Attitudes towards teacher accents

Students’ attitudes towards (non-)native teacher

accents in an English classroom

by Lukas Sturm
(12226497)

Course
PS Systemic Linguistics (547.A15/23)
Ruth Osimk-Teasdale

Semester
WiSe 2023/24

SKZ
198 407
INTRODUCTION
This paper covers how native and non-native teacher accents are perceived by students in an
English classroom. By analysing the literature, the main aim is to point out differences and
similarities in students’ perception of native and non-native accents of English teachers and
furthermore examine the influence of other external factors. The focus of this analysis is
placed on answering the research question How do students perceive (non-)native teacher
accents in an English classroom?

First, the paper will define important topic-related terms to ensure proper readability and
comprehension for the readers. Following up, the historical background of attitudes to non-
native English accents as well as general beliefs about non-native English teachers will be
discussed. At last, a conclusion sums up the main findings and show how these connect to
other research.

The author hypothesises that students in an English classroom generally have a more positive
attitude towards native-accented teachers, and that there are some prejudices against
teachers with non-native accents. However, other factors than the teachers’ accent play a
more important role in students’ comprehension and motivation in the English classroom.

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1 IMPORTANT TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
The following section gives an overview on important terms and definitions concerning this
paper’s topic. First, chapter 1.1 discusses the terms ‘native speaker’ and non-native speaker’,
as explained by Pae (2017). Following up, the term ‘accent’ and its many facets are described
in chapter 1.2 (Ballard & Winke, p. 124).

1.1 Native and non-native speakers

1.2 The many facets of the term ‘accent’

2 STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

This chapter first thematises the historical background of the differences in perception of
native and non-native English accents in general (Lasagabaster & Sierra, 2005; Levis et al.,
2017; Pae, 2017; Scales et al., 2006). Common beliefs about non-native English teachers are
also presented (Lasagabaster & Sierra, 2005, p. 218).
In the second part, individual as well as contextual variables such as ethnicity, the amount of
exposure to non-native English teachers, and the learning environment will be evaluated and
their influence on students’ perceptions of English teachers investigated. The aim is to provide
a sophisticated examination of how influential these external factors are (Pae, 2017).

2.1 Historical background and general beliefs

2.2 Influential variables

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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it can be stated that English teachers’ accents do have an influence on students’
comprehension (Gill, 1994) and that there is a close connection between learners’ perception
of their English teacher and their attitudes towards learning English (Pae, 2017).
Moreover, Watson Todd & Pojanapunya (2009) suggest that – considering the complexity of
attitudes – students show an explicit preference for native speakers. Ballard & Winke (2017),
however, found that native and non-native teacher accents are viewed equally positive in
general. They also conclude that not the teacher’s accent, but other factors have a greater
influence on learners’ attitudes towards their English teacher (ibid., p. 138).
Despite these considerable findings, it has to be mentioned that there have only been
conducted very few studies that thoroughly deal with students’ attitudes towards their
teacher’s accent yet. This definitely calls for further research on this topic in the future.

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REFERENCES
Ballard, L., & Winke, P. Students’ Attitudes Towards English Teachers’ Accents: The Interplay
of Accent Familiarity, Comprehensibility, Intelligibility, Perceived Native Speaker
Status, and Acceptability as a Teacher. In Second Language Pronunciation Assessment
(pp. 121–138).
Gill, M. M. (1994). Accent and stereotypes: Their effect on perceptions of teachers and
lecture comprehension. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 22(4), 348–361.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00909889409365409
Lasagabaster, D., & Sierra, J. M. (2005). What do Students Think about the Pros and Cons of
Having a Native Speaker Teacher? In E. Llurda (Ed.), SpringerLink Bücher: Vol. 5. Non-
Native Language Teachers: Perceptions, Challenges and Contributions to the
Profession (Vol. 5, pp. 217–241). Springer Science+Business Media Inc.
https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-24565-0_12
Levis, J., Sonsaat, S., & Link, S. (2017). Chapter 10. Students’ beliefs about native vs. non-
native pronunciation teachers. In J. d. D. Martinez Agudo (Ed.), Native and Non-Native
Teachers in English Language Classrooms (pp. 205–238). De Gruyter.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501504143-011
Pae, T.‑I. (2017). Effects of the differences between native and non-native English-speaking
teachers on students’ attitudes and motivation toward learning English. Asia Pacific
Journal of Education, 37(2), 163–178.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2016.1235012
Scales, J., Wennerstrom, A., Richard, D., & Wu, S. H. (2006). Language Learners' Perceptions
of Accent. TESOL Quarterly, 40(4), 715. https://doi.org/10.2307/40264305
Watson Todd, R., & Pojanapunya, P. (2009). Implicit attitudes towards native and non-native
speaker teachers. System, 37(1), 23–33.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2008.08.002