In one sentence, describe what the following article is about:

These quizzes are not only interesting, they can show you a number of regionally-specific terms for everyday objects or activities. Knowing these highly specific terms will help you to avoid them, and, thus, avoid sounding particularly "southern."  The New York Times dialect survey is a popular quiz and uses mostly vocabulary to place your dialect.   If you’re looking for a wider variety of accents, there are a number of surveys and quizzes  on worldwide accents, as well as varieties of English. While music DJs on the radio are trained speakers, they often use the regional dialect associated with their audience. Instead, listen to programs that are broadcast nationally, as those hosts practice speaking in a more neutral, and conversational, dialect. National news stations, like CNN, MSNBC, FOXNews, have anchors and hosts who have had significant training in modification of their speech patterns. They speak clearly and with engaging enunciation, and are a good model of standard American English dialects.  Watching the news anchors speak also provides you the opportunity to watch the way these trained speakers form the words with their mouths. Documentary television channels with voice overs, like the History Channel, NatGeo, and Animal Planet, are also good options, as the narrators are often trained actors. The most powerful influence on your accent comes from your peers in everyday interactions, so the more you listen and respond, the more confident you’ll be in both knowing the sounds of a neutral American accent, and also speaking with one. If you’re going on a long drive, of if you have some down time, you might find it helpful to simply listen to someone read in a standard American accent. You can control the subject by choosing a text in your area of interest, and you’ll be exposed to higher-quality vocabulary, even in simpler books.  Choose texts that relate to the area of your life that a modified accent will be of benefit, such as your career. Consider choosing a text about accent modification, so that you’ll have the double-exposure of a neutral accent and information on modifying your own. Audio book narrators are often trained actors who know how to speak clearly and in standard American accents, as well as other dialects. Listening to them as they read a book can be both enjoyable and informative, especially if the text includes multiple dialects and accents. Several texts on accent modification are available as audiobooks, and include practice exercises to do while listening.

Summary:
Take an online dialect quiz. Listen to radio stations and news programs that use a more neutral American accent. Watch informational television shows. Engage in conversations with friends or co-workers. Ask a friend with a neutral accent to read aloud to you. Listen to an audiobook.