#170: Do I Need to Speak without an Accent?

Have you ever asked whether you need to reduce or “terminate” your accent when speaking English? Or do you think that fluency is speaking without an accent? Or have you ever wondered how celebrities like Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Kissinger or Arianna Huffington got so famous in the United States despite being English learners?

Well we will give you the answers to all of these questions and show you the surprising truth about your accent in this episode of the RealLife English Podcast:

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Words You’ll Learn:

  • Astounding  – very surprising
  • Lifesavers – candies in the shape of a loop
  • Stare – to intensely look at someone without blinking
  • It’s too bad… – it’s a shame
  • Up in the air – undecided
  • Coin toss – to decide something by throwing a coin in the air and seeing which side it lands on
  • Rags to riches story – a story of someone going from poverty to wealth and success
  • Fuzzy – unclear
  • Pinpoint – to precisely identify
  • Get the creeps – to be given a bad or scared feeling by something
  • Goosebumps – bumps that appear on the skin when one is cold or scared
  • Calling card – One’s claim to fame, the thing that someone is known well for
  • Cringe – to wrinkle one’s face in disgust
  • Scrunch up – to compact, make small
  • Bask – to revel in and make the most of
  • Galvanize – to spark people into taking action
  • have a knack for (something) – to be naturally skilled at something
  • Flat out fail – to fail completely
  • Assets – a useful or valuable thing or person

Links/Resources:

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  • Anny Loera Fragoso says:

    Dear friends Ethan and Justin, I have no words to thank you for your effort in making these wonderful programs. A few months ago, I found your podcasts and since that day I have not stopped listening to them. I started from program 1, they are all great. Thanks a million.

    I just have a small annoyance. From program 1 to 149, Chad was there and all at a sudden, from the program 150 on, he disappeared. I understand that everything ends, and that people change. What hurts me is that from program 150 (right now I’m at 170, always waiting to hear for him, but nothing) there hasn’t been a mention of him again, no farewell, no comment, it’s as if he had never existed. I don’t understand indifference, I could even understand hate, but indifference is much more painful. Sorry for the digression.
    I admire and appreciate your work very much and of course, I will continue listening to the programs, they are admirable. All my love and appreciation

    • Agnieszka from RealLife English says:

      Hi Anny, thank you for your incisive comment. We miss Chad as well.