Le Baron wrote:A 'bad' accent is admittedly never desirable, but there is a big gulf and continuum between 'bad accent' and 'sounding like a native/native-like', Think of all the people you know, famous or not, who have a good command of your native language or another one you know. Do you care about their accent? I barely think about it, I'm more charmed by the command and the accent is often a characteristic element.
I agree with this. I grew up in the northeastern US, and when I hear a foreign born person with a good command of English speak with a subtle or moderate accent, to my ears it adds character, not much different than when I hear a British accent or a southern drawl from other well spoken native English speakers. As an example, I recall Werner Herzog doing some amazing work as a narrator in his documentaries, and his accent did not detract from it at all, if anything it is arguably a beneficially distinguishing feature, at least in my opnion.
So I'd say striving for a good accent is probably ideal for most people. A goal of perfection, on the other hand, probably isn't worth the trouble in most cases.
