Verbal Guise Test: Problems and Solutions

Chan, Ka Long Roy

doi:10.20935/al1493

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The most distinctive difference between VGT and MGT is that VGT uses different speakers instead of one bilingual or multilingual speaker to produce the recordings [1]. Because VGT allows speakers to use their first language, thus the unnaturalness issue can be overcome [5].…”

Section: Language Attitude Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chinese Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards English Accents in an English-Medium Instruction Context

Xiang¹

2022

Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research

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In response to the criticisms of the standardization of English caused by globalization, notions of World English and English as a lingua franca have been developed, emphasizing the co-existence of different English varieties. This has caused changes in non-native speakers' attitudes towards English accents, especially in the English-medium instruction (EMI) context where the two notions are widely introduced. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate Chinese EMI learners' attitudes towards English accents. Questionnaires and interviews were utilized to examine 50 Chinese EMI undergraduates' preferences of different English accents and their attitudes towards their own accents. The results showed that when intelligibility was considered, most students perceived native English accents more positively and showed relatively negative attitudes towards nonnative ones, which were more likely to hinder intelligibility. Although nearly half of the participants were satisfied with their accents, more than half still aspired to native-like accents. However, some students reported an attitude change caused by EMI and believed that attaining a native-like accent was unnecessary as long as the accent was intelligible. Accordingly, some implications can be provided for English as a second language (ESL) teaching, such as promoting EMI application and emphasizing intelligibility when teaching speaking.

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Section: Language Attitude Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chinese Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards English Accents in an English-Medium Instruction Context

Xiang¹

2022

Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research

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“…VGT is a modification of the classic MGT (matched guise technique) in that it uses multiple speakers to provide sound recordings of either read or spontaneous speech instead of only one bilingual speaker usually reading a prepared text in their native varieties. Although VGT has received some criticism (see Chan 2021), it has made its way into modern studies on World Englishes and attitudes towards them. For our study we employed six different speakers reading the same text in their native English variety.…”

Section: Instruments and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes of Slovene L2 Speakers of English to Six Native Varieties of English

Komar

2022

linguistica

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The paper presents the results of an experiment whose purpose was to study the attitudes towards six L1 varieties of English by Slovene students of English. Using the verbal guise test, the participants were exposed to audio clips of Received Pronunciation (RP), General American (GA), Scottish English (ScE), Irish English (IrE), Australian English (AusE) and New Zealand English (NZE). They were required to complete a two-part questionnaire. In part one, they were asked to rate, on four-point Likert scale, statements about the cognitive, affective and aesthetic traits of the speakers, as well as the linguistic traits which they believed contributed most to their attitudes to a particular variety. In part two, they had to rank the six tested varieties indicating their general order of preference, their relative familiarity with the varieties and the appropriateness of the varieties for teaching to Slovene learners of English. The results of the study confirm the findings of numerous other similar studies in giving preference to the two best-known global standard varieties (RP and GA) over the other varieties.

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Rethinking Questionnaire Design to Enhance Data Quality

Ambele,

Nuemaihom,

Enyiawah

2024

Advances in Library and Information Science

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The verbal guise test (VGT) is considered a modified iteration of the classical matched guise test. Over the years, the VGT has found application in a spectrum of studies concerning language attitudes toward different accents and varieties. Despite its widespread use in language attitude research, the VGT is not without inherent challenges, such as the quality of audio clips and participant sampling techniques. These limitations have been acknowledged by researchers as commonplace, but thorough discussions and practical solutions to address these limitations have been relatively scarce, with Chan being a notable exception. This chapter endeavors to offer valuable recommendations to researchers who employ the VGT in their studies by examining recent research endeavors that have incorporated the verbal guise test and by providing a comprehensive overview of the test's historical evolution. The chapter aims to reintroduce this classical tool to contemporary language attitude researchers while engaging in a modern discourse about effective approaches to mitigate its limitations.

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Verbal Guise Test: Problems and Solutions

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Chinese Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards English Accents in an English-Medium Instruction Context

Chinese Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards English Accents in an English-Medium Instruction Context

Attitudes of Slovene L2 Speakers of English to Six Native Varieties of English

Rethinking Questionnaire Design to Enhance Data Quality

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