legitimatize speakers with accented-English

Topic: To legitimatize speakers with accented-English (accent other than American or British English) by narrative inquiry, power of “optional” imagination and critical thinking.

Format: a narrative, bilingual survey which offers arguments that may legitimizing speakers with accented-English

Dialogue with: English teachers of Chinese background, participants are either English teachers in a Canadian TESFL MED (English as a second or foreign language masters of education program) or English teachers in Taiwan.
Survey Template: See below. The arguments shown in Questions 3-7 of the survey below are excerpts from Lippi-Green (1997). *Lippi-Green, R. (1997). English with an accent: Language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States. London & New York: Routledge.

Facts that may legitimize accented-English speakers

如何正面看待非美、英口音的英語

1.      Do you have accented-English (an accent that does not sound 100% like American or British English)?  Y / N

(請問您是否有非美國或非英國的英語口音?)

2.      Do you or your students or peers feel it is better to acquire an American or British English accent?  Y / N

(請問您是否有學生或是同事認為，擁有美國或英國的英語口音才有優勢？)

Please read the following, and rate from 1-5 (highlight the number) if this may be a persuasive material to legitimize speakers with accented-English.

Q 3-7 are reasons why “non-accent” is a myth (Lippi-Green, 1997).

煩請閱讀以下#3-7論點，並且勾選1至5來表達各論點是否具有說服力。以下論點主要摘自Lippi-Green, 1997 文本。

3.      All spoken language changes over time. (p 10)

所有口說的語言，都會隨時間而蛻變。

“the statement, All living languages change is one that no linguist would counter / All living languages change is not a matter of faith or opinion or aesthetics, but observable fact” (p 8, 9)

Not Persuasive不具說服力  1  2  3  4  5 具說服力 Very Persuasive

4.      All spoken languages are equal in linguistic terms. (p 10)

世上所有口說語言，在語言學上，皆享有同等地位。

“All spoken languages are equally capable of expressing a full range of ideas and experiences, and of developing to meet new needs as they arise.” (p 11)

Not Persuasive不具說服力  1  2  3  4  5 具說服力 Very Persuasive

5.      Grammar is not the only nor most important factor to effective communication.

Evaluation of language is not merely judged by what form it is delivered in but mostly by the social identities and social relationships between the communicators. (p 17)

文法不是衡量溝通是否有效的唯一元素，也不是最重要的元素。溝通是否有效，最關鍵的要素造於溝通各方的社會關係與社會身分。

“Language is creative and it is made alive by social interactive relationships. Social interactions play an important role in what language is and how clear the communication is.” (Tina’s reading reflection)
“All language, even standardized and idealized language, will cope with ambiguity of all kinds.” (p 13) Ambiguity in communication is seen in all languages.
Not Persuasive不具說服力  1  2  3  4  5 具說服力 Very Persuasive

6.      Variation is intrinsic to all spoken languages at every level. (p 10)

任何語言，在任何語言學或社會行為的層級上，都存在內在的變化。

Including phonological, grammatical, lexical variations, social behaviors subject to social pressures, and language as a creative vehicle of free expression. (p 25)

“Sociolinguists have established beyond a doubt that variation is an intrinsic and inseparable feature of spoken language.” (p 39)

Not Persuasive不具說服力  1  2  3  4  5 具說服力 Very Persuasive

7.      Chomsky’s Universal Grammar (children are born with set grammar blueprints and there is a critical language acquisition age) & adult second language learners’ accent will always be interfered by the pronunciation of their first language.

根據Universal Grammar理論，孩童一出生，大腦裡就擁有與生俱來的語言藍圖，這藍圖使孩童能學習語言。孩童有學習語言的關鍵時期，一旦過了這時期，孩童學習的第一語言將會影響他的第二語言的發音。

“Children are born with two things: a set of language blueprints wired into the brain, which gives them some intuitive understanding of very basic rules of language; and a set of tools which goes along with these blueprints.” (p 46)

“Adult language learners all have the same handicap in learning a second language: the blueprints have faded to near illegibility, and the tools are rusted. Regardless of how much energy and dedication and general intelligence, no one is capable of getting the blueprints and tools back” (p 48)

“strong circumstantial evidence indicates it (failure to imitate a specific accent) has nothing to do with intelligence and not very much to do with application” (p 50)

Not Persuasive不具說服力  1  2  3  4  5 具說服力 Very Persuasive

8.      Did you find the above reasons helpful for legitimizing speakers with accented-English? Why or why not? 您是否認為以上論點可幫助非美國或非英國口英英語使用者，對自己擁有正面的看法？請說明：

9.      If you did think the above reasons are persuasive, how will you put this into teaching practice to empower speakers with accented-English? (optional)

若您認可以上論點的確具說服力，您將如何把其概念融入英語教學，並且使非美國或非英國口音的使用者不再認為自己不如具美國或英國口英的人。

10.  Any other suggestions or comments concerning ways to legitimize speakers with accented-English? (optional)

您若有其他建議，能夠使非美、英口音者對自己有正面的看法，煩請在此分享見解：

感謝您的分享！您的答案會以匿名方式，作為英語教學研究的參考資料。

Main reference: 主要文本初處

Lippi-Green, R. (1997). English with an accent: Language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States. London & New York: Routledge. 

1.      Survey Results and Analysis:

All 14 English teachers agreed that they have accented-English (an accent that does not sound 100% like American or British English) and that their students or peers also felt it better to acquire an American or British English accent. The chart below shows the results of how participants responded to the Lippi-Green quotes and arguments displayed in questions number 3 to 7.

