I don't like the term "accent reduction"... or even "accent modification". Why??? Because these terms imply that your accent is a bad thing. As I said in my previous post, I think all accents are equally valid. It's just that one accent may be more useful than another in a certain location, or when interacting with certain people.

The term "accent reduction" begins with the premise that you are trying to get rid of something bad, or fix something that is broken. But you are not broken! To suggest that your speech is broken or bad is to approach your speech training from a negative mindset. And, of course, a negative mindset will only be a hindrance to your success.

So, to approach your accent training from with a positive perspective, I much prefer terms like "accent adoption" or "accent acquisition". You are not trying to get rid of a "bad" thing... instead, you are trying to learn another good thing!

Many of my clients have confided with me that they were nervous about learning to speak with an American accent because they were afraid that they might lose their own non-native accent. For example, a businessman from Japan who spoke English with a strong Japanese accent wanted to "reduce" his accent so the Americans he works with would understand him better. But if he were to "reduce" his native accent, he was afraid that he would stand out as being different when speaking English in the presence of his Japanese colleagues; he feared they would think that he would be "showing off" by speaking English in a way that is much "better" (or "different") than everyone else.

This kind of situation can create a lot of psychological conflict. Our cultural values are powerful motivators (or de-motivators). In this case, the value of group harmony and the desire to not stand out as being different from the group will likely be stronger than a person's desire to make changes to his speaking patterns. This conflict can create a huge psychological barrier to accent acquisition, and you can be predisposed to failure even before getting started!

People are usually not consciously aware of this psychological conflict, so the first step is to acknowledge it. Once you recognize this within yourself, you can then consciously decide that you are not going to let it hold you back from success... it's a choice that you can make!

What are your thoughts on this? Do you have any psychological blocks like this??? Please post a comment with your thoughts.

And stay tuned... I'll share with you a new way of thinking about accent adoption in a future post.