How to Choose Accent Model Video Clips

on YouTube and Beyond

by Pamela Vanderway

YouTube can be a great resource for locating the kind of targeting materials that you need to develop an authentic new accent for a project, but it’s easy to get a little lost in all of the options.

Below are guidelines to help you select the most effective Accent Model Videos.

Select video clips that:

  • Are right for your needs (There are many variations of accents. Use script analysis or thoughtfully take into account your acting career.)

  • Demonstrate the speaker communicating in their own everyday accent. (Not acting in a role using another accent.)

  • Have the camera focused on the Accent Model most of the time.

  • Have the Accent Model framed close up, facing the camera. (You will need to closely observe their face and mouth as part of learning the accent.)

  • Are free from background noises like music or crowd noises.

  • Include the speaker speaking at a fairly slow pace.

  • Are at least one minute long.

  • Are interesting to you in some other way. (You will be listening to these clips for quite some time. It’s best to make it enjoyable listening!)

  • It’s not always possible, but is useful to select an Accent Model who has a large presence on the internet so that if need be, you can refer to extra footage.

Some search terms to use within YouTube are:

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the word ‘local.’ So for example if you were looking for a Parisian accent, you might search for ‘Paris local’

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the word ‘governor’ or ‘town hall’

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the word ‘storyteller.’

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the word ‘native.’

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the word ‘actor.’

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the word ‘priest’ ‘preacher’ ‘rabbi’ ‘imam’ etc.

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the word mother

  • The name of a place where this accent tends to occur plus the words ‘accent challenge.’

To search for high-profile actors etc. who are being interviewed while using their own everyday accent:

  • Start on Google and search for ‘Actors from’ or ‘famous people from’ plus the name of a place associated with the accent you are researching.

  • Once you have selected a person to investigate further on YouTube, search within YouTube for their name plus ‘interview’

  • Keep in mind that the most viewed videos tend to be highest in the search returns, but that these same videos might not have the best qualities for accent model purposes. Skip down to videos that are several pages down and you may find what you need!

Expert Tips:

  • Keep careful notes on Accent Model leads. Assume this is a document that you will keep as reference for the rest of your career. Don’t take any shortcuts. Make your notes easy for ‘future you’ to understand.

  • For each accent variation that you research, make a document that includes as much of the following information as possible about each accent model. (The first four are the most important. The others are great to have, but you may not be able to collect these for every video.)

  1. Title of the video as it appears on YouTube*

  2. Link to the video*

  3. Name of the YouTube account the video is from

  4. What you find interesting / useful about the video accent-wise*

  5. Accent Model’s name if possible

  6. Time stamps for any great example of their accent

  7. Additional notes such as how to contact this person if need be, or the fact that they are vlogger who has tons of content etc.

  • Pay attention to the sources you find. As you do your research, you may find that you run across people who are demonstrating accents or discussing accents rather than just speaking in their own accents. It’s fine to collect this information as supplement to your Accent Model search, but don’t rely on it as your primary source. The internet is full of well-meaning but terrible examples of ‘how to learn an accent’ videos.


  • When you find a video of interest, be sure to visit the YouTube account that published it. Are there more videos there that you can use? Check out their ‘about’ section. Is there a way to contact the person that appears in the video? Does the about section include information about exactly where this person is from? Or does the account interview a lot of people from the same geographical area or social group? If so, add these bits of information to your notes!


  • The videos you select will become the materials you will use to study as you master your new accent, so don’t rush the process. Plan for ample opportunities to do this research. Search 30 minutes per day for a week if you have that luxury in your schedule.


  • Not all of the videos that you run across and find interesting will be used in learning your current accent, but you can count on needing to modify that accent in the future, so be sure to hang onto the research you do here!


I hope these tips give you all you need to find the best accent model for your project or career purposes.

Please let me know if I may help further.

— Pamela Vanderway

*Please note that the above is copyright Pamela Vanderway and Entertainment Linguistics LLC, 2019.

All rights reserved.

For permission to duplicate or share, write to support@dialectcoaches.com