[bane]

In some cases it does. There are accents, even among English-as-a-first-language speakers that are almost unintelligible.

For example, many Americans struggle to understand the kind of English accent used by some recent immigrants from India -- immigrants who by and large speak perfect English.

Grammar might be perfect, but thick accents can be a tremendous impedance to communication.

In these cases it can be even worse since the speaker knows they're speaking correctly, but just can't make themselves understood, even in basic conversations. Accent training is the perfect and only solution.

[chetanahuja]

Nothing against your general point but...

even among English-as-a-first-language speakers...

kind of English accent used by some recent immigrants from India

Those two statements don't work together. Almost nobody in India speaks English as a first language.

Well, I'll refine that statement a bit. There are, in fact, families in India who speak a lot of English in day-to-day situations. This works both as a status symbol as well as a tremendous advantage in the professional world. But I'll bet these are not the people whose accents you'd have trouble understanding. Kids from such backgrounds usually grow up watching a lot of American/British TV/movies and are usually able to operate fluently in an international (not just American) English speaking environment.

[raverbashing]

Correct. Let me add Ireland as a good example of that as well

[draugadrotten]

I often get to translate what my Brisbane colleagues are saying to my Seattle colleagues. I'm from Europe and not a native English speaker. I suppose it makes me more indifferent to thick accents. However, Danish accents are too severe even for me.