Try telling an adult ESL learner who has been here for years and still struggles to be understood that reducing accents isn’t necessary. It may be PC to accept everyone no matter how they pronounce English words, but non-native speakers live in the real world. And c’mon…what image do you get in your mind when you read the phrase “hillbilly English.” Is that a posh British accent in your head or a nasal drawl?
People judge. We just do.
Shouldn’t we honor the fact that they are speaking English rather than nitpick their accent? Of COURSE! However, please don’t tell someone who wants to be able to drop their accent that they should keep it. It’s their choice, and they might have an excellent reason for that desire.
I was born in and grew up in Oklahoma. I used to have a heavy Okie accent. For a very brief time, I lived in New Jersey, and let me assure you, people most certainly stereotyped my intelligence every time I opened my mouth.
If people weren’t dismissing me as dumb, they were practically patting me on the head (both men AND women) and patronizing me for being cute. They didn’t take my message seriously due to my accent. I would get great responses to anything I had written, but I somehow turned into the female version of Gomer Pyle in their eyes when they heard me speak.
I would have given anything to be able to speak without my accent, and eventually, I got really good at it. People don’t just judge non-native English speakers by how they speak, but they are already up against so many stereotypes. Why not lessen the power this has over them?
Accents identify outsiders.
Now, while people may have judged me as a redneck, I never had to worry about my safety from those who are anti-immigrant. They knew I was from Oklahoma, not overseas. Our adult ESL students are better off when they can neutralize their accent when speaking with it could jeopardize their safety.
I lived overseas for a number of years, and you can bet that I tried to subdue mine when being identified as an American made me a target. I wasn’t that great at it, so I had to limit what I said. I wished I knew how to neutralize it. I saw it as just another precaution to take, like, don’t walk down certain streets alone after dark. Accents identify outsiders, which is sometimes no concern at all. But, for the times when it does matter, isn’t it better to know how to and have the ability to code-switch?
Accents can be limiting.
Wait, isn’t neutralizing a person’s accent unnecessary as long as most people can understand him? Having a neutral accent (or as close to one as possible) will help adult ESL students make progress in their professional life and social life (outside of their first language community).
Right or wrong, when all else is equal, an employer is more likely to promote someone, whether a fluent speaker or not, whose accent is easily understood. To be clear, I feel this is wrong, but I am never consulted on societal rules, expectations, and such.
Many people may label someone with a heavy accent as an outsider or even less intelligent. An accent is not likely to accurately reflect a person’s abilities, but it can limit his/her opportunities due to others’ perceptions. The world isn’t perfect, so sometimes we are forced to work within the boundaries.
How can adult ESL teachers help?
Does reducing or neutralizing an accent require a speech therapist? A speech therapist would very likely be your adult ESL students’ best opportunity to speak with a native-like accent, but how many have the time or the money for one? ESL teachers can be one of the steps on the path and should be. Too often, we get accustomed to many heavy accents. We become an expert in deciphering what our students are trying to say. What happens when they are outside the classroom trying to communicate with someone who DOESN’T have experience with ESL students?
Your adult ESL students should strive to neutralize their accents to increase their personal and professional opportunities. This isn’t EFL, where people who speak English with the same accent surround them. Your students need to LIVE their English, not just use it.
Neutralizing their accents will help them communicate more effectively in social settings (think conversations, phone calls, parent-teacher meetings) and professional environments (think presentations, working together on projects with co-workers). It will also help them if they plan to attend a university where class participation is part of their grade and meetings with professors necessary.
Where do I even begin?
- Search the internet to find the common pronunciation difficulties of your students according to their language background.
- Then focus heavily on what they say to see what their weaknesses are.
I recommend doing the research FIRST because, again, we are so accustomed to a myriad of heavy accents that our brains just switch the sounds around until it is correct. I had been listening to Saudi students for years before I started to really work with them on their accents. Their habit of using /b/ instead of /p/ was still noticeable to me. However, I hadn’t even realized that they struggled with vowel sounds. It wasn’t until I concentrated on HOW they spoke that I could hear it, but I’d heard from people in the community that they struggled to understand the Saudis.
- Next, gather minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are words that sound exactly alike except for ONE vowel sound or ONE consonant sound. For example: peach/beach, very/berry, wrist/rest .
- Finally, use those minimal pairs to help your students first hear the difference in sounds and then to pronounce it. With pronunciation, drill, drill, drill actually helps. They need lots of repetition and lots of practice. Check out this article where I share (not chair) how to create listening labyrinths with those minimal pairs. (not bears).
Oh, and that heavy Okie accent I used to have? I worked really hard to reduce that. Now I’m judged by WHAT I say rather than HOW I pronounce what I say.
Read more about adult ESL pronunciation!
- Pronunciation Truly Matters!
