"The majority (62%) of English learners stated that their goal was to sound like a native speaker, compared with 38% who listed intelligibility as their pronunciation goal (December 2006, Language Learners' Perceptions of Accent)" From these data, we can conclude that accents play an important role in English learners, especially when we travel to places where accents are used. When we first learn English, we don't use a certain accent. Even in English, they don't have a native English accent, and the accent refers more to the area where the person comes from. Moreover, many Americans want to remove their accent when speaking to non-native speakers, so that the meaning of their words is easy to understand. The accent affected us as new English learners can improve our language skills, such as speaking, listening, and also self-confidence.
Accents can make our speaking skills better than not using any accent at all. By watching or listening to how native speakers speak in a video, we can improve our speaking skills, how can that be? the more often we listen to a native speaker speak in a certain accent, for example, a British accent, the more we understand what the native speakers mean. this can happen because our brains can record a person's words, tone, intonation, and pronunciation if done regularly and repeatedly. and we begin to follow how these native speakers pronounce every word that comes out of their mouths, and in this way, a habit is created that makes us talk longer like people who use that accent. "speaking English with a native-speaker accent is associated not only with a sense of superiority but also with a high level of English proficiency (Timmis, 2002)". So we can improve our speaking skills by watching native speakers' videos and making them good habits.
How can we sharpen our listening skills by learning accents? Listening is one of the most important skills for us as new English learners, especially when starting a conversation with people who use a different accent than the one we use. Listening repeatedly to how native speakers speak is one method that can be used to sharpen listening skills, this method must also be accompanied by a consistent attitude, this must be done because the human ear can memorize what other people say when they hear one word and another word simultaneously and repeated with high consistency. So consistency is the key if new English learners want to improve and sharpen their listening skills.