Having an accent is totally a natural thing when studying languages. Teachers tend to change their typical accent to a neutral one while living abroad or teaching foreigner students. Therefore, last Monday 12th Feb, we give them a chance to recover their unique and authentic voice in the accent workshop, also for our students to experience the diversity way of saying the same word.
We are happy to have Greg, from Liverpool, Harry, from Texas and Noel, from Cork- all native English speakers. First of all, they are asked to read a small paragraph in an article (individually) and after that, role-playing in a conversation, both activities using their accents. It was hilarious just to try and figure out what was the exact phrase they were saying, and you know what? I think that the Irish accent is super difficult.
There is always a discussion of which English is more suitable: American or British English. Therefore, we have spotted the most common differences in pronunciation (the /æ/, /r/, /t/ sound) as well as in stress and the speed of reading. We even try to read to and write tongue twisters. However, it is important to know that none of the accents are better than the other, and you can always choose one as your favorite.
It was a useful workshop for both natives and foreign speakers, as they can share their way of speaking that will help people to understand each other more.
