托的’s blog on language and the ensuing discussion make some interesting points. It reminds me of my personal experience of learning English.
When I first learned to speak English in the mid 1980s, I tried hard to imitate the American accent. Back then, the only resource (and a very good one) was the Voice of America. I started with Special English, a program targeting beginners using a small set of words and broadcast very slowly but clearly. To this day, I still think this is the best resource for English pronunciation. I was lucky to find it as early as I did. I loved to listen to programs such as Words and Their Stories, the American Mosaic. Words and Their Stories are made up of stories about American slangs. The American Mosaic depicts life and social phenomena in the US. Not only did I learn many English words through these programs, but I also, as a boy in a faraway nation who is strongly interested in the American culture, got a close and vivid look at what it was like to live in America. While there were other controversies on VOA offerings, as an English learner, I am greatly appreciative of the English programs it broadcast. I am glad to see now it all the programs available online. With the convenience of listening to it any time anywhere, today’s English learners probably cannot picture what it was like for me to wait on a certain time, search through the noises on a short-wave radio on countless nights, and the joy of discovering the most authentic pronunciation.
Thank you, VOA.