Accents when speaking a foreign tongue

[Gandalf]

I don't hear any American in songs like For No One, She's Leaving Home, Eleanor Rigby, or Let it Be. McCartney is very English except when he thinks he is Little Richard. Suede, Morrissey, Sleeper, Blur, Syd Barrett etc, are all very English in their sound.

Language is a funny one Tito. It definitely gets harder if you learn late, but it can always be worked on. I think a lot of it depends on how you have learned. If you have experienced a lot of Grammar Translation instruction with little focus on communication it is hard and that often happens when one is geared towards passing vocab and grammar based tests. People can know a lot, but find it hard to express themselves and sound way off too. You need a balanced approach to learning. Pronunciation can always be worked on, but someone like Kovalev is always going to have an accent. However, I don't think it matters so much as long as he speaks with clarity. Heck, try understanding some people from Newcastle or parts of Scotland. I have no idea sometimes.