As an accent reduction specialist in New York City and New Jersey , I am occasionally asked by students whether learning English better will harm their ability to speak their native tongue . I usually make my point by way of analogy: if you are good at calculus, you can also be good at composition; learning one subject well does not negate the ability to learn others equally as well.

In fact, as Susan Talhouk points out in her speech above, perfecting your mother tongue can enhance your ability to speak a second language . By expanding your ability to express yourself in your native language , you expand your vocabulary base, and thus the possibility for an expanded vocabulary in your second language . The same applies to sounds. Most languages share a core set of sounds , so by learning the specific sounds of your native tongue well, you increase the likelihood of pronouncing the sounds of your second language accurately.

So don’t be daunted by the prospect of being bilingual ! Excellence in more than one language is possible .

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