Imagine an Englishman trying to speak like an American, an Australian trying to speak like an Englishman, a Kenyan trying to sound English, and Indians trying to sound either English or American. There's something inherently wrong with these pictures and we find these a little uncomfortable at the least. My thinking is you have to improve your verbal skills and expressive capabilities when it comes to language learning. Making yourself understandable in a place you live in is important. Pronunciation is important and so enunciating the word correctly and stressing words at the right syllable are two important things in verbal English. You can always listen to books on tapes to get used to listening and to learn how to pronounce words correctly. Fluency comes with practice. Talking to people and being aware of whether or not they are actually following you is one most important step you can take. Don't burden yourself with trying to sound American. Would you like to sound like an Easterner or a Southerner or a black guy from the East or the South or what has been described as an "accentless" American? Americans with Italian heritage may sound different than Americans with Irish heritage for instance. My point is the way you talk is part of your identity. There's no need to be ashamed of who you are. Trying to cover yourself up because you are ashamed of your true identity is a wrong thing to do. Having said that being able to make yourself understand is a very important thing and you should work on it in various ways throughout your life.