Why English accents and pronunciation ‘still’ matter for teachers nowadays: a mixed-methods study on learners’ perceptions

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis mixed-methods study explored learners’ perceptions of ten L1 and L2 English accents. These participants (n = 97) were bilinguals who spoke English as a first/second language. From the experiments, the findings showed that the L1 accents, although overall viewed more positively than the L2 ones, were not perceived consistently in: suitability for English teachers (suitability), models for learning, and maintaining learners’ attention. Also, nativeness was found to be more strongly correlated with suitability than comprehensibility did. The qualitative interview data shed more light on the interrelationships between accents, communication effectiveness, learners’ attention and teacher quality. It was found that certain teachers’ non-native accents were associated with lower attention spans on the part of the students. Some interviewees also recounted how their exposure to some teachers’ inaccurate pronunciations resulted in later embarrassment and communication breakdown.