I didn't think that my accent would be a concern
English

I didn't think that my accent would be a concern

by

language learning
daily life

I work in a kindergarten in Germany as part of a cultural program call "Bundesfreiwilligendienst". This program is actually for young people, who recently graduated from school, with the purpose to offer them the possibility to see and to participate in a working environment. But I am not either 18 years old or German. I'm a twenty-something who holds a psychology degree and a bunch of short work experiences.

I emigrated to Germany 18 months ago with the goal to learn the language and find a job. Until this moment I would say that I am doing pretty well: my certificate C1 (advance level that let you study in a university) is almost done and I started to have jobs interviews. But the kids in the kindergarten are making fun of me due to my accent. They are only children and I am the adult. I shouldn't pay attention to their comments but it simply hurts me.

Before coming to Germany I had never worried about sound like a native speaker either talking in English or in German. Last year I worked as an Au-Pair (international babysistter) nearby Frankfurt and I didn't receive the kind of jokes that I am receiving right now although my German was far more rudimentary. I have to say that this kindergarten is in the countryside of Germany and I am probably the first foreign that those kids know.

I trying to take this situation as an inspiration to improve my pronunciation. I hope it works.

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