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From http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=94626

“The Americans tells the story of two Soviet KGB spies living undercover, as an all-American couple. In flashbacks to their late adolescent years in the USSR, we can hear them speak English with heavy Russian accents. Yet the Jenningses, the perfect couple, are somehow able to switch to flawless American English in the U.S. Could the language training they received as young adults in the USSR and the years spent in America be enough to rid them of any traces of a Russian accent, which does not slip out even in emotional moments? Common observation will probably tell you otherwise. Think of your own acquaintances, friends, or family. You might know someone who was immersed in another language from childhood and now can pass for a native. However, you probably also know many people who started learning a language at a later stage and never mastered a foreign accent, even after years spent in the target country. Is there any science behind this observation?”

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