Friday, July 4, 2014

How To Choose British Accent Lessons

By Rosella Campbell


People may wish to learn a British accent for a variety of reasons. For example there are a lot of theatres that perform Shakespeare plays and the rhythm and poetry of the words often sounds best in an authentic sounding voice. Other people may choose to learn the voice if working in a call centre in order to be more clearly understood. Whatever the reason it is important to find the right place for British accent lessons.

Before looking for classes it is important to be aware of the kind of voice you are trying to learn. Traditionally when people think of Britain they tend to think of England. However it is worth remembering that the United Kingdom also includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Furthermore even within regions there are variations of accents. London itself is a very diverse place. While some people may speak with less distinct way of speaking others may speak in a Cockney accent around the East End. In Brixton the slang is often influenced by the ethnic origin of the people there.

Equally within England itself there are a diverse range of accents. As with America there are often strong differences between the North and South of the country. Furthermore there are differences within the North and South as well. For example the way someone speaks in Liverpool will be different from how someone speaks in Manchester.

In recent times attitudes have changed. There are more diverse range of accents on television and radio. However there are still aspects of people needing to speak clearly. For example it is worth comparing the difference of how an actor speaks in a British TV show to how they speak on an American TV show.

Before going to classes it is worth immersing yourself in the culture as much as possible. Ideally you want to find as many up to date resources as possible. Inevitably accents change and like anywhere else in the world some slang words will go out of date. Therefore it is worth looking for recent shows and checking internet upload sites as these are often a good way of picking up on the most up to date way of speaking.

There should be a number of tutors and classes in your local area. However if you cannot find them then there are courses and videos available online. As with anything it is worth doing your research to see what lessons are the most effective.

These are all aspects that a class should teach you. Before going to a class it is worth checking to see the credentials of the person teaching. Ideally they should have travelled to Britain and lived there long enough to be aware of regional differences, slang terms and so forth. It is also worth watching British television shows, internet videos and so forth as this is an effective way of learning more about the culture and context of the language. Use your regular search engine to find tutors and language classes in your local area as well as learning more about the full range of English and British accents.




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