Hello and welcome to my podcast My Life and Other Funny Stories. My name is Dagmar Tomášková, I am an English tutor and coach and I created this podcast for English students who want to improve their oral comprehension. As always you can find the transcription of this episode and vocabulary list in the notes of the podcast. 

Today we’re talking about something that I know so many of you struggle with and something I struggled with as well—feeling insecure about your foreign accent when speaking English.

And honestly? I get it. You’re worried about sounding „wrong,“ about people judging you, or maybe even about someone making fun of your pronunciation. Maybe you’ve had an experience where someone laughed or corrected you in a way that made you feel small. But today, I want to break this fear down and help you see your accent in a different way.

So, let’s start with the big question: Why do people feel insecure about their accents?

Well, first of all, I think it’s because speaking a foreign language makes us feel vulnerable. When we talk in our native language, we feel confident—we can express ourselves naturally, make jokes, use sarcasm, sound intelligent and truly show our real personality. But the moment we switch to English (or any foreign language that we might not speak perfectly), we suddenly feel like little kids again, making mistakes, struggling with words, and worst of all… we hear our own accent. We can hear that we sound different than native speakers but whatever we do, it is there even if just a little bit. 

And let’s be honest—accents are personal. The way you speak is part of who you are, so when someone points it out, it can feel embarrassing or even like a personal attack.

But here’s the thing—an accent is not a bad thing.

What Does an Accent Actually Say About You?

I think many people assume that if they have a strong accent, it means their English is bad. This is not true.

Having an accent just means that you learned English as a second language, which, let’s be real, is an impressive thing in itself! It doesn’t mean you’re not fluent, it doesn’t mean you’re stupid, and it definitely doesn’t mean you should be ashamed of it.

Think about it—if you hear someone speaking Czech with a French or Spanish accent, what do you think? Probably something like, Oh wow, they speak Czech! You don’t judge them for having an accent, right? You’re just impressed that they’re communicating in a language that isn’t their own.

And the same goes for native English speakers. 

What Do Native Speakers Really Think About Your Accent?

Here’s the truth: most native English speakers don’t care about your accent.

They are used to hearing people speak English with different accents every day. In fact, English itself has so many varieties—British, American, Australian, Irish, South African, Indian… even native speakers have different accents!

More importantly, most native speakers are just happy that they can communicate with you. They’re not sitting there thinking, Oh no, this person said the word ‘work’ wrong. They’re thinking, Wow, this person speaks English! That’s amazing!

Actually, a lot of native speakers admire people who speak multiple languages. They might even wish they could do the same! 

So, if you’ve been holding back from speaking because you’re afraid of your accent— it is going to be okay. You’re doing great, and most people are just happy to understand you.

But… Pronunciation Is Important

Now, before you say, “Okay, so accents don’t matter! I don’t need to worry about pronunciation at all!”—let me stop you there.

Having an accent is fine, but pronunciation does matter. There’s a difference between speaking English with an accent and pronouncing words so incorrectly that people can’t understand you.

For example, if you pronounce “sheet” the wrong way… well, let’s just say it turns into a completely different word, and that can lead to some awkward situations.

Or there is a difference if you say the word “three” and “tree” because our inability to correctly pronounce TH might lead to misunderstanding. 

So, improving your pronunciation is a good thing! But you don’t have to aim for a 100% British or American accent. You just need to be clear.

When I was in the US, Audrey’s family was really kind to me. The longer I was there, the less I felt like I spoke with an accent. Don’t get me wrong, when I speak here, on this podcast, my words are prepared and I am overall much more aware of my pronunciation and that is why my accent might be stronger here. But when I speak in a relaxed way, it can be much weaker. So the situation in which you speak might influence the strength of your accent as well. 

Anyway, everyone was very kind and they told me that my English is great and yes, they could hear that I am not a native speaker but overall were super impressed with the fact that I could lead 100% fluent conversation with them, make jokes, understand theirs, express my sarcasm…of course, I am teaching English so it would be weird if I couldn’t but what I am trying to say is that they are just happy to understand you and they really don’t care about an accent.

How to Work on Your Pronunciation

If you do want to improve your pronunciation, here are a few tips:

1. Focus on word stress – English has a rhythm, and stressing the wrong syllable can sometimes make words hard to understand. For example, „photograph“ and „photography“ are stressed differently.
2. Listen and repeat – Find a native speaker, a podcast, or even a YouTube video, and repeat what you hear. Try to copy the sounds as closely as possible.
3. Record yourself – I know, I know. Nobody likes hearing their own voice. But recording yourself and listening back can help you hear which sounds need work. You will get used to it. Trust me, I hated editing my own podcast when I started because I had to listen to my own voice but with time I just got over it.
4. Slow down – A lot of mistakes happen because people rush when they speak English. Take your time! Speaking clearly is more important than speaking fast. Usually, we try to match the speed of the native speaker’s speech. But it is much better to slow down and really pronounce the words correctly because if we are learning, the speed comes with the cost of the word endings. So then you forget about your -s in the third person or in plural nouns, or you just leave out the end of the word altogether and then you will be speaking fast, yes, but no one will understand you. 

At the end of the day, an accent is just proof that you’ve worked hard to learn another language. So, instead of feeling insecure about it, be proud of it.

As long as people can understand you, you’re doing great. Keep speaking, keep improving, and don’t let fear hold you back.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode and don’t forget that you can find the transcription and vocabulary list in the notes. Please give it a five-star rating if you liked it and I will see you next time, bye-bye.