You can have native-level fluency and still sound like a foreigner

As a native English speaker who has worked in international environments and who started learning French as an adult, I’m very familiar with accents — both my own and those of others. I’ve noticed an assumption that’s as frustrating as it is widespread: People often assume that someone’s accent is a reflection of their overall ability in a language. Spoiler: It’s not. Let’s talk about this.

I’ve always been fascinated by accents… foreign, regional, whatever. I love them. I not only notice the way people speak but how others react to them — both good and bad.

Then when I moved to France and became the one with the foreign accent, as I navigated daily life in small-town France, one thing became painfully clear: People have a lot of opinions about accents.

Now for the record, I have — and will always have — a foreign accent in French. Am I perfectly understandable? Yes. Do I sound French? Absolutely not. I don’t speak French with native level fluency like Tom, but I am fluent (two different things).

I actually think having a foreign accent in French is a good thing and is definitely NOT a defect in any way, shape, or form. I’ve written a ton about foreign accents over the years but never about what I’m going to discuss here specifically.

Now to get into the topic of today’s post, accent and fluency are two entirely different metrics, and conflating the two can lead to harmful assumptions—especially for non-native speakers who already face enough pressure.

Let me give you an example of what I mean about the “heaviness” of one’s accent vs. fluency:

I was in Florida visiting family when I was talking to a neighbor about a guy who was doing some landscaping work on their property. The neighbor said he does great work although he speaks “broken English” and is very hard to understand. 

The next day, I saw the guy out working in their yard and said hello just to be friendly. I was surprised that he struck up a conversation since I was expecting “broken English.” But we went on to have a conversation about plants and the lack of rain, and other small talk.

While this guy had a pretty heavy non-native accent in English, he understood everything I said, spoke completely naturally, had a good vocabulary and didn’t miss a beat. His English was near perfect and it was clear his English was far from being broken. He spoke with near-native fluency, despite having a heavy accent.

Contrast that with someone who may have a very light, easy-to-understand foreign accent in English but searches for words, makes a ton of mistakes, speaks very slowly, doesn’t understand everything you say, and doesn’t sound very natural.

Then there’s a huge spectrum between those two extremes. Like me… I have a moderate accent in French and am fluent but definitely not native level. 

Accent ≠ Fluency

Let’s clear something up right away, which is what I described above:

You can be highly fluent—even near-native—in a second language and still have a strong accent.

You can also have a light accent and be great at pronunciation and still struggle to string together sentences or follow a basic conversation. 

It’s entirely possible (and very common!) to meet:

* A person with a heavy accent, but whose vocabulary, grammar, idiomatic usage, and listening comprehension are incredibly strong. (Look up George Eddy, an American sports presenter and former basketball player here in France who I love) My French teacher at the Alliance Française had a HEAVY accent in English, so much so that I thought it was fake at first, but her English, both written and spoken, was impeccable and would put most native speakers to shame.

* A person with a mild accent, who speaks tentatively, searches for words constantly, or misunderstands half of what’s said, if they understand at all. But could read a line of text easily and be understood by pretty much everyone. My former SIL knew a dozen of words in English but couldn’t speak it, but if I asked her to repeat some sentences in English after me, she could mimic my accent scarily well.

The difference? One has strong linguistic competence. They’ve put in the time. The other has practiced phonetic mimicry—which, while impressive, isn’t the same as being fluent. Some of this is just easier for some than others. 

Why this happens

Accent is mostly a motor skill. It involves muscles, mouth positioning, rhythm, and sound production that are often deeply ingrained from early childhood.

If someone starts learning a language after puberty (and many of us do), it’s far less likely they’ll lose their native accent entirely—even if their fluency in that language becomes exceptionally strong.

By contrast, someone might be good at imitating sounds, especially if they’re musically inclined or have exposure to native accents, but they may not yet have the vocabulary, grammar foundation, or listening ability to truly use the language well.

The harm in misjudging people by their accent

There’s something deeply unfair—and frankly, ignorant—about automatically equating a strong accent with “broken” language skills. When people say things out of frustration like:

“Ugh, their English is so broken. I can barely understand them.”

That’s a you problem! Maybe it’s time to adjust your ears? Especially since you probably don’t speak their native language and they’ve put in the time to learn yours.

It’s one thing to politely say, “I’m not used to your accent. Could you please say that again for me?” and another thing entirely to rudely say their English is broken and be all bent out of shape about it.

Comments like this are usually reacting to an unfamiliar accent and NOT a lack of grammar or vocabulary.

I find this attitude to be the case with people who haven’t traveled much or encountered a wide variety of accents. Even if you are from a small town and don’t travel much, with today’s access to foreign TV shows and YT, I feel like it’s easy to expose yourself to a variety of accents.

But if not, there’s a kind way to clarify what is being said. One way will make the person feel terrible and the other is more respectful. “Your English is so broken. I can’t understand you!” versus “I’m not sure I understood. Could you please say that again a little slower please?”

And one more thing, for the love of all things holy, when you notice we have an accent, do NOT squint your eyes at us like that’s going to help you understand. 

But anyway, something else I’ve noticed is that people like my dad’s neighbor are monolingual and definitely haven’t ever studied another language themselves.

They don’t realize how hard it is to master a new sound system. Or how much courage it takes to speak a second language at all, let alone start a business—especially when someone might be silently judging your accent.

FYI, I’ll never sound French but my pronunciation is correct so people understand me and I’m rarely asked to repeat myself. I’m lucky that I’ve run into ignorant people very, very rarely with regard to my accent.

But I am triggered when I hear people speaking English with heavy non-native accents who are then treated badly by ignorant people.

I get defensive on other people’s behalves and you know you can count on the fact that I set the neighbor straight the next time I saw her. Hahha, you know me.

Anyway, it just takes time to get used to someone’s accent and way of speaking and there’s never any justification for rudeness.

Now if the accent is getting in the way of comprehension and it’s not an accent but more of a mispronunciation issue, then it’s absolutely something for the person to work on. But a foreign accent in and of itself isn’t something to be ashamed of or judge someone else for. Nor is it something to be nasty about. 

Let’s flip the perspective

If you’ve ever studied a foreign language — let’s use French for my examples — think about this:

* Would you want someone to assume your French was terrible just because you still say “rue” with an American “R”?

* Would you appreciate being corrected on your pronunciation at work while you’re explaining a complicated idea—in perfect French grammar in front of a big group?

* Would you be okay with someone calling your speech “broken” even though you read French newspapers, work in French, and socialize in French daily?

That’s exactly the experience many immigrants and non-native speakers face abroad, every single day. 

What we should really be listening for

Instead of focusing on how someone sounds, we should be asking:

* Can they express themselves clearly?
* Do they understand nuance and context?
* Can they navigate complex topics or real-life situations in the language?

Those are the real markers of fluency—not whether someone sounds exactly like you do.

Final thoughts

Having an accent doesn’t mean someone is less intelligent, less capable, or less fluent. It also doesn’t mean their speech is broken. It often just means they learned your language later in life.

So next time you hear someone speaking with a strong accent, pause before making assumptions. You might be listening to someone who is fluent in multiple languages, has overcome immense challenges, and thinks in ways you’ve never considered.

People deserve to be heard for what they say—not just how they say it.

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Have you experienced this sort of thing—either as a language learner or a native speaker? Drop your thoughts in the comments. 

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