What’s the purpose of Fredrick’s talking with Professor Johnson?

W: Come in!
M: Hi, Professor Johnson! Do you have a minute?
W: Fredrick! Come in.
M: I like your new office!
W: Thanks! It’s much nicer than my old one... What can I do for you?
M: Well... er... I’d like to talk about my English.
W: Your English is great! You were my top student last semester. How’s your new listening and speaking class with Professor Simmons?
M: He’s a good teacher, alright... but, I’m worried about my classmates.
W: Your classmates?
M: I mean... my classmates are from all different countries. I’m afraid that if I talk with them during group work, I’ll pick up their accents.
W: I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you. There’s no way you can pick up a different accent just from being in class a few hours a week.
M: Really?
W: Really! Just think of all the English you’re exposed to every day here in the United States. You listen to the radio, you watch TV, you talk with your American friends, you chat with people in stores... Most of the English you hear is American English. You’re only with your classmates a couple of hours a day. That’s not going to affect your accent.
M: Are you sure?
W: Positive! Let me give you an example... Umm... say you have a mother from Germany living in the United States. Let’s say she has a child here. Even if the mother speaks English with a German accent, her child will still grow up speaking American English. Why? Because the child’s getting language from lots of other places, not just the mother. It’s the same for your situation.
M: I understand your example about the child... but I think children learn language differently than adults.
W: Actually you’re right. It isn’t exactly the same because children can actually learn accents. Their minds and bodies are much more flexible than ours, so it’s easier for them. For adults who are studying a foreign language, accent is one of the hardest things to improve. In fact, most adults never lose their native accents.
M: So does that mean I’ll never sound like a native speaker.
W: Unfortunately that’s probably true.
M: Hmmm... that makes me wonder if I should take that pronunciation class that I signed up for next semester. Since I’ll never sound like a native speaker, maybe I don’t need the class.
W: I wouldn’t look at it that way. In a pronunciation class, there are still important things that you can learn.
M: Like what, for example?
W: Like things that will make your speech clearer-things such as stress, rhythm, and intonation.
M: I’m sorry. I don’t know what these are.
W: Let me give you an example... Umm... OK.. Today, when I was calling on students in my speaking class, I noticed that one of my students was absent. I asked the class why Sylvia hadn’t shown up,... and one student said, "Professor, I talked to her this morning and she is homesick." When I heard the word "homesick," I immediately thought that Sylvia was missing her home country and was too depressed to come to school. So I starred asking more questions... Was she sad? Did she want to leave the United States to return home? After a few minutes. I realized that Sylvia was at home sick. She just had a bad cold. The student who was telling me about Sylvia said "homesick" instead of "home sick."
M: Oh! He said the words with the wrong... how do you say it... er...
W: The wrong stress. The problem was that the student put the stress on the wrong syllable. Problems like this are things that you study in a pronunciation class... And these are really important because if you get them wrong, there can be big misunderstandings.
M: Like what happened in your class.
W: Exactly! If you use correct stress when you speak, people will usually be able to understand you even if you have a different accent. For example, if someone had an Indian accent he might say... "She is home sick"... or if the person was from England he would say... "She is home sick."
M: Or if the person was from Australia he would say...
W: "She is home sick"! Were you able to understand all these different accents?
M: Yes! I’m surprised!
W: That’s because the stress was the same.
M: But even if I can understand different accents, aren’t there some accents that are better than others? I’ve heard people say that a British accent is better than an American accent.
W: Well, from my point of view—and most language teachers would agree—there’s no such thing as a "best" accent. Today, there are so many different kinds of English accents around the world. Saying that one accent is "better" or "worse" than another is like saying that one country or group of people is "better" or "worse" than another one. We can’t compare them that way—they’re just different.
M: I guess you’re right... Uh oh... it’s getting late. I have to check out a book from the library before class, so I’d better get going. Thanks for your advice. I’ll think over what you said.