Date of Award
8-27-2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Philosophy and Liberal Studies
First Advisor
Amy Sedivy-Benton
Second Advisor
Angela Hunter
Abstract
One aspect that has been suggested to hinder teaching and learning is a foreign language accent of a teacher. Some students complain about not being able to understand their teachers and attribute their academic performance to their teachers’ foreign-accented speech. An analysis of the data from an exit survey from the senior students of a local public charter school that employs numerous foreign-born teachers who speak English non-natively explains 1. if high school students think that their academic performance is affected by their foreign teachers’ foreign language accents, and 2. what students do if they think their teachers’ foreign accents have affected their understanding of course material. While many of these students thought that their teachers’ L2 accents had nothing to do with their teachers’ content knowledge and teaching skills, a few of them actually did suggest that their academic performance was a result of their teachers’ accents.
Recommended Citation
Knieling Daouda, Judith Justine, "Foreign Teachers with Foreign Language Accents in the Classroom: Perspectives and Reactions from High School Students" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 603.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/603
