Thread: What to do to speak like a native speaker?

I want to improve my English, but don't know what to begin with.
What's the main feature of poor using foreign language?
How do you think, what should foreigner get rid of first of all to sound more natural?

If you are older than 14-15, you will never sound like a native speaker.

You notice all of those things, but I think grammatical mistakes are the most conspicuous.

Not everyone uses slang or has a big vocabulary, and I think speed comes with practice. Using strange words is noticable but if its done properly I thing it sounds better than using typical words but messing up the grammar.

My 2 cents.

Slaughter yourself and reincarnate in new land

Well, I don't even dream of sounding like native speaker. I just want my English to be pleasant to listen to. If you know what I mean...
DagothWarez, thanks a lot, I prefer to be russian and learn English, but not vice versa.

Originally Posted by mariashara

Well, I don't even dream of sounding like native speaker. I just want my English to be pleasant to listen to. If you know what I mean...

You can't get rid of your accent but you want to make it as slight as you can. Slight accent might be cute, strong one - never. You can't get rid of grammatical mistakes but you want to make them as rarely as you can.

Originally Posted by Vesh

Slight accent might be cute, strong one - never. You can't get rid of grammatical mistakes but you want to make them as rarely as you can.

I think that most people would disagree with this statement. Only a few "perfectionists" would think this.

А если серьезно, то по-моему, очень от слуха это все зависит. Не совсем от музыкального, но что-то вроде того. Есть такие люди, которые наверное, привыкли слушать только себя, так у них наверное никогда не получится. Например политики. Тот же Горбачев по-русски так и не научился разговаривать или Явлинский, например. С точки зрения ошибок и словарного запаса, все неплохо. Но звучит он так противно, что подташнивает слегка. Вывод. Тренируй слух. Как не знаю. Кстати у тебя спутниковая антенна есть? Очень способствует.

Originally Posted by Vesh

If you are older than 14-15, you will never sound like a native speaker.

I do not think this is the case; it is not easy to do but it is possible.
I've met several people who spoke Russian without any accent and were pretty much undistinguishable from native speakers, and a few more who were very close.

У Горбача наитипичнейшее южно-русское произношение, от которого он не пожелал (или не смог) избавиться за годы, проведённые в Москве. Явлинский ИМХО вполне нормально говорит по-русски.

От слуха да, зависит.

Есть преподаватели, помогающие избавиться от акцента, некоторые очень хорошие (и, соответственно, дорогие).

Ошибки, которые делает неграмотный носитель языка (ихний, большеватый (вместо великоватый), лаболатория и т.д.) сильно отличаются от ошибок, допускаемых иностранцем, изучающим язык.

i think its as simple as some people can do accents some can't. some can run fast, some can't. also it probably depends on what languages you're trying to speak in relation to where you're from. for example, there was a chinese girl in my russain class, and sweet jesus, she sounded like a robot when speaking russian. it was like я го вор ю по русс ки.
most dutch people who speak englsih pronounce fine with only a small amount of accent.
as for me, people would believe i was russian until i droped grammar mistakes, but it was enough to get russian studant prices for stuf mwaaaaaahaaaa

Весь вопрос в том, кто производит лучшее впечатление:
а) иностранец, который, возможно, делает грамматические ошибки, но при этом разговаривает живым, образным языком и/или почти без акцента;
б) иностранец, который говорит грамматически правильно, но с очень сильным акцентом и фразами, напоминающими упражнения из учебника.
Мне кажется, что первый.

Movies, watch a lot of American movies. In no time, you'll be speaking like Bruce Willis. Caution: Do not watch Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

Otherwise, from your choices, I'd say grammatical mistakes sticks out the most. Word choice next, and accent third. If you get the first 2 down right, you'll sound like Arnold (a Russian sounding Arnold that is), so you really need to consider the accent too.

How about with foreign speakers of Russian, Im sure its pretty much the same, the clues that the speaker is foreign.

Originally Posted by mariashara

I want to improve my English, bot don't know what to begin with.
What's the main feature of poor using foreign language?
How do you think, what should foreigner get rid of first of all to sound more natural?

I think all these things are important, and there is no single answer - the most important thing for you is the one you are the least good at.
I'd say that slow rate of speech is rarely a problem for Russian speakers, at least as far as standard American English goes: the natural rate of speech in Russian is quite a bit higher, so what may seem slow to you would often sound OK to americans.
In general, I'd say that for Russian speakers, the largest issue in English is the accent. If their English is really poor and they had little speaking practice, strange words and other stylistic mistakes stand out too.

Originally Posted by Vesh

Явлинский ИМХО вполне нормально говорит по-русски.

Я имел в виду его английский. Довелось слушать его перлы по BBC, принеприятнейшие впечатление.

Originally Posted by siberiangoddess

Caution: Do not watch Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

I am der ubergubernator fur Kalifornien uhaaaaaaa

Originally Posted by mariashara

Well, I don't even dream of sounding like native speaker. I just want my English to be pleasant to listen to. If you know what I mean...

You will be pleasant to listen to as long as you can express yourself even moderately. There is no reason for you to try to lose your accent unless you have some particular reason that you want to pass for a native speaker. If you do want to pass for a native speaker I'd suggest that you hire a voice coach as it is very difficult to do this without help unless you are gifted in this area. I know this from experience.
If I were you I would not worry about it!

Originally Posted by mariashara

I want to improve my English, but don't know what to begin with.
What's the main feature of poor using foreign language?
How do you think, what should foreigner get rid of first of all to sound more natural?

I learned English by songs, when you sing it's easier to get rid of the accent. I mastered my German and English accent in the age of 16-17, almost adult. I still have some slight accent when I speak both of them but but it's barely noticeable.
When you sing you imitate everything - sounds, intonation. Of course, singing is different from normal speaking but you can improve your accent greatly. Sing even if you can't sing, it's much more fun than reading along with a tape/CD, which is also very efficient.

It's my advice for learners of all languages, not just English.

If you've got an accent in English,... cherish it,.. American girls love it,..You can say anything you want and they'll still like it.

Originally Posted by DagothWarez

Originally Posted by siberiangoddess

Caution: Do not watch Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

I am der ubergubernator fur Kalifornien uhaaaaaaa

Is that you Arnold? So when is Terminator IV coming out, oh and Twins 2? LOL!