sound more organic
Depending on the language you’re going to learn you have to figure out the local linguistics or lingos that people use. This will help you sound more natural like a native speaker. This is a step you must follow once you are starting to get a moderate hold on the language. Try to use fillers like hmm, um, as in, like, literally or anything that native people of that region use. This will help you a lot and make you sound more like a native.
• Self-Confidence
Confidence is the way to go in case you are trying anything that is new to you and so is with learning a foreign language and speaking like a native. The most important thing that will help you to grab a hold of that regional accent is attaining confidence. The simple key is to speak with the regional people and talk to the people that are among your surroundings. This will help you in gaining confidence and you will learn a lot from these people daily. Most importantly it is all about having confidence in whatever you do so be confident and wait patiently until you master the language.
• Figure out your mistakes
The most imperative part of learning any language is getting to know your mistakes. To be honest, nobody is perfect and everybody is bound to make mistakes. This is nothing to be ashamed of all you need to do is figure out what are your mistakes and try to correct them. You can never learn until and unless you don’t know where you’re going wrong and what are your mistakes.
The best way to learn about your mistakes is to listen to yourself. Record while you speak and listen to it, this will help you in evaluating all your mistakes and help in performing better. Getting a language partner can also be of great help in case you want to learn foreign language pronunciation. It can be a friend, teacher or you can even join pronunciation classes to get the best results in real time.
• Learn about the cultural background
To master a language you do need to have Knowledge of the cultural background and ethics of that place. You can read books or novels written in the target language. Watch movies or plays, get to know about the history of the place anything that will give you an idea about the culture of the place is the way to go. You might be thinking, how can this be helpful? For a fact, our cultural identity is one of the most important factors that determine how well we speak. You can memorize the right pronunciation or the grammar, but practically if you don’t know about the origin of the language and the culture of the people that speak that language, it will not be of any help.
