Language Learners' Perceptions of Accent

Abstract

This study analyzed the accent perceptions of a group of 37 English language learners and 10 American undergraduate students. Each subject listened to a one-minute passage read by four speakers with different accents of English: General American, British English, Chinese English, and Mexican English. Participants then attempted to identify the different accents and stated their preferences and opinions about each. They also provided background information, including reasons for studying English and pronunciation goals. Additionally, 11 participants were individually interviewed about the different accents. Although more than half (62%) of the learners stated that their goal was to sound like a native English speaker, only 29% were able to correctly identify the American accent. No strong correlations were found between the ability to identify accents and the amount of time spent in the United States nor time studying English. However, an almost perfect correlation was found between the accent voted easiest to understand and the one that participants preferred. The lack of consistency in identifying accents may refl ect an idealized conception of what the native accent aspired to actually sounds like. This fi nding and the priority placed on listening comprehension suggest a need for more thorough consideration of accent in ESOL programs. R ecently, the fi eld of TESOL has seen increasing interest in the role of English as an international language. One facet of this topic is

Examining Acculturation Model in an EFL Context: Learners’ Attitudes towards Target Language Accent vs. L1 Accent

“…These findings indicate that the participants wish to sound more native-like when speaking English. The results are consistent with the findings of Scales et al (2006) study. They found that the majority of the non-native speakers in their study stated that they tried to sound native-like.…”

“…In their study of the perceptions and attitudes of a group of 37 learners of English and 10 native American English speakers towards different accents of English (American, British, Chinese and Mexican), Scales et al (2006) found that over half of the participants preferred to sound like a native speaker although the majority were not able to identify the recordings of the accents presented to them. Scales et al (2006) conclude that accent is supposed to receive more consideration in language teaching.…”

“…In their study of the perceptions and attitudes of a group of 37 learners of English and 10 native American English speakers towards different accents of English (American, British, Chinese and Mexican), Scales et al (2006) found that over half of the participants preferred to sound like a native speaker although the majority were not able to identify the recordings of the accents presented to them. Scales et al (2006) conclude that accent is supposed to receive more consideration in language teaching. This was the focus of another study carried out by McGee (2009) who examined the attitudes of the students of English at the British Council, Penang towards their ability to comprehend various recordings of different English accents as well as their feelings concerning those accents and towards the use of Malaysian English.…”

Teachability and Learnability of English Pronunciation Features for Vietnamese-Speaking Learners

“…Others have since then looked at various ways of ranking pronunciation targets. Scales et al, for example looked at learners' preferences, and found that learners preferred more intelligible accents (Scales et al 2006). Others (unsurprisingly) have also found that listeners prefer speech that is intelligible to them (Burda and Hageman 2005;Kennedy and Trofimovich 2008;Munro and Derwing 1995;Volberg et al 2006).…”

Pronunciation for the Arab Learners of EFL: Planning for Better Outcomes

“…Karen Earline Schairer (1992) native speaker reaction to non native speech; Vivian Cook (1999) studied the appropriateness of the models in language use set by the native users ina mixed classroom; Marnie Reed's research of year 2000 examines the occurrence of hesitation in spontaneous speech of native and non native speakers; Roy C. Major et al (2002) examined the effects of non native accents on listening comprehension and stuied their implications for ESL assessment; Mary Grantham O'Brien (2004) enumerated upon the significance of pronunciation in an article aptly titles 'Pronunciation Matters';John M. Levis (2005) studied the changing contexts and shifting paradigms in pronunciation teaching; Nico C. Sifakis and Areti Maria Sougari (2005) studied the teachers' viewpoint on pronunciation specific issues and the possible links between pronunciation teaching, English as an international language, and the socio cultural identity of non native speakers of English. The 'native speaker myth' was studied by Paula Golombek and Stefanie Rehn Jordan (2005) studied the aspects of intelligibility and identity; A variety of English accents were the subject of the study carried out by Julie Scales et al (2006) where they studied the language learners' perception of accent; Deyuan He and Qunying Zhang (2010) worked on native speaker norms and China English, from the perspective of learners and teachers in China.…”