Effects of degree of accentedness in lecturers’ Dutch-English pronunciation on Dutch students’ attitudes and perceptions of comprehensibility

Abstract

Few studies on evaluations of non-native English (NNE) accents by non-native listeners have taken into account degrees of accentedness. This study investigated the perception of moderately and slightly accented English by NNE in an educational context. Eight male speakers recorded two fragments of a lecture in English or Dutch. Experts determined the degree of accentedness of the speakers (moderate, slight, native). In an online questionnaire, 163 Dutch students evaluated the fragments. The moderately accented instructors were evaluated as less comprehensible than slightly accented and native instructors. The Dutch and English fragments were considered equally comprehensible. The moderately accented instructors were regarded less positively than the slightly accented and native English instructors. Slightly accented instructors were evaluated as more likeable than the native English instructors and the instructors in the native Dutch fragments. In conclusion, degrees of accentedness in English influence NNE listeners' attitudinal evaluations.

Where does a ‘foreign’ accent matter? German, Spanish and Singaporean listeners’ reactions to Dutch-accented English, and standard British and American English accents

“…[40][41][42][43]. Such assumptions have to some extent been confirmed by Hendriks, van Meurs and Hogervorst [24]. They found significantly more negative speech understanding evaluations by Dutch students' when a lecture was taught by a lecturer with a strong Dutch English accent compared with a lecturer with a slight Dutch English accent, or a lecturer teaching in Dutch.…”

“…Hendriks, van Meurs and Hogervorsts' [24] findings, and the other anecdotal negative perceptions in the Netherlands of Dutch-accented English [40][41][42][43][44], might be taken to reflect a general language norm in Dutch society based on the view that proficiency as an L2 English speaker is only truly achieved when a speaker's language skills match those of an L1 English speaker. This corresponds with the traditional SLA perspective.…”

“…A considerable number of studies have researched the degree to which speech is (perceived to be) understood [e.g. 24,[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]. Most have assessed understanding in terms of a single distinct level of understanding speech, for example, through orthographic transcription [e.g.…”

“…enthusiastic, proactive) [e.g. 24,27,28,61,62]. At the same time, other studies have shown that L2 (and L1) speakers of English tend to ascribe speakers of L2 English lower status (e.g.…”

“…Even though there has been some research on the effects of and attitudes towards L1 and L2 English varieties [e.g. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35], more knowledge is required on the responses to different varieties of English in order for learners, but also teachers, to navigate the new linguistic reality of an LFE speech community in which multiple varieties of English co-exist.…”