I came to Boston three years ago with a heavy British accent. Acquiring that accent took quite a bit of time spent in England and around the British, taking phonetics classes and honing my accent and vocabulary until I had it all down.
Then it turned out that my accent was no good in the States as I had to say everything three times before people were able (and willing) to understand me. Three weeks into being here I ran out of patience and decided to change my accent - which I thought was NEVER going to happen. I'm hanging in there, accent wise, but still can't believe myself when I hear myself talking to Bostonians. So this goes out to all the people who share this experience, and to all those Britons and speakers of other Englishes, who are having a hard time communicating. All you need in order to join this group is a solid commitment to the Queen's English (and maybe eating spotted dick) - that's all. I will also offer to convert speakers of American English to speakers of the Beautiful English. Joining this group will add at least 60 IQ points to your intelligence, and will make you popular with the ladies - so if this sounds interesting to you - sign up today!