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Part of
English Pronunciation Instruction: Research-based insights
Edited by Anastazija Kirkova-Naskova, Alice Henderson and Jonás Fouz-González
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 19] 2021
► pp. 91–117

Chapter 5
Cause for optimism

Non-native pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards and beliefs about accent

| Charles University
| Charles University

The current chapter explores the beliefs and attitudes of Czech pre-service teachers towards native and non-native accents. Specifically, we were interested in how accent attitudes contribute to the process of forming non-native teacher identities, viewed from both real and imagined L2 user/teacher perspectives. On the one hand, the results indicate a growing acceptance of one’s accentedness and, simultaneously, a highly motivational character of native-like aspirations. On the other hand, English teachers are perceived as role models and, consequently, a high standard of performance is expected in terms of nativeness. We argue that more emphasis should be placed on excellence in pedagogical skills in teacher training in order to counterbalance the unattainability of the imagined native selves.

Keywords: language attitudes, pre-service teachers, accent, teacher identity construction, pronunciation teaching
Article outline
  • Introduction and theoretical framework
  • Attitudes towards English accents in the local educational contex
    • Self-report perspective on accentedness
    • Research aims
  • Research methodology
    • Data collection
    • Participants
  • Results and analyses
    • General view on English teachers
    • Current experience with university lecturers
    • Imagined teacher identity
    • Correlational analysis
  • Discussion
  • Pedagogical implications
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 13 October 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.19.05cer
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2024. Idealizing nativeness vs. embracing nonnativeness: A case study on L2 pronunciation teachers’ identity. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Červinková Poesová , Kristýna & Klára Lancová
2022. Developing Unbiased Teacher Identity in Pluri-Accent Reality: Research-Based Classroom Activities. Research in Language 20:1 ► pp. 35 ff. DOI logo

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