- Improve English Pronunciation with 4 Strategies to Overcome Strong Accents
- Two Helpful Tips for Teaching Pronunciation
- Sh/Ch: 3 Must-Have Methods for Successful Pronunciation Tweaks
- 4 Surefire Strategies for Refining R/L Pronunciation
Mags says
I’m in total agreement with everything you’ve said! As a fellow southerner who lived many years on the East Coast, I had very similar experiences. Accent neutralization was key in moving to the executive ranks. Now, as an accent trainer for international executives, I see first hand how affected people are by their inability to speak clearly and be easily understood. Their livelihoods literally depend on it! I can tell from this article that you see this too with your students! Great article! Thanks for writing it! I’d love to connect with you for support and tips.
Rike Neville says
You’re an accent trainer? Wow, that is impressive! I wish I could have taken classes with you back when I first entered university. I had to struggle against not only my redneck Okie accent but also a German-flavored one. That combination was certainly never something that worked in my favor!
Dylan says
Hi Rike. Got to say that I strongly disagree with this one. While it is essential that students are taught to be understandable, I think that too often “neutralising” is taken to mean speaking with an American accent. I am someone with a thick Welsh accent and sometimes people might find it difficult to understand me (especially after a few pints!). But, that is my voice, my accent and a part of my identity. While I do slow down and try to speak more clearly depending on the audience I would never want my accent to be “neutralised” or watered down. I imagine it must be the same for a lot of students, too.
Some students will specifically say “I want to speak with a more British/American accent”- so it is fine to teach them specific sounds.
For others, though, I believe that neutralising their accent means robbing them of part of their identity and forcing them to blend into an Americanised ideal of English.
I believe you teach/taught in South Korea, right? So, while it is essential to teach students things like saying ‘judge’ instead of ‘judgey’ and ‘phone’ instead of ‘hand-uh pone’, not all aspects of their accent need to be neutralised. As I said, understanding has to be the first priority – that should be our goal. If they can retain a localised accent with understandability, that would be the best result (in my opinion). Again, though, I think this should be something the students should be asked, rather than just taught to do.
haha, this sounds a bit more ranty than it was meant to! Any thoughts?
Rike Neville says
Hey Dylan! It’s been awhile. How’ve you been? ^_^
I knew that if I took a strong stance on this, SOMEONE would pipe up. 😀 Thanks for being that someone! 😊
I think it’s funny that you say you sometimes need to slow down and try to speak more clearly depending on your audience. I do almost the same thing, but instead, I try to speed up! Okies aren’t really known as speed talkers, my sister the air-traffic controller aside. I’ve seen the look of irritation on people’s faces as they waaaait for my words to finish. hahahaha~!
To me, that IS neutralizing my accent. I make it less strong depending on my audience in order to be understood, be taken more seriously, and to be viewed as more professional. Try talking about linguistics with a Southern accent—no one believes you even know what you’re saying!
The majority of my students (bored spouses aside) have always had big plans to go on to university or to improve their job prospects. Having the ability to speak in a manner that does not immediately identify them as a non-native speaker has been one of the goals of every single one of them. They are very aware that the more versatile they are in their speech, the more situations they can blend into and become a part of instead of being regulated to the sidelines.
By neutralizing their accent (not killing it entirely), more doors open to them. Being denied opportunities because of their accents is certainly not just, but it happens. I want all my students to always have the ability to speak to match the environment or situation they are in OR progress beyond that environment/situation if that is their goal.
I’ve even taught my students (the ones who showed interest) how to sound more like an Okie. Being able to switch things up like that made it easier for locals to relate to them. When they sound less foreign, their neighbors became more trusting. It’s simply mirroring who you are around.
Native speakers of any language do it all the time. When we are in a conversation with someone who speaks loudly, we’ll get a little louder. When they speak slowly, we slow down. On a flight from Germany back to America, I sat next to a little boy from India. During that flight, I lost the German accent I had picked up and arrived in Oklahoma with an Indian accent! Hours of speaking with him and subconsciously mirroring him did that. Of course, not being around any people from India, that disappeared quickly, and my Okie accent returned to the forefront.
While I still subconsciously mirror other people I’m speaking with, I can also do it purposely, with intent. For example, during a job interview. You can bet I drop that Okie accent before I walk through the doorway! I also don’t use it while teaching. By teaching with a more neutral accent instead, I’m making it easier for my students to go anywhere. The ones who moved to New York City? I know they’re glad they don’t talk like an Okie.
I believe international students should be taught to have the same ability to neutralize their accent when they believe it’s warranted. I would hate for my Vietnamese students, for example, to lose out on better job prospects because they were unable to speak clearly enough to be readily understood. I’d also hate for them to get the job, but then get humiliated when trying to deal with customers, clients, or co-workers who don’t have the patience needed. A more neutral accent just makes their lives easier.
Does this make sense?
And, so good to hear from you again! ^_^