Adapting the Verbal-Guise Technique: A STEM-Focused U.S. Campus Community’s Attitudes Toward Nonnative Englishes

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study evaluates attitudes toward nonnative Englishes among students, faculty, and staff at a STEM-focused U.S. university. The study utilizes the verbal-guise technique: Participants listened to and rated three summaries of the same short story as told by native speakers of U.S. English, Chinese, and Arabic. This adapted verbal-guise methodology allows for the inclusion and analysis of grammatical and lexical features—in addition to phonological features—in speaker recordings. Results reveal preferential bias in favor of native-speaker U.S. English, yet each nonnative English speaker was rated significantly differently. The native Arabic speaker was rated as less likeable and competent than the native Chinese and English speakers, while also receiving higher ratings in speech similarity and pleasantness than the native Chinese speaker. Participants’ attitudes toward and confidence with intercultural communication moderated ratings of the nonnative Englishes: Participants with more positive attitudes and greater confidence rated the native speakers of Chinese and Arabic higher on variables including speech pleasantness and willingness to interact. Findings suggest ways to improve attitudes toward nonnative Englishes on college campuses—STEM-focused campuses, specifically.