You guys are the last few native English speakers on the earth who still regard the English accent, the English nativeness, this and that level, sounding a native speaker important/vital! Guys, let me remind you of the fact that the year is 2010! And you still tend to be busy with the above mentioned points! You may find it saddening, but today no non-native English speaker cares what their accent/level is and how good their pronunciation is! Hundreads of millions of Indian, Chineses, Japanese, Russian, Arabs and more speak terrible (yes, terrible!) English in every respect, but they don´t care simply because neither they nor their trading English and American partners have time to take care of this since nowadays only the ability for basic communication counts - that´s why this basic communication has become enough for a Dubaian Arab to trade with an British/American trader or for a Turkish resort worker to put a blonde British into the bed! Don´t expect the blonde British to care of the resort worker´s accent or his english nativeness level!

I have nothing against anyone with any type of English accent and I certainly would never expect anyone to change their accent.  We are who we are.  This does not mean that I have to like the sound of every accent in England.  Some accents don´t sound as nice as others but I´m not stupid enough to judge a person by their accent. I also mentioned that I don´t like the sound of my own voice!

Many members on this site don´t have English as their first language and I´m in awe of them.  Firstly because I haven´t got the same level of skill in French or Turkish and secondly because their level of English is higher than many "native" English speakers I come across on other forums. 

You are wrong, there are non native English speakers who DO care about their competence when it comes to speaking and writing English.  They never stop wanting to learn more, even when they have reached a more than functional level.  My friend´s daughter is a Turkish civil engineer, currently studying for her Masters and she needed to attain a certain level of English in order to get on the course.  I think it is standard procedure in Turkey, to take a test for English competency before being accepted for study at Masters level. On occasion I receive texts from Turkey, asking for advice on points of grammar or the meaning of a word because friends work in international situations and they want their correspondence to be perfect.  Turkishcobra is another member here who takes a pride in his language skills.  There is nothing wrong with this.  What I witness here is many people working hard to learn Turkish and also English.  I wish I had the same tenacity when it comes to learning a language. 

You are right, there are many that don´t care.  That´s their own personal view on what is right for them in their situation.

Horses for courses.

I´ve read many a discussion here too, amongst Turkish translators, regarding the nuances of Turkish.  Language does matter to people, whatever language it is, especially when it´s being taught.  When I´m with my Turkish friends I feel duty bound to be on my best behaviour when speaking, because I´m setting an example for them.  I just wish they would speak Turkish so that I could learn more quickly!

btw . . . You also have an excellent level of English.

Peacetrain and LiR - does saying that you like Geordie mean you actually understand it? Wow! That´s impressive.

Poles speaking English use "F" instead of "TH" in think, however, they´re more likely to replace th with "V" or "D" when saying there. The Irish never bother to pronounce "th" and go for "t." The word whose pronunciation always makes me smile is "thirty" pronounced in a thick Irish bog accent - it sounds like "torty"

As for Gezegen´s English - it is unbelievable. I still remember what it was like 4 years ago. Gezegen is a person full of surprises and I´ve always admired his motivation, intellect and all the effort he made to learn English like this over such a short period of time.

For my part, I was referring to how I like to hear people from the North East speak,  It´s like music to my ears.  Whether I understand all of it is another matter.  It´s more the accent rather than the dialect that I was talking about.  A salesman from Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesborough or close by could sell me anything

I think most nationalities may have a problem with certain pronunciations in other languages and I think it adds character.

Turkish people identify me as  English as soon as they see me!  Sometimes they ask if I´m German but in the main they say I "look" English.

Neither do I. Like me, I think many Turks don´t seem to bother themselves with it either.

Thirty - törti (Turkish orthography)

Them - dem

etc.

Dutch people of an older generation tend to say "s" instead of "th"... it irritates the hell out of me Even the host of the tv show "dancing with the stars" says "dancing wis de stars."

also Germans, and no need to be of an older generation

for example:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=125031520866702

lightning is the bolt of electricity from the sky that can strike you dead

lightENing is the act of making something lighter less dark or less heavy 

Is this what makes you say it?