Korean Job Discussion Forums

[postfundie]

I had a student tell me that it was easier for Koreans to learn the British accent than it is for them to learn the American accent...


Now I already KNOW that Koreans will tell you many things but it made me think about how my British friends and Irish friends have been able to do a very good American accent impression (Kate Winslet in Titanic comes to mind) while Americans don't seem to do so well (like Julia Roberts in 'Michael Collins' or Brad Pitt in 'the devil's own')


I am NOT saying that American or British English is better or whatever...I'm just wondering what other teachers think....

[ajuma]

I can understand that it might be easier for Korean students to adopt a British accent than an American one. Vowels seem to be longer (more stressed/drawn out).

Look at the simple word "I". American pronunciation has the word sounding like "i-e" while British pronunciation (forgive me if I'm wrong!) sounds more like "o-ui"...which is more comfortable for Korean students.

[BS.Dos.]

If I could just deviate for a second.

I can never understand why film makers choose to use actors whose own language is different from that of the characters they are playing. Why not just hire an actor who has the same accent as the character? Makes my blood boil when an otherwise ok movie is ruined because the lead actor sounds like a complete ass.

That's been bothering me for some time now and I feel so much better for having gotten it off my chest. I feel that I can move on with my life now. Thanks.

[faster]

Slightly off-topic, but maybe a reason it's easy for non-American anglophones to imitate an American accent is the dominance of American media.

I know when I was in NZ I had trouble understanding a couple bartenders, but no anglophone's ever had trouble understanding me (US "neutral" California accent).

[Fresh Prince]

I'm going to say the South African accent. It has less slang than British, Canadian, and American English and doesn't have the socio-economic changes in accent or regional dialects that the U.S. and Britain have.

[midian3x]

South African? Really? That is the one accent that I have the most problems with. Met one guy at a training center, and I thought, what is a Russian doing teaching ESL?

[kurva anjad]

I'm South African, hadn't noticed one way or another, excepting the fact I think Koreans actually DO have a harder time with British English and how you tend to drop the r's where they should be and add r's where none exist at the end of words. That terribly confuses the poor Koreans.

[postfundie]

[faster]

That's true, but generally speaking, Hollywood movies are everywhere, US TV shows seem to be everywhere. Almost anyone in the developed world (and many in the developing one) can name tons of US movies & sitcoms, but good luck finding someone who can name, say, a Scottish game show or a New Zealand sitcom.

To be clear, I think US media/cultural dominance is unfortunate, but it exists.

[cbclark4]

The Boston accent is the best for teaching in Korea.

Soft "r" long vowels, pahk the cah in hahvid yahd.

cbc

[pkang0202]

People told me that American/Canadian was easier to understand however, more difficult to speak.

British English was easier to speak. US English is uses a lot of inflection and tone that is critical when conveying the meaning. British English is more monotone and the rhythm is easier for Korean to imitate.

So, American/Canadian English easier to understand. British English easier to speak.

I say those ignoring specific regional accents like Brooklyn New York, or Irish and Scottish British.

On a side note, No one can understand Welsh English.

[contrarian]

The accents from western Canada, and the western US is probably the most "neutral". This is probably because it is the least "regional". Everybody there is from somewhere else within a couple or three generations and have adopted the basics.

It is a "harder" and "crisper" way of pronunciation, among some of the others.

As a Canadian listening to Asian CNN, all the Brits and Aussies sound as if they are talking with a mouth full of rocks. From a realistic point of view the students want American English. That is where the trade and interest lies.

[pkang0202]

[tzechuk]

I have been told by numerous students that my British accent is easier for them to understand.

Then again, I received elocution lessons when i was young to aid in my singing, so may be I just naturally say things clearer?

[safeblad]

I dont know about Koreans learning English but if the situation is reversed, ive always thought that my British accent made the pronunciation of Korean voweles easier for me than for the North American's I study with.
For me, the vowel sounds of British English just sound closer to Korean than American English does, that doesnt stop Korean teaching their kids American vowel sounds from Elementary up though.