Accents are the soul of a language; they carry the historical past and tradition of its individuals. Unknown
If I ask you to consider your favorite trainer while you had been a pupil, who involves your thoughts? Why do you consider them? What makes that trainer memorable? If you’re like me, the qualities you valued in your favorite trainer had been their potential to indicate real care and make you are feeling valued, together with a powerful grasp of their topic, and the best way they engaged you by including enjoyable into their classes. It could be stunning if the factor that actually set them aside was their accent.
I imagine our college students really feel the identical about us. Our nationalities don’t matter, however how a lot we care about them issues. I not too long ago learn the great By no means Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. On this guide, the trainer, Miss Lucy, has a unique place in pupil Tommy’s coronary heart. I imagine you possibly can think about why. She tells him it’s OK to develop and be taught issues at his personal pace whereas everybody else will get mockery of him. She reveals compassion for him, a high quality that transcends nationality and accent.
Nevertheless, the fact is that we frequently encounter biases associated to our accents and nationalities, and there are other ways to counter native speaker fallacy in our lecture rooms. Listed below are my 5 suggestions:
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Convey accents into the classroom:
As lecturers we have now our curriculum to observe for certain, however as English lecturers, we’re fortunate to have the possibility spice our classes up with numerous actions. In case your coursebook doesn’t embody totally different accents, convey them into the classroom. Yow will discover road interviews on social media and create mini-lessons in order that your college students are subjected to accents from totally different nations. Equally, interviews with sports activities individuals resembling soccer gamers is usually a good supply. The vast majority of our college students will converse English with individuals whose first language is aside from English as a result of there are extra individuals on Earth who converse English as a second or international language than the individuals whose first language is English.
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Help intelligibility over accent
If you weren’t raised in an English-speaking setting, it’s not stunning that you should have an accent. Nevertheless, on the C1 degree of the CEFR, being clear and comprehensible when talking is extra necessary than having an ideal accent. Yow will discover the descriptor beneath:
C1: Can articulate nearly all of the sounds of the goal language; some options of accent(s) retained from different language(s) could also be noticeable, however they don’t have an effect on intelligibility.
Incorporating pronunciation into lesson plans is essential for enhancing intelligibility. Though lecturers typically skip pronunciation as a consequence of time constraints, prioritizing it will probably enhance college students’ shallowness and intelligibility. When educating grammar and vocabulary, it’s helpful to additionally emphasize weak kinds, linked speech, and phrase and sentence stress.
As James Joyce stated, “Errors are the portals of discovery.” Errors point out that our college students are making an effort and studying. So, why not have a good time them? You may create a classroom wall the place you and your college students share your favorite errors of the week associated to spelling and pronunciation. It may very well be a mistake that made you smile or one which helped you be taught the proper model. You can too present movies of individuals, or ask college students to seek out them on-line, confidently making errors. Examples embody interviews on the purple carpet on the Oscars or performances by singers.
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Have a good time totally different cultures
Your classroom may embody college students from numerous cultural backgrounds, even when they’re from the identical nation. You may arrange a ‘Increase Your Voice’ day from time to time, the place college students current a cultural subject of their alternative. They’ll focus on totally different accents inside their very own context. For instance, in Türkiye, the place I’m from, though all of us converse Turkish, individuals have totally different accents and sayings in several components of the nation. A phrase may need a unique that means within the west or sound totally different within the east, which contributes to our cultural range. Just like the earlier exercise, college students also can create a ‘surprise wall’ to share what they’re curious to be taught from their classmates’ shows.
All of us encounter individuals who query our educating talents based mostly solely on our origin or accent. When this happens, attempt asking them open-ended questions to permit them to make clear their views. Questions resembling, “In what methods do you suppose my accent impacts my educating, or What do you suppose are a very powerful qualities of an excellent trainer? can have them replicate on their assumptions. Even if you’re not the direct goal of such remarks, be an energetic bystander and assist each other.
Final however not least, carry on stunning! You’re a educated, well-accomplished trainer with an countless enthusiasm for studying and educating. Some individuals may count on much less from you however carry on shining! Your college students look as much as you and as Nelson Mandela stated, “Schooling is probably the most highly effective weapon which you need to use to vary the world.” We’ve got a accountability to teach the minds of the long run, and by creating consciousness on such points, we’re shifting one step nearer.
Lastly, share your experiences and ideas with us beneath. What do you do to problem the native speaker fallacy?
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Reference:
Kazuo Ishiguro By no means Let Me Go (?2010), revealed by Faber & Faber
Additional Studying:
Kiczkowiak, M. (2017.) Confronting Native Speakerism within the ELT Classroom: Sensible Consciousness-Elevating Actions. The European Journal of Utilized 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/