(figure 1: the yellow is persuasive / black is neutral / red is not persuasive)

        For analysis convenience, the ratings of 1 and 2 will indicate it is not persuasive, the rating of 3 will indicate it is neutral, and the ratings of 4 and 5 will indicate it is persuasive. Hence, from the statistics above, a conclusion can be cautiously drawn that more than half of the participants found the arguments in questions 3, 5, 6, 7 to be rather persuasive [1]. Only the argument in question 4, which had 6 teachers thinking it was not persuasive and 5 teachers thinking it was persuasive, was found to be not as persuasive. Over all, the teachers found most of the arguments to be quite persuasive.

        Question 8 asked of whether the teachers found the arguments in questions 3 to 7 helpful for legitimizing speakers with accented-English. The answers can be categorized into three types: yes, yes…but, and no. There were 7 teachers who were very positive that it was helpful, 6 teachers who stated it was helpful but they explained some limitations of the arguments, and one teacher who did not find it helpful. Below are quotes from the teachers who were very positive about the arguments and gave a specific explanation:

“Yes, I find them helpful and forceful to legitimize speakers with accented-English as they show different angles to break the myth by presenting research results and opinions. They want to emphasize the initial purpose of language: communication.”

“communication is not only about grammar or standard voice, but also something relevant to interaction activities. So I am for the idea that speakers with accent can also be legitimate by social interaction or connection.”

“Yes. I believe variety, including accent, exists among language speakers and every speaker is equal. Therefore the speakers with accented-English are legitimized.”

Two reasoning can be drawn from the explanations, one is that accent is not a must element for effective communication, and that there exists differences in all speakers thus makes all equal.

        As for the English teachers who agreed that the arguments were helpful yet had a “but”, their main concern of its limitations can be presented in the following quotes:

“I think some of the reasons above are helpful. However, I still was illegitimated in speaking English whenever I made a wrong pronunciation or grammar. People could not or hardly could understand me when I made “mistakes”. Also I don’t think All languages are equal. Once in my TESFL MED class, we were talking about the difference between native-English speakers who speak Chinese as a second language and native-Chinese speakers who speak English as a second language. Their status are totally different.”

“Yes, all the reasons are the truth… However, language is not equal socio-culturally. ”

“Yes, it is somehow helpful but what about the needs of the market? How to change the view of the students' and parents is a big issue…”

“Probably as answers to "why we can't be 100% native", but definitely won't be excuses of not speaking incomprehensibly. I personally believe that even strongly accented spoken language can be comprehensible. If the speaker intentionally uses redundant clues --repetitions and paraphrasing, intonations, appropriate pace, stress, etc. But without making any of these make-up efforts.”

To sum up, three concerns may be suggested. One is the issue of how languages are not “equal socio-culturally” and in turn the speakers of the languages will have status that are not equal. In addition, the economic reality of workforce demand and prevalent social expectations are mentioned. Lastly, the clarifying of accent and comprehensibility is brought up, echoing with how the “yes” teachers explained about the focus of effective communication. As for the answer of not finding the arguments helpful, the teacher’s explanation was, “No. The reality does not allow such dreamy and ideal idea.” This quote echoed with some other quotes above that also stated the concern of realizing such ideology in reality.

        Questions 9 and 10 asked for teacher’s implication on legitimizing accented English speakers. Only a couple of teachers answered these optional open-ended questions. Below quotes are the suggested implications from the teachers:

“I will value the content of what the speakers say more than the accent…I will tell the students that Standard English is a myth, accented- English should be legitimized as long as you can speak the language. However, in the society, accent free English is still what meets the market needs. And my wish is that students can have a critical awareness, so they can have a choice.”

“For me, the prosody is very important. Accent is defined by prosody. Prosody is highly related to one's personality and the position he is in. We need to create this awareness among the students that which prosody they choose to use, reflected their personality.”

 “Teachers can try incorporating teaching materials of various accents into their courses, such as showing a clip of English speaker with Japanese accent. After all, only a limited number of English users are native English speakers. It would do no harm for students to get acquainted with various accents.”

“Accept & appreciate their accent first because it represents part of their identity, but also envision that they can achieve a different level with efforts and practical help.”

“(for my teaching implication, there will be three main points…)

a. Focus more on content than form as long as it is intelligible.

 b. Empower students by appreciating their accent as it represents their identity

 c. Empower myself as a nonnative speaker and make a good example for them by being a confident speaker

(furthermore…) sometimes it is rosy in Chinese educational environment because it doesn’t conform to the overall educational objectives. But teachers can still exercise agency and make space for exercising their beliefs.”

The suggested implications include valuing the content of speech more than accent, bringing in the link of prosody and personality, incorporating teaching materials of various accents, appreciating various accents and empowering teachers and learners to obtaining confidence in speech. In addition, in the quotes, two teachers provided a solution to coping with the harsh reality of market need or educational environment. One solution is to help learners be aware of the undeniable existence of varied accents as well as the market need of non-accented English to empower students to make their own choices. Second solution would be to encourage teachers to exercise their agency for their beliefs.

        In short, the survey did serve its impact on teachers and hopefully will began challenging the common assumption of non-accented English, shifting some teacher’s teaching practice and providing new options of imagination and identity to the English speakers.

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[1] For question 3, 9 teachers found it persuasive while 3 did not. For question 5, 10 teachers found it persuasive while 1 did not. For question 6, 12 teachers found it persuasive while 1 did not. For question 7, 9 teachers found it persuasive and no one found it not persuasive.