Accents are the soul of a language; they carry the history and culture of its people.
If I ask you to think about your favourite teacher when you were a student, who comes to mind? Why do you think of them? What makes that teacher memorable? If you are like me, the qualities you valued in your favourite teacher included their ability to show genuine care and make you feel valued, along with a strong grasp of their subject, and the way they engaged you by adding fun into their lessons. It would be surprising if the thing that really set them apart was their accent.
I believe our students feel the same about us. Our nationalities do not matter, but how much we care about them matters. I recently read the wonderful Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. In this book, the teacher, Miss Lucy, has a different place in student Tommy’s heart. I believe you can imagine why. She tells him it is OK to grow and learn things at his own speed while everyone else gets mockery of him. She shows compassion for him, a quality that transcends nationality and accent.
However, the reality is that we often encounter biases related to our accents and nationalities, and there are different ways to counter native speaker fallacy in our classrooms. Here are my 5 tips:
1) Bring accents into the classroom:
As teachers we have our curriculum to follow for sure, but as English teachers, we are lucky to have the chance spice our lessons up with various activities. If your coursebook does not include different accents, bring them into the classroom. You can find street interviews on social media and create mini-lessons so that your students are subjected to accents from different countries. Similarly, interviews with sports people such as football players can be a good source. The majority of our students will speak English with people whose first language is other than English because there are more people on Earth who speak English as a second or foreign language than people whose first language is English.
2) Support intelligibility over accent
If you were not raised in an English-speaking environment, it’s not surprising that you will have an accent. However, at the C1 level of the CEFR, being clear and understandable when speaking is more important than having a perfect accent. You can find the descriptor below:
C1: Can articulate virtually all the sounds of the target language; some features of accent(s) retained from other language(s) may be noticeable, but they do not affect intelligibility.
Incorporating pronunciation into lesson plans is crucial for improving intelligibility. Although teachers often skip pronunciation due to time constraints, prioritizing it can boost students’ self-esteem and intelligibility. When teaching grammar and vocabulary, it’s beneficial to also emphasize weak forms, connected speech, and word and sentence stress.
3) Embrace mistakes
As James Joyce said, “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” Mistakes indicate that our students are making an effort and learning. So, why not celebrate them? You can create a classroom wall where you and your students share your favourite mistakes of the week related to spelling and pronunciation. It could be a mistake that made you smile or one that helped you learn the correct version. You can also show videos of people, or ask students to find them online, confidently making mistakes. Examples include interviews on the red carpet at the Oscars or performances by singers.
4) Celebrate different cultures
Your classroom might include students from various cultural backgrounds, even if they are from the same country. You can organize a ‘Raise Your Voice’ day every now and then, where students present a cultural topic of their choice. They can discuss different accents within their own context. For example, in Türkiye, where I am from, even though we all speak Turkish, people have different accents and sayings in different parts of the country. A word might have a different meaning in the West or sound different in the East, which contributes to our cultural diversity. Similar to the previous activity, students can also create a ‘wonder wall’ to share what they are curious to learn from their classmates’ presentations.
5) Challenge the thinking
We all encounter people who question our teaching abilities based solely on our origin or accent. When this occurs, try asking them open-ended questions to allow them to clarify their views. Questions such as, “In what ways do you think my accent affects my teaching, or What do you think are the most important qualities of a good teacher? can have them reflect on their assumptions. Even if you are not the direct target of such remarks, be an active bystander and support one another.
Last but not least, keep on surprising! You are a knowledgeable, well-accomplished teacher with an endless enthusiasm for learning and teaching. Some people might expect less from you but keep on shining! Your students look up to you and as Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” We have a responsibility to educate the minds of the future, and by creating awareness on such issues, we are moving one step closer.
Register for ELTOC now to join our panel discussion on accent and identity in language education, and a practical session on challenging the native speaker fallacy!
Share your experiences and thoughts with us below!
What do you do to challenge the native speaker fallacy?
- Kazuo Ishiguro Never Let Me Go (?2010), published by Faber & Faber
- Further Reading:
- Kiczkowiak, M. (2017.) Confronting Native Speakerism in the ELT Classroom: Practical Awareness-Raising Activities. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/39123465/Confronting_Native_Speakerism_in_the_ELT_Classroom_Practical_Awareness_Raising_Activities
- Adrian Holliday: https://adrianholliday.com/articles/