Perceptions of the Students of the English Language Degree of the Higher Institute of Languages About the American, British, and Paraguayan Accents of English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47133/NEMITYRA20250703b-A7Palabras clave:
English, native accent, Paraguayan accent, non-native accents, non-native speakerResumen
This exploratory research aims to understand the perceptions that students of the English Language Degree of the Higher Institute of Languages (Instituto Superior de Lenguas), situated in Paraguay, have over the American, British and Paraguayan accents of English. Following a mixed-methods approach, 55 students from first, second, third, and fourth year answered a survey in which they first listened to audio recordings of each of the mentioned English accents and then answered Likert-scale questions rating them. Then, they specified whether they wanted to sound like a native speaker or not and why. The results show that, when rating these accents, there is a slight bias towards the British and American accents of English: while the Paraguayan accent scored higher for the categories ‘clear’, ‘easy to understand’, and ‘not harsh’, participants showed a preference for native accents in the categories ‘attractive’, ‘beautiful’, and ‘correct’. Furthermore, when asked how they would like to sound, a majority of students answered wanting to sound like a native speaker. When comparing the answers of first- and second-year students to third- and fourth-year students, there were no significant differences, except for the reasons they provided as to how they would like to sound. First and second year students seem to have stricter ideas as to how speakers of English should sound like, idealizing native speakers and worrying about understandability, while third- and fourth-year students show a strong sense of awareness in regard to accent discrimination.
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Derechos de autor 2025 Ailen Gisell Chappex Amarilla; Karim Stefania Páez Rodríguez; Revista Ñemitỹrã
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución 4.0.
