Accent and Identity, Prejudice and Insecurity

The session was delivered by Richard Cauldwell, 12.15-13.00, Saturday 16th April

It was a very informative and an interesting session in which we listened to the audio recordings of the voices who had different accents and their reactions to the prejudices of the people about their accent.

I was schocked to learn that the parent of a boy was warned because of the fact that the boy acquired "vicious pronounciation" and "vulgar accent" in Birmingham in the 19th century. It is a thing of past, of course. However, there is still a pressure to acquire the prestige accent all around the world.

He explained that people change, and accents change. Also, accents can vary even from moment to moment according to social groups.

What are the implications of accent and identity problem for language teaching and learners?

• Claudwell says: "There is no such thing as a good accent for all circumstances."
• People are multi-accented as they speak with a number of voices.
• Language teachers and learners can take the prestige accent as a reference model, not as an achievement/attainment and professional expertise model.
• Learners and teachers should be familiar with a wide variety of English accents around the world.
• English is a lingua franca, and it does not belong to just native speakers.

As researchers, we should raise awareness of the people about the accent and identiy issues so that students and policy makers should not link the professional expertise with the accent.

For more information about this issue, please visit Richard Cauldwell's research project website: www.speechinaction.net