copying regional accents to learn to understand them

[sfuqua]

Many (most?) languages have regional accents.
To reach a high level of listening comprehension, you reach a point where these accents are transparent.
Has anybody tried copying different regional accents as a way to become familiar with the way they sound?
Was it useful?

[tarvos]

I've found that their transparency increases with exposure. However I've never mimicked any on purpose unless I also lived in that area (hence the notable erhuayin in my Mandarin, the clearly northern Spanish accent, and the Canadian-influenced English)

[reineke]

What she said.

[smallwhite]

Many (most?) languages have regional accents.
To reach a high level of listening comprehension, you reach a point where these accents are transparent.
Has anybody tried copying different regional accents as a way to become familiar with the way they sound?
Was it useful?

To try to copy the regional accent, you'll have to first listen to it for a bit. How can you tell if the improvement was from the listening to the accent or from your own speaking the accent?