Abstract
For decades the teaching of English has a foreign language has been
polarized making people believe that there are only two versions of this
language: American and British. Such polarization has meant that non-native
English students, in general, believe that they should have one of these two
accents as a sign of language proficiency. The present study explores the
beliefs regarding the accent in a group of initial students of English Language
Pedagogy from a Chilean university. In the theoretical framework, the teachers’
beliefs in all aspects are addressed. The methodology is of descriptive type
with field design and non-experimental level. The adaptation of the Specialized
Instrument for BALLI studies Measurement (Beliefs about language learning
inventory) proposed by Horwitz (1999) was made, consisting of two
dimensions: beliefs based on the assessment and reaction to varieties of the
English language emphasizing the accent. The results obtained allow us to
conclude that, in the process of internationalization of English, a non-native
user can communicate perfectly in an "intelligible" way, respecting the rules of
the language, with the accent of their native language or another, without
prejudice to their identity and origin.
Keywords: vocational training; belief; language.
Date Received:
07-03-2019
Date Acceptance:
19-06-2019
139
Date Publication:
05-08-2019
Arbitrado
The accent: A study of beliefs in initial students of Pedagogy in English
Language