Keywords

Pronunciation pedagogy, accent retention, accent reduction

Abstract

Though most ESL learners desire a “native-like” pronunciation, researchers have observed that some may want to retain features of their L1accents as a means of maintaining identity. This raises important questions about the best ways to teach L2 pronunciation. Therefore, the aims of this study were to discover how pervasive a preference for accent retention may be and to identify possible reasons learners exhibit this preference. To accomplish this, a scale was designed to assess a preference for accent retention, and potential explanatory variables were identified. Analyses of 350 ESL learners identified varying levels of a preference for accent retention, and revealed three significant predictors of this tendency. This article explores possible reasons for the observed results, including an effort to unify the findings through what is referred to as a propensity for proximal linguistic status. Some considerations for ESL pronunciation pedagogy are also discussed.

Original Publication Citation

Hartshorn, J. (2019). An Analysis of ESL Learner Preferences for Native Accent Retention and Reduction. Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 1-20. Retrieved from https://www.jltl.com.tr/index.php/jltl/article/view/108

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2019-06-26

Publisher

Association of Gazi Foreign Language Teaching

Language

English

College

Humanities

Department

Linguistics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

Included in

Linguistics Commons

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