I hope this would help you.
It's right to say that one should have to practice, practice, and practice if you wish to eliminate your strong native accent. This might take some time, of course but most importantly, I think, is to know how and what to practice with.
Since we are not native English speakers, we need time to hear some people with the type of accent we want to follow. Either you wish to have an American, British, or whatever accent you wish to imitate. Some may say that the best accent and most understandable is the neutral accent used by CNN newscasters. But regardless the type, we still need to practice.
What I did with this, is to first determine the type of accent that I would be imitating. I chose the American accent. And then I picked a tape recording with someone lecturing in English. I played that tape again, and again, and again, and again... This will familiarize you with his accent, "So that's how Americans speak." And then I copied ALL that he was saying and tried to say it with him. I was really detailed about his, copying every sounds, words, everything... everything!!! I make sure I would sound like the speaker all the time. Of course, I couldn't copy his voice and accent completely but my accent was neutralized.
And here goes the tip... Practice, practice, and practice... Do this everyday, every time possible...
I work in an on-line tutorial company...teaching English to Asians.
One of my students told me that he had an American teacher in school... and that he(American) sounds just like I do. "I flew to seventh heaven that day."
All the best!!!
