LEARNING BRITISH ENGLISH IN AN AMERICANISED WORLD

LEARNING BRITISH ENGLISH IN AN

AMERICANISED WORLD A STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS TOWARDS ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION IN RELATION TO THEIR ACTUAL LANGUAGE USE

Louise Nijs Student number: 01205371

Supervisor: Prof. dr. Ellen Simon

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of “Master of Arts in Linguistics and Literature – language combination Dutch-English”

Academic year: 2016 – 2017

The author grants the permission for this master’s dissertation to be made available for

consultation. Every other use is restricted by the limitations imposed by copyright, in

particular with regard to the requirement to cite the source explicitly when referring to results

from this thesis.

Louise Nijs, August 2017

Acknowledgements During the process of writing this Master’s Thesis, I received help from many people, without

whom this research project would not have been possible.

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Ellen

Simon, for allowing me to focus on this topic and for providing me with useful feedback and

advice throughout the writing process.

Secondly, I would like to thank Dr. Ludovic De Cuypere for helping me with the

statistical analysis of the matched guise test and for advising me on how to analyse the results

of the production test.

Next, I would like to thank Don Boscocollege in Zwijnaarde for allowing me to collect

my data at the school. I especially want to thank Pieter Blomme and