Mastering EFL Pronunciation in North Macedonia and Poland: A Quantitative Questionnaire Approach

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of the mastering of EFL pronunciation among 144 students of English studies in North Macedonia (n=34) and Poland (n=110) by means of a questionnaire consisting of: 23 scalar judgments and 4 closed questions. The responses to the questions provide information on: the best place to study pronunciation, the preferred English accent, the types of communication problems and the general awareness of the informants' own pronunciation problems. The results of the judgments confirm a very traditional approach to the notion of accent in a FL in which close proximity to a native speaker norm is regarded as an ideal and passing for a native-speaker is aspired to. These findings shed some light on university students' phonetic priorities and might be significant for teachers of phonetics in these two European countries and beyond them.

The dynamic role of the English language in contemporary Poland

“…Growing research has examined EFL learners’ and teachers’ beliefs about ‘native speakers' and attitudes toward Inner Circle Englishes. A recurring finding in the literature has been that teachers and learners of English in Poland overwhelmingly target Inner Circle norms (Mystkowska‐Wiertelak & Bielak, 2014; Nowacka, 2022; Paciorkowski, 2022a; Szymańska‐Tworek, 2021; Szymańska‐Tworek & Sycz‐Opoń, 2020). Research has also suggested that teachers and learners of English tend to strongly believe in the traditional division between ‘native' and ‘non‐native speakers’ (Mystkowska‐Wiertelak & Bielak, 2014).…”

“…Both groups also tend to equate Inner Circle Englishes—especially British English—with sounding more professional, intelligible, credible and with being more competitive on the job market (Paciorkowski, 2022a; Szymańska‐Tworek & Sycz‐Opoń, 2020). Furthermore, some Polish pre‐service teachers have expressed negative attitudes toward English used by Polish speakers, explaining that Polish English sounds ‘harsh', ‘incorrect' and even ‘stupid’ (Nowacka, 2022, pp. 57, 63).…”