Looking for people's opinions on accents. I have unfortunately had numerous job turned down at the telephone interview stage, probably as they have thought that my English is not 'proper' (I have a pretty strong accent, which i can't really tone down).

Is there a problem with having a strong accent. I have met quite a few 'heavy' Irish and Scottish teaching ESL. Anyone else had a problem with accents and getting hired?

Have worked with a wide range of teachers with a wide array of accents. Depends on the country you are looking at working in.

You may find some countries prefer 'British' speaking English (e.g. Malaysia), while you may find others prefer 'American' speaking English (e.g. Phillipines).

You mean Strong accent. Accent is the variation of intonation of speech, slang means words that are in common use in a particular geographical area but not not used as much outside it. For example, some slangs in Australia are "chook" for "chicken", "barbie" for barbieque etc.

Get Neutral accent training, One that has no traces of influence from other accents..

Fortunately, I haven't had this problem for finding work. Personally, if I were to hire someone, I wouldn't judge based on the accent because an accent is not totally telling of the candidates abilities and skills. Sadly, there are people who immediately judge people based on their accents but then again you should ask yourself you'd like to work with these kinds of people in the first place right?