Why You Should Not Worry About Speaking English Like a Native

You have been studying English for a while. You can understand virtually everything you read and everything you hear. You can express yourself clearly and precisely, both orally and in writing. Now, you have decided that you want to take your language skills to the next level. You want to speak English like a native, right? Well, maybe you need to read it first. And then rethink your priorities.

THE DESIRE

First, let’s understand why people have this desire of speaking English like a native. Well, when you start learning a new language, it seems only natural to have a person who was born and raised in a country where the language is spoken as your role model since they will probably speak the language perfectly. Among other reasons, we can limit ourselves here for the purpose of this article and state that this is the main argument for those who want to speak English like a native.

Having that in mind, people usually choose England or the United States as the main countries in which English is spoken as a first language. Thus, they want to learn “American English” or “British English” and, of course, they want to speak like citizens of one of these countries. At this point, we could argue that there are many “Englishes” spoken in these countries. Not everybody there speaks the same way. People have different accents and/or vocabulary according to different regions, social classes, social groups, ages, etc.

ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

Besides, differently from other languages, English is now accepted as a global language worldwide. It means that when you think about who owns English as an international language your answer will not be England or the United States anymore. If you accept the premise that English is indeed a lingua franca (a language used worldwide for communication between people who do not share their first language), you automatically need to recognize that this language belongs to the world. To every continent. Every country. Every people. Everyone. As long as they speak it.

In this sense, in addition to the American English, British English, Australian English, Irish English, etc., we also have a lot of other “Englishes”, namely: Brazilian English, Chinese English, French English, Pakistani English, Panamanian English, Japanese English, Panamanian English, etc. You got it!

The aforementioned argument is not only a logical conclusion. It has data to support it. David Crystal, one of the most important scholars who study the phenomenon of English as a global language, estimates that non-native English speakers outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1 (Crystal, 2003). It means that most of your interactions in the real world in English will likely be with people who are not from countries in which English is the first language.

INTELLIGIBILITY

What does that mean? It means that having one of the North American or British accents is not that important anymore. It does not matter if you speak English with your own, unique accent – that of course is influenced by your first language. What is important here is intelligibility.

Being intelligible means being able to be understood. If you make yourself clear and people from all over the world can talk to you and can understand you easily, the accent is not important at all. Your accent can be seen as part of your identity – of who you are – as a speaker. Be proud of it!

Studies have found some important features that are important (or not) when it comes to intelligibility. If you are interested in learning more about it, from a scientific perspective, you should check out the book The Phonology of English as an International Language by Jennifer Jenkins (2000), one of the most prominent scholars in this field.

CONCLUSION: YOU DON’T NEED TO SPEAK ENGLISH LIKE A NATIVE

To sum up, the desire of speaking English like a native is outdated. Since English has become an international language, it has served as a means of communication between people from many different backgrounds. Around the world, most interactions in English take place between people who do not have English as their first language. What has become extremely important is intelligibility. Being able to understand and to be understood is essential, regardless of which accent you have.

The main takeaway here is that you should not focus on speaking like a native. You should focus your energy and your efforts on being able to express yourself clearly. Being exposed to different “Englishes” from different places in the world is also extremely important. It will allow you to understand better. And if you can be a better listener, you will probably be a better speaker.

 

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