The English People I’ve Met

“The English people…”

I once had dinner at the House of Commons in Westminster and met someone unforgettable.

He’d been running the dining room there for more than twenty years—through countless Prime Ministers and political dramas. His English sounded unmistakably Vietnamese; hear a few sentences and you’d peg him as Saigon-born. His Vietnamese? Pure District 1, no accent drift at all.

Naturally I assumed he was Vietnamese. Maybe he’d worked his way up and landed this role in Parliament? Nope. He’s British—Vietnamese mother, English father. Born in Việt Nam in the early 1950s, he lived there until 1975, then moved back to England. That means over twenty years speaking Vietnamese daily. His dad spoke Vietnamese too. When the family returned to the UK he basically relearned English from scratch—just like any other learner.

I share this for one reason: accent is not the deciding factor. What matters is whether people understand you and whether you achieve your purpose. The rest comes down to soft skills—professionalism, warmth, the way you handle conversations. Those are what help you succeed anywhere.

Sure, pronounce clearly enough to be understood; otherwise you’ll end up miming instead of communicating. But don’t obsess over perfect accent.

In fact, many free English courses for newcomers to the UK spend more time on interaction norms than phonetics. You learn to answer even when you’re unsure, because staying silent (as we often do in Vietnamese classrooms) is considered rude. You practise small talk so conversations feel friendly instead of abrupt.

So if you’re studying English to travel, study, or work abroad, spend your hours wisely. Invest more in communication skills than in polishing a “prestige accent.” Sounding flawless but stiff—like a “moving bouquet”—doesn’t help you connect.