The Effect of Use of Native-accent and Non-native Accent Materials on the Iranian EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension: An EIL Perspective

Abstract

The present study sought to investigate the differential effect of using nativeaccent and non-native accent materials on the Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' listening comprehension. To this purpose, 60 primary EFL Iranian learners participated in the study. The participants were randomly divided into a control group (N=30) and an experimental group (N=30). First, a Quick Placement Test which consisted of vocabulary, grammar, and reading items was administered in order to ensure the homogeneity of participants. As the intervention of the study, the control group was provided with the listening materials accompanied by the use of their native-accent audio files, whereas the experimental group was exposed to the same listening tasks and materials which were pronounced by the nonnative teacher. The experimental intervention lasted for six forty-minute sessions. To collect the data, the listening component of Pearson Test of English General (PTE General) was used as the pre-test and the post-test to measure listening comprehension of the participants. The results indicated that using non-native accent listening materials was more effective than using native-accent materials in enhancing listening comprehension of the EFL learners. These findings were discussed in the light of English as an International Language (EIL) debate and the theory of inter-language speech intelligibility benefit.

Speak like a Native English Speaker or Be Judged: A Scoping Review

“…In total, 60 articles were examined to investigate the impacts of speaking with a non-native English accent, which were categorized into three aspects: (i) affective impact [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]; (ii) behavioral impact [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]; and (iii) cognitive impact [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71…”

“…Although the scarcity of subject specialists to teach English at school affected students’ speaking skills [ 23 ], learners have a higher chance of comprehension speech with non-native English teachers who spoke with an accent [ 21 ]. In listening lessons, utilizing materials with non-native English accents is more effective than native accent resources in facilitating learners’ listening comprehension [ 26 ]. Moreover, significant correlation exists between linguistic insecurities by NNEST and their learners’ writing and speaking performance, suggesting that accent does not impede learning at school [ 22 ].…”

An Investigation into English Language Teaching Textbooks Used at Medical Sciences Universities: Implications for Educational Justice

“…Numerous studies have been conducted on the evaluation of education programs and materials particularly in the field of English language teaching. These studies have compared the existing teaching resources which have been mainly developed to be used at a single university from the perspective of students and teachers (Karami & Lohran Poor, 2020;Maleki & Kazemi, 2012;Saharkhiz Arabani, Fathi, & Balalaei Somehsaraei, 2019). Maleki and Kazemi (2012), for instance, compared Medical Terminology (MT) (Cohen, 2008) and English for the Students of Medicine (II) (Tahririan & Mehrabi, 1994), which are used as English language resources at some medical universities.…”

Indonesian Efl Postgraduate Students' Perception Toward Accent in Listening Comprehension

“…However, acquiring good listening skill is still a challenge. Saharkhiz Arabani et al, (2019) explored the effect of native-speaker and non-native-speaker accent listening skill materials toward Iranian EFL learners and they stated L2 learners found non-native speaker accent improved their listening comprehension compared to the native-speaker accent. Furthermore, due to the prevalent issue with accent, a new case in which it discusses the inclusion of a variety of accents has been brought up recently.…”