I have been making mindfulness an explicit part of my accent training process for the past year or so. I’ve adapted a list of the five qualities of mindfulness from Ellen Langer’s book on Mindfulness and help my clients examine how they relate to changing their accents:
1. Openness to novelty. (You will experience new muscle movements, new awareness and use of breath, and you will hear yourself in a new way).
2. Alertness to distinction. (Begin to recognize the difference in the sounds you make and the sounds native English speakers make. Listen for differences among native English speakers, too).
3. Sensitivity to different contexts. (How does environment affect your speech choices? Others’ choices?)
4. Implicit or explicit awareness of multiple perspectives. (What do other people think of the way you speak? Can they understand you? How do they perceive you?)
5. Orientation in the present. (Be conscious of what your body is doing, and be conscious of how you sound).
