Accents of English at Czech Schools: Students’ Attitudes and Recognition Skills

Jan Jakšič; Pavel Šturm

doi:10.1515/rela-2017-0020

Authors

Jan Jakšič Charles University, Czech Republic
Pavel Šturm

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1515/rela-2017-0020

Keywords:

Czech education, English, English accents, pronunciation, TEFL

Abstract

The study investigates the attitudes of 254 Czech students towards English as the main language taught at secondary schools. The questionnaire enquired about their perspectives on learning English in general, British and American cultures and accents of English. Such preferences may have implications for pronunciation model selection in TEFL. In addition, the participants evaluated 12 words pronounced in British or American English for pleasantness, and also assigned them to one of the varieties. Despite the predominance of American culture and despite equal distribution of cultural preferences and equal aesthetic evaluation of the accents, the British variety was marked as more prestigious and was also identified more successfully. Interestingly, the findings differed between students from the capital city and those from regional schools.

References

Bates, Douglas et al. 2015. Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using Lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67(1). 1-48.
Google Scholar

Carrie, Erin. 2017. British Is Professional, American Is Urban: Attitudes Towards English Reference Accents in Spain. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 27(2). 427-447.
Google Scholar

Cenoz, Jasone and Maria L. García Lecumberri. 1999. The Acquisition of English Pronunciation: Learners’ Views. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 9(1). 3-15.
Google Scholar

Crystal, David. 1995. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Google Scholar

Czech Statistical Office. 2017. Data – počet cizinců. [Online] Available from: https://www.czso.cz/documents/11292/27914491/1612_c01t04.pdf [Accessed: 24th September 2017].
Google Scholar

Dalton-Puffer, Christiane, Kaltenboeck, Gunther and Ute Smit. 1997. Learner Attitudes and L2 Pronunciation in Austria. World Englishes 16(1). 115-128.
Google Scholar

Dragojevic, Marko and Howard Giles. 2016. I Don’t Like You Because You’re Hard to Understand: The Role of Processing Fluency in the Language Attitudes Process. Human Communication Research 42(3). 396-420.
Google Scholar

Forvo. 2016. [Online] Available from: http://www.forvo.com/ [Accessed: 15th April 2016].
Google Scholar

Fox, John. 2003. Effect displays in R for Generalised Linear Models. Journal of Statistical Software 8(15). 1-27.
Google Scholar

Hanzlíková, Dagmar and Radek Skarnitzl. 2017. Credibility of Native and Non-Native Speakers Revisited: Do Non-Native Listeners Feel the Same? Research in Language 15(3). 285-298.
Google Scholar

Henderson, Alice et al. 2012. The English Pronunciation Teaching in Europe Survey: Selected Results. Research in Language 10(1). 5-28.
Google Scholar

Hosoda, Megumi and Eugene Stone-Romero. 2010. The Effects of Foreign Accents on Employment-Related Decisions. Journal of Managerial Psychology 25(2). 113-132.
Google Scholar

Hughes, Arthur, Trudgill, Peter and Dominic Watt. 2012. English Accents and Dialects: An Introduction to Social and Regional Varieties of English in the British Isles. 5th edn. London: Routledge.
Google Scholar

Jarvella, Robert, J. et al. 2001. Of Mouths and Men: Non‐Native Listeners’ Identification and Evaluation of Varieties of English. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 11(1). 37-56.
Google Scholar

Jenkins, Jennifer. 1998. Which Pronunciation Norms and Models for English as an International Language?. ELT Journal 52(2). 119-126.
Google Scholar

Jenkins, Jennifer. 2000. The Phonology of English as an International Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar

Kortmann, Bernd and Clive Upton. 2008. Varieties of English 1: The British Isles. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Google Scholar

Lev-Ari, Shiri and Boaz Keysar. 2010. Why Don’t We Believe Non-Native Speakers? The Influence of Accent on Credibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46(6). 1093-1096.
Google Scholar

Macmillan Dictionary. 2016. [Online] Available from: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ [Accessed: 2nd April 2016].
Google Scholar

Mobärg, Mats. 1999. School Goes to Hollywood: Attitudes Towards British and American English Among Swedish School Students. In Carita Paradis (ed.), Recent Trends in the Pronunciation of English. Social, Regional and Attitudinal Aspects, 49-70. Lund: Almqvist & Wiksell International.
Google Scholar

Mompeán, José, A. 2004. Options and Criteria for the Choice of an English Pronunciation Model in Spain. In José M. Oro et al. (eds.), Linguistic Perspectives from the Classroom: Language Teaching in a Multicultural Europe, 1043-1059. Santiago de Compostela: Servizo de Publicacións e Intercambio Científico – USC.
Google Scholar

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. 2011. Ministr Dobeš zveřejnil 10 nejlepších maturitních škol. [Online] Available from: http://www.msmt.cz/file/16368_1_1/ [Accessed: 10th January 2017].
Google Scholar

Munro, Murray, J. and Tracey M. Derwing. 1995. Foreign Accent, Comprehensibility, and Intelligibility in the Speech of Second Language Learners. Language Learning 45(1). 73-97.
Google Scholar

National Institute for Education. 2017. Rámcový vzdělávací program pro základní vzdělávání. [Online] Available from: http://www.nuv.cz/uploads/RVP_ZV_2017_verze_cerven.pdf [Accessed: 24th September 2017].
Google Scholar

Nowacka, Marta. 2012. Questionnaire-based Pronunciation Studies: Italian, Spanish and Polish Students’ Views on Their English Pronunciation. Research in Language 10(1). 43-61.
Google Scholar

OED. 2016. [Online] Available from: http://www.oed.com/ [Accessed: 28th March 2016].
Google Scholar

R Core Team. 2016. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing (Version 3.2.4). Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available from: http://www.R-project.org/
Google Scholar

Schneider, Edgar, W. 2008. Varieties of English 2: The Americas and the Caribbean. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Google Scholar

Setter, Jane and Jennifer Jenkins. 2005. State-of-the-art Review Article. Language Teaching 38(1). 1-17.
Google Scholar

Simon, Ellen. 2005. How Native-like Do You Want To Sound? A Study on the Pronunciation Target of Advanced Learners of English in Flanders. Moderna Språk 99(1). 12-21.
Google Scholar

Szpyra-Kozłowska, Jolanta. 2004. Jaki model wymowy angielskiej? Dyskusji ciąg dalszy. Zeszyty Naukowe Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Zawodowej w Koninie 1(4). 116-123.
Google Scholar

Szpyra-Kozłowska, Jolanta. 2015. Pronunciation in EFL Instruction: A Research-Based Approach. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Google Scholar

Tombs, Alastair and Sally Rao Hill. 2014. The Effect of Service Employees’ Accent on Customer Reactions. European Journal of Marketing 48(11/12). 2051-2070.
Google Scholar

Wells, John, C. 1982. Accents of English 3: Beyond the British Isles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Google Scholar

Wells, John, C. 2008. Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow: Pearson Longman.
Google Scholar

Wickham, Hadley. ggplot2: Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis. New York: Springer.
Google Scholar