10 Tips for Learning a New Accent At Home
Having a selection of accents in your back pocket is a valuable skill for any improviser. Yet learning a new accent to use on stage can feel daunting.
If you don’t have six months free to immerse yourself in a remote village in the Alps or a fishing town in Cornwall but would still like to build your accent skills, here are a few pointers.
1. Find clips of native speakers online
Use YouTube and the BBC archives to find recordings of regional speakers. Study real accents — not footage of actors imitating them. If it’s not authentic, it might not be accurate.
2. Break it down
Take sentences and phrases and break them into smaller bits. Use just a few words at a time, break them into syllables, and mimic the sounds you hear. Go slowly and with detail. Repetition is key.
3. Mouth feel
Think about the shape of your mouth when you make each sound, and how it differs from your own accent. Pay attention to your lip position. Where does the tongue rest? Where does it contact the soft palate, hard palate, or teeth?
4. Consider where the accent sits in the mouth
UK regional accents tend to “sit” in different areas of the mouth. Some send their energy forward and sit at the front (like RP). Others, like Yorkshire accents, sit further back.
5. Consider the rhythm
Accents have their own rhythm and musicality. Some, like Estuary English, are relatively flat. Others — Welsh, Geordie, Scouse — have a strong melodic quality.
6. Transcribe a clip, then switch texts
Once you can mimic a clip well, try reading a different text aloud in the same accent. Then test it out in conversation (if you have patient friends). You’ll probably slip a few times — don’t let that knock you.
7. Be patient
Some accents will come easier than others. You might think, “Edinburgh felt so natural — why does Aberdeen feel impossible?” Like any skill, this takes time. You might need to build up tongue strength, improve your articulation, or get used to new sounds your native accent doesn’t use.
Accents you’ve grown up around or heard on TV will usually be easier — but even then, you’ll still have to put the hours in. (I’m still working on a Northumbrian accent — my grandparents’ — and it’s just one county north of where I grew up. But its deep ‘glottal roll’ is tough to master.)
8. Practice in private, not on stage
Before trying a new accent in front of an audience, make sure it’s solid. If you step out and try to play a Brummie waiter after watching half an episode of Peaky Blinders, that scene probably won’t go well.
The accent could slip midscene, leaving you flustered and distracting your scene partners. Testing an unpolished accent on stage isn’t generous — it’s risky.
9. Don’t make the accent the joke
Your accent work should serve your performance — it’s a tool, not a punchline. It should help define characters and expand your range, not be the joke itself.
Say the scene is “Poirot trying to order in a Taco Bell.” The laughs should come from Poirot’s behaviour — maybe he’s obsessed with etiquette, maybe he suspects a murder — not just from the fact that he’s Belgian.
10. Hire a coach
If you need help, work with a voice coach in person or online. I’ve coached many actors, comedians, and voice artists on accents — one-on-one coaching makes the process more efficient and enjoyable.
If any improvisers out there want help with accent coaching — or want to co-create a show about Poirot’s adventures in Taco Bell — get in touch with me: @riseboroughgram
