Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Attitudes towards Swedish-English - Swedish upper secondary school students' evaluations of Swedish-English accented teachers

Johansson, Andreas LU and Molin, Josef LU (2016) ÄENM92 20161
Department of Educational Sciences
English Studies
Abstract
English can be seen, to some extent, as the second language of most Swedes, even though it has no official status in Sweden. Despite a high proficiency in the language throughout the Swedish population, Swedes seem to have issues identifying with English, as is evident in a widespread resentment towards a Swedish-English accented variety. The current study examines Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards Swedish-accented teachers in comparison to native-like accented teachers. A matched-guise technique was used where two speakers (one male and one female) were recorded, posing as teachers with a typical Swedish-English accent as well as a native-like accent. In total, 99 students participated in the study and their... (More)
English can be seen, to some extent, as the second language of most Swedes, even though it has no official status in Sweden. Despite a high proficiency in the language throughout the Swedish population, Swedes seem to have issues identifying with English, as is evident in a widespread resentment towards a Swedish-English accented variety. The current study examines Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards Swedish-accented teachers in comparison to native-like accented teachers. A matched-guise technique was used where two speakers (one male and one female) were recorded, posing as teachers with a typical Swedish-English accent as well as a native-like accent. In total, 99 students participated in the study and their attitudes to 12 different traits were examined, as well as the teachers’ perceived suitability. The results of the study show that the participants prefer the native-like teachers to a great extent, as they are rated higher in almost every trait. The study also reveals that the students seem to prefer the male teachers over the females. The results presented in this study is interpreted as a sign of native-speakerist tendencies among Swedish upper secondary school students and it is pointed out that further research is needed in this field to support the findings of this study. Also, this study stresses that the native-speaker model needs to be counteracted in order for a model centered on global communication to take hold. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Johansson, Andreas LU and Molin, Josef LU
supervisor
organization
course
ÄENM92 20161
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Swedish-English, accent evaluations, matched guise, native-speakerism
language
English
id
8880628
date added to LUP
2016-09-28 13:19:30
date last changed
2016-09-28 13:19:30
@misc{8880628,
  abstract     = {{English can be seen, to some extent, as the second language of most Swedes, even though it has no official status in Sweden. Despite a high proficiency in the language throughout the Swedish population, Swedes seem to have issues identifying with English, as is evident in a widespread resentment towards a Swedish-English accented variety. The current study examines Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards Swedish-accented teachers in comparison to native-like accented teachers. A matched-guise technique was used where two speakers (one male and one female) were recorded, posing as teachers with a typical Swedish-English accent as well as a native-like accent. In total, 99 students participated in the study and their attitudes to 12 different traits were examined, as well as the teachers’ perceived suitability. The results of the study show that the participants prefer the native-like teachers to a great extent, as they are rated higher in almost every trait. The study also reveals that the students seem to prefer the male teachers over the females. The results presented in this study is interpreted as a sign of native-speakerist tendencies among Swedish upper secondary school students and it is pointed out that further research is needed in this field to support the findings of this study. Also, this study stresses that the native-speaker model needs to be counteracted in order for a model centered on global communication to take hold.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Andreas and Molin, Josef}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Attitudes towards Swedish-English - Swedish upper secondary school students' evaluations of Swedish-English accented teachers}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}