What is the best way to learn English?

What is the best way to learn an English accent?

• Hi, I currently need to learn an English accent for a part I'm playing. I understand there are several different English/British accents; I believe the one I want is SBS, or Standard British South. What is the best way to learn an accent? Basically every site I've looked at says either move to the UK, or watch films with British/English accents. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks!

• Answer:

  Well, for accent you want, some people say you should try to speak as if you have a plum in your throat. Also remember to pronounce every letter (especially your Ts in the middle of words), with the exception of the letter R. Only pronounce the r when it comes before a vowel, so if you say "car", you don't pronounce it, but if you say "the car is...", then you do pronounce the R. Whenever there is an A sound before an S, F or TH sound it is long, so "ahfter", "lahst" and "bahth", rather than after, last and bath. Generally, whenever you hear the accent being spoken (Hugh Grant and Pierce Brosnan when he plays Bond are good people to copy, don't copy American actors), listen very carefully to every sound, and make notes on how they pronounce each one (vowels in particular). It is also helpful to get a British dictionary which gives information on how each word is pronounced. Finally, look out for words that are pronounced completely differently in the UK e.g. "premier" has a stress on the last syllable, "data" rhymes with "later", and "schedule" is "shed-you-uhl". American actors often slip up with these words.