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Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent

According to Schumann‟s (1986) Acculturation Model, accent acts as a means of the learner‟s identification with either his/her mother tongue culture or the target language culture and affects his/her effort to learn English as a target Language. Taking up a critical stance, the present study, thus,...

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Main Authors: Sa’d, Seyyed Hatam Tamimi, Modirkhamene, Sima
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit UKM 2015
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/8257/1/5373-22053-1-PB_%281%29.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/8257/
http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/index
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spelling my-ukm.journal.82572015-02-26T15:26:28Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/8257/ Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent Sa’d, Seyyed Hatam Tamimi Modirkhamene, Sima According to Schumann‟s (1986) Acculturation Model, accent acts as a means of the learner‟s identification with either his/her mother tongue culture or the target language culture and affects his/her effort to learn English as a target Language. Taking up a critical stance, the present study, thus, aimed at investigating the role that learner attitudes and beliefs play in the language that learners adopt in their mother tongue (MT) or the target language (TL) (i.e., English) accent when speaking English in an instructed foreign language setting. The participants consisted of 213 Iranian male elementary EFL learners, aged 12 to 19 years. The data were elicited using a questionnaire consisting of both close-ended and open-ended questions, and were, furthermore, triangulated through focus-group interviews and class observations. The questionnaire required the participants to voice their opinions freely regarding the accent they assumed and preferred when using the target language and the reasons for their preferences. The findings revealed that 81.3% of the participants displayed strong preferences for the TL accent (i.e., English) while only 18.7% of the participants privileged speaking English with their MT accent. The rationale for the TL accent preference was found to be composed of nine categories with „intelligibility‟, „beauty and effectiveness of TL accent‟, and „resemblance to native speakers and avoidance of mockery‟ cited as the most primary reasons. On the other hand, the major reason for assuming a MT accent was to reveal one‟s identity through the MT accent. The study therefore highlighted the strong inclination among EFL learners to acculturate into the TL culture through assuming its accent. Penerbit UKM 2015-02 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/8257/1/5373-22053-1-PB_%281%29.pdf Sa’d, Seyyed Hatam Tamimi and Modirkhamene, Sima (2015) Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 15 (1). pp. 25-38. ISSN 1675-8021 http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/index
institution Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
language English
description According to Schumann‟s (1986) Acculturation Model, accent acts as a means of the learner‟s identification with either his/her mother tongue culture or the target language culture and affects his/her effort to learn English as a target Language. Taking up a critical stance, the present study, thus, aimed at investigating the role that learner attitudes and beliefs play in the language that learners adopt in their mother tongue (MT) or the target language (TL) (i.e., English) accent when speaking English in an instructed foreign language setting. The participants consisted of 213 Iranian male elementary EFL learners, aged 12 to 19 years. The data were elicited using a questionnaire consisting of both close-ended and open-ended questions, and were, furthermore, triangulated through focus-group interviews and class observations. The questionnaire required the participants to voice their opinions freely regarding the accent they assumed and preferred when using the target language and the reasons for their preferences. The findings revealed that 81.3% of the participants displayed strong preferences for the TL accent (i.e., English) while only 18.7% of the participants privileged speaking English with their MT accent. The rationale for the TL accent preference was found to be composed of nine categories with „intelligibility‟, „beauty and effectiveness of TL accent‟, and „resemblance to native speakers and avoidance of mockery‟ cited as the most primary reasons. On the other hand, the major reason for assuming a MT accent was to reveal one‟s identity through the MT accent. The study therefore highlighted the strong inclination among EFL learners to acculturate into the TL culture through assuming its accent.
format Article
author Sa’d, Seyyed Hatam Tamimi
Modirkhamene, Sima
spellingShingle Sa’d, Seyyed Hatam Tamimi
Modirkhamene, Sima
Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent
author_facet Sa’d, Seyyed Hatam Tamimi
Modirkhamene, Sima
author_sort Sa’d, Seyyed Hatam Tamimi
title Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent
title_short Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent
title_full Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent
title_fullStr Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent
title_full_unstemmed Examining acculturation model in an EFL context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. L1 accent
title_sort examining acculturation model in an efl context: learners’ attitudes towards target language accent vs. l1 accent
publisher Penerbit UKM
publishDate 2015
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/8257/1/5373-22053-1-PB_%281%29.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/8257/
http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/index
_version_ 1643737416957165568
score 13.211869

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