What do you think are some goods like, "exercises" you can do to clear up an accent?

Question

I have an extremely heavy french accent, I was wondering is there any way to sorta make me sounds more um,....like clear. More American?

I only want to know because my friends say its hard to understand me...

Answer 1

Why in heavens would you wanna do that?? I think accents are sexy and that's what really makes you a bit unique from the average Joe :O)

Answer 2

Personally, I think a French accent is nice, and your accent might not be "heavy" at all: Americans tend to look down on anyone with an accent even if it's a slight one. But if you want to sound more American (how crude!), do 4 things: 1. listen to American radio/tv/movies often, especially the news and the public radio talk shows (don't get lazy and just listen to music programs!), 2. speak English as often as you can; 3. ask your friends to correct you (in a nice way) when they think you mispronounce something or use an unfamiliar expression; and 4. find a book-on-tape that you really like and listen to it while reading along in the book itself. The combination of seeing the words at the same time you hear them spoken has a stronger and more lasting impact than just hearing them.

Answer 3

There are probably certain words or phrases which are worse than others. Ask some of your close friends to tell you which words or phrases you use might be hard for someone who didn't know you very well to understand.

Get a tape recorder and say these words or phrases preferably in a sentence. Play them back and listen to what people are talking about.

Save the first tape for a reference and practice on another tape until you feel you have mastered these.

Other words and phrases will come automatically.

Answer 4

je m'appelle Clea.J'habite aux Etats-Unis.Je parle un peu francais.Haha sorry.
my mom was born in Morocco(which speaks French as a common language) and later moved to France when she was little so she speaks a lot. i dont know if she had a heavy accent when she moved to America, but she still has a little accent.So you cant entirely get rid of it, like you will make a lot of mistakes. my mom used call the 'kitchen' a 'chicken', and she still calls a 'pencil' a 'crayon', because,as you know,thats what it is called in French.But you can hire a tutor and if you dont have a lot of money to spend, you can buy audio tapes. but it is better for a tutor.

Answer 5

Your accent will eventually fade, but if you want to speed up the process, study the American accent by watching movies, TV, etc.

Answer 6

one thing with any kind of speech is that some of it has to do with your tongue.. your tongue is a muscle that, in a way, has been doing the same exercise its entire life..

so try exercising your tongue.. open your mouth and do things like go up, down, left, right.. and repeat it about 50-100 times a day.. that may help, i know they recommend that for people with speech problems, so i imagine it could help you

but i personally wouldnt worry about it much.. i like the french accent

Answer 7

Get a recorder and listen to phrases spoken by a native English speaker then repeat the phrase keep doing this trying to sound more like the native speaker.

Answer 8

start with a really thick country accent mimic old westerns and sing country songs then work into mimicing more midwest accents like newcasters and as always stay away from republicans they hate the french and will probably steal your bguettes and eat them just kiddin au revoir belle

Answer 9

Oh I had a dear friend from France, her name was Monique. She died several years back and I miss her and her accent! She was so funny! I could imitate her to a T! Oh she used to laugh so hard.....Oh how I miss that!
Tell your friend's to enjoy you just as you R!

Answer 10

Keep the accent. If you really really hate it yourself, try doing tongue twisters, like "She sells seashells by the seashore " and "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers".