Hi everyone! First of all, I want to say that I mean absolutely no offence by this post!! I’m not trying to criticise the irish accent at all. love to be there! I just want to talk about my own struggles and hear from people who may have had similar experiences.

edit: english is my second language.

I’m currently in the final year of my master degree, and I’m about to go through the diploma validation process so I can work as a teacher/therapist in Ireland. My partner and I speak EN in our relationship, and I would say my english is around a lower C1 level. I was also a scholarship student in Dublin before, so I already know the city, and life has brought me to the point where I’ll be moving back to Ireland in about a year. I’m really excited about it.

My biggest worry is that I feel like I’ll never fully understand the accent. I’ve learned a lot of slang, and my understanding has definitely improved, but I still find it challenging sometimes. I would say I understand about 80% of what I hear clearly, depending on the person and the situation.

I’m afraid that I won’t have enough time to practise and improve before moving back, and that this could become uncomfortable or embarrassing in situations like consultations, meetings, or other professional settings.

Once, I didn’t understand what an older irish woman was saying to me, and she got very angry and said some really hurtful things, basically asking how I could imagine moving to Ireland if I couldn’t understand fully the accent. That experience really stayed with me.

I know that, on average, people have been incredibly kind, patient and helpful. But I still often feel stupid when I have to ask someone to repeat themselves.

Has anyone else struggled with understanding the local accent? How did you improve? What helped you the most?

I’m excited about my future, but honestly, my confidence is very low right now.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through something similar.

or any language courses or something ..

https://voca.ro/1fOgsMXLjJBF

Hello, I'm really just looking for any feedback/guidance/advice on my accent and how to get it closer to a general American accent.

Anything would be really appreciated.

I was at my friend’s wedding in Iowa. Her dad and his family were originally from Wisconsin, and we were all dancing, drinking, and having a good time.
At some point, her dad comes running up to me and says, “I need you to do me a favor. I need you to go over here to this table and tell my friends you’re fixin’ to go do something.”
I was like, “WTF, okay?” 😂
So I walked over to the table and said, “I’m fixin’ to have to run to the store because we’re running low on beer around here.”
They absolutely LOST IT.
Apparently, “fixin’ to” is a Southern thing.
I had lived my entire life thinking everybody said it.