Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceptions of Nonnative Accent: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose Considering the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) global influence and continued emphasis on heightening multicultural receptivity, a major consideration for ASHA is to cultivate cultural sensitivity and competence in its largely female (95.30%), monolingual (93.46%), and White (92.10%) workforce. ASHA's 32-year transition from no formal multicultural education to mandatory multicultural education infusion provokes to enquire whether multicultural education in speech-language pathologists (SLPs) has modified SLPs' perceptions toward multicultural issues. In this article, we explored an aspect of such sensitivity. We want to know whether there exists a linear relationship between SLPs' age, as an index of their exposure to formal multicultural education, and SLPs' bias toward nonnative accent, as an index of their multicultural sensitivity. Method Two hundred sixty-eight SLP ASHA members completed a web-based pilot survey testing whether SLPs made biased associations based on personality traits, sociocultural factors, professional attire, and physical appearance of persons with nonnative accent and whether the SLPs thought they had an accent. Logistic regression tested whether age predicts explicit biased associations for these five outcomes. Results ASHA SLPs made biased associations with accent for all outcomes, but age only predicted the likelihood of explicit accent-based biases for physical appearance. The relationship was curvilinear, with 40- to 45-year-olds making the most biased associations and older SLPs making progressively fewer biased associations. Conclusion Clearly, the specific psychosocial attributes associated with perception of nonnative accent need to be explored from a dynamical systems perspective to discover potential variables that might directly or indirectly influence accent perception and potential biases.