(Tutor’s Name)
(Assignment)
Abstract
In today’s globalised world, people speak more than one tongue, with accents that correspond to their familiar languages. This research paper looks into accent issues when student are taught English by non-native teachers. After a brief introduction, literature pertaining to accents is reviewed. Two research papers are considered here. The first paper talks about ‘Chinese English’ in comparison to ‘China English’. It shows how the Chinese are comfortable in their accents towards English and are not even aware about native English. The second paper depicts the attitude of Slavic speakers to English as a link language. It illustrates that American English has a greater influence on Eastern Europe due to the Americanisation of society. This is despite British English being taught in schools. Returning to the current research, the significance of such a research topic is pointed out. The research methodology is detailed out following which the limitations expected are given. This is followed by the results expected. Here the causes and effects of non-native accents are discussed. The scenarios of Chinese, Arab and native accents for students are dealt with as part of this section. At the end of the paper, the suggested questionnaire for collecting information is provided.
1. Introduction
Language is a means of communication and accent is the expression of language. Accent is influenced by various factors like dialect etc. A person’s accent follows him irrespective of the place or situation he is in. The situation is acceptable as long as the accent corresponds to the language in question. Things get compounded when the accent has its origin in one language but is used while speaking another tongue. This research proposal looks at the peculiar situation where there is a mismatch between language and accent. Native speakers find it jarring when their language is spoken with an alien accent. This would not be the case of bilingual nations where non-natives may not even be aware of the change in accent. The research question is introduced next.
2. Literature Review
1. Jin (2005) makes an enquiry into the choice of undergraduate students relating to ‘China English’. ‘China English’ is the standard form of English in China which is intelligible throughout the world. ‘Chinese English’, on the other hand, has regional variations which correspond to the Chinese language versions. This English is understood in a Chinese context and shuts out the rest of the world. The study found that students in China are not aware of the World Englishes and hence do not cherish British or American English. They are content with the rules for their mother tongue that they superimpose on English. Jin also found that they do not have an opportunity to interact with foreigner through English and hence have no scope for awareness of different types of English the world over.
2. Salakhyan (2015) delves into what Slavic speakers feel towards English as a link language. The focus is on models with a Slavic standpoint and how native and non-native speakers use English. Salakhyan found that participants preferred American English due to the dominance of American culture in Eastern Europe despite British English being the standard in schools. Speakers have a variety of considerations such as how the language sounds, the familiarity factor given the contact with a specific type of English etc. Though they were positive about English as a link language, they did not prefer non-native varieties. The end result was that English was getting simplified and at the same time this was at the expense of other tongues.
3. Significance of Research
A research of this kind is rare and unique. Many accent issues deal with the same language from which the accent originates. Some deal with the issue of a person speaking an accent which has the influence of the primary or any other language. In this case, the persons involved are school children who are taught by non-native speakers of the language. The issue not only revolves around the type of accent imbibed by the students, but can also be viewed from the angle of proliferation of non-native accents. It also shows the interplay between historical, social and economic issues which leads to their emergence.
4. Research Question
What is the relationship between language and non-native accents, and what is the historic rationale behind the multitude of accents in the world? One needs to know how it affects the receiver’s understanding of what is communicated through. It examines whether there are some accents that are more intelligible than others. Whether students understand the American accent given the current accent that they possess and how Arabic affect the English accent of students need to be examined. Answers are to be sought from students who have a non-native accent of the English language.
5. Research Methodology
Questionnaire is the methodology proposed for this research. Students from various schools where English was taught as a language will be asked questions regarding the English that they spoke. A fair mixture of boys and girls aged between six and fourteen are considered for the survey. The representation of gender and age would be made as equal as was possible. The questions would be posed and responses would be elicited in English. The responses would be recorded for the purpose of replay to understand the accent. The survey will be conducted at school as the participants for the survey were readily available. The teachers would be evaluated only against their accent and not against their experience or knowledge of the language.
6. Limitations Expected
The research would be restricted to large cities and will not be conducted in far flung towns. The paucity of interviewers willing to travel to various parts of the country and the time and cost involved would be taken into consideration. Arabs from different nations of the peninsula would be interviewed within the country. Arabs from Northern Africa would be excluded as it was decided that a degree of homogeneity was required for the study. Hence, it would be decided to restrict the study to Asian Arabs.
The effect of mixed parentage on the study would not be taken into consideration. The participants could include children with one Arab parent and the other from other parts of the world. Children above the age of fourteen will be left out from the survey as there is a tendency to stop studies or leave the country after this age.
The questionnaire will leave out American/Canadian/Australian and other forms of English as options in the children’s preference question. The term ‘Native English’ includes Welsh, Scottish and Irish besides English ‘proper’.
7. Expected Results
Cause & Effect of non-native accent
A background check of English teachers could throw up interesting details. The major chunk of English teachers of the students, both past and present could be from the Indian subcontinent especially from India. A miniscule number of teachers might be from China and other parts of the world except Britain. The number of British teachers could be even fewer.
The Indian teachers of English may not be a homogeneous group either. They may differ on the basis of mother tongue and the amount of mother tongue influence (MTI) on their English. Since India is a multi-linguistic country, this might reflect in the number of languages that the teachers from India spoke as their primary language.
The Indian teachers may differ in terms of their MTI also. Teachers with lesser amount of MTI could be those who had neutral accents. This could mean that the accent of these teachers could not indicate what their mother tongue was in comparison to those who had a strong MTI. It should be noted that the ‘neutral accent’ need by no means be ‘native English’ but could be far more comprehensible to people from all over the world than strongly accented Indian English accents.
Schools may prefer Indian teachers with neutral accents since native English teachers will neither be readily available nor would be willing to work for the lower salaries that were paid to Indian teachers. However, neutral accent teachers may also not be sufficient enough in the job market. Smaller schools could compromise on the accent as long as the knowledge and experience of the teacher is considerable.
Hence, there could have been an influx of English teachers with heavy accents into the Arab world. This could be in line with the trend of expatriate workers in various other fields in the Middle East. Most of these teachers could be female and have husbands working in other sectors in the same region.
What if the teachers had Chinese or Arab accents?
The number of Chinese English teachers might be very few. The exposure of Arab students to Chinese teachers especially English language ones would be very little. Hence, lack of awareness may be the reason why most Arab children were indifferent to Chinese teachers.
Of those who preferred Chinese English teachers, the overwhelming majority could be those who had Chinese English teachers at school. Of these there could be very few students who preferred Chinese teachers to Indian ones on the count of accent. In almost all cases the consideration could be other factors like experience and knowledge than accent.
However, there may be more votaries for Arab English teachers. One of the obvious reasons could be the opportunity to break into Arabic during the English class if the teacher was Arab. Students, especially older ones might be apprehensive that having Arab English teachers would be similar to having Indian English teachers. There would only be a change in accent with no move toward the native English accent.
What if it were native English?
In case of native English teachers, there could be a variation. Students in the lower age group might be wary of native English teachers as they may feel slightly intimidated by Westerners. However, as the age of students increased, the preference for Native English teachers might be pronounced. Native English teachers could even leave Arab English teachers far behind in the race.
As the age of students increases, there could be a marked increase in conforming to the western world view. Britain was seen as the flag bearer of the English culture and British English teachers were the epitome of the language, leaving the Americans, Canadians etc. far behind. Older students would make their preference crystal clear.
Appendix
The entire transcript of the questionnaire is as follows:
Hello! We are conducting a survey and would like to ask you a few questions.
Do you speak English?
If the reply is in the negative, the participant is thanked for their co-operation. If the answer is in the affirmative, the following questions would follow.
What is your name?
How old are you?
Where do you stay?
Were any of your English teachers from countries other than those where English is the mother tongue? If so, for how many years?
Which among the following would you prefer as a teacher for English? (Tick one)
a) Arab b) Native English c) Chinese
Mention why you have made such a choice.
Do you understand American English?
If not, is it because you have not learnt a native English accent?
Works Cited
Jin, Jong. "Which is Better in China, a Local Or a Native English-Speaking Teacher?" English Today 21.3 (2005): 39-46. ProQuest. 11 Jan. 2017 .
Salakhyan, Elena. "The Attitude of Slavic Speakers Toward English(Es)." English Today 31.3 (2015): 34-9. ProQuest. 11 Jan. 2017 .
