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L2 Accent and Ethics: Issues that Merit Attention

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Englishes in Multilingual Contexts

Part of the book series: Multilingual Education ((MULT,volume 10))

Abstract

Although most teachers of English are well aware that their students may sometimes experience discrimination in reaction to their L2 accents, they may not realize the extensive range of factors that contribute to negative consequences for individuals with foreign accents; neither may they realize the degree to which accent can disadvantage a speaker beyond day-to-day interactions. In this chapter, we explore several issues where accent and ethics cross and are often in conflict. We examine an overview of the relationship of accent and intelligibility, and will discuss state legislation that seems to conflate the concepts. We then describe methods used in language analysis for determination of origin of refugee claimants (LADO) and the problem of untrained native speakers making life and death decisions. In a review of accent reduction programs, we expose some of the hucksterism made by opportunists who make promises they can’t possibly keep. We also address the responsibility of the interlocutor in ESL settings, and how communication with and attitudes towards L2 speakers may be enhanced. Finally, we outline implications of the studies reviewed here for language teacher education programs, language teachers, governments, employers, and most importantly, for L2 accented speakers.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Brock Brady for inviting us to deliver the Presidential Plenary at the TESOL Convention in New Orleans on March 18, 2011. This chapter is based on that presentation. Thanks also to Judy Gilbert, a long-time supporter of pronunciation research, who suggested to Brock that the plenary should be on L2 pronunciation. Much of the work cited by the first author was carried out in collaboration with her research partner, Murray Munro. We are grateful to the participants of the research cited here, and we also acknowledge the support of our funders: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grants # 410-2005-1062 and # 410-2010-0151 awarded to Tracey Derwing and Murray Munro; grant # 410-2010-1030 awarded to Ron Thomson, Tracey Derwing and Murray Munro); English Testing Services (grant awarded to Okim Kang 2006–2007); The University of Michigan Spaan Fellowship (awarded to Okim Kang in 2006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Tracey M. Derwing

  2. Law School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Helen Fraser

  3. Department of English, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Okim Kang

  4. Department of Applied Linguistics, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

    Ron I. Thomson

Authors
  1. Tracey M. Derwing
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  2. Helen Fraser
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  3. Okim Kang
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  4. Ron I. Thomson
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Correspondence to Tracey M. Derwing .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Ahmar Mahboob

  2. Dept. of Langs, Lits & Lings., Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

    Leslie Barratt

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Derwing, T., Fraser, H., Kang, O., Thomson, R. (2014). L2 Accent and Ethics: Issues that Merit Attention. In: Mahboob, A., Barratt, L. (eds) Englishes in Multilingual Contexts. Multilingual Education, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8869-4_5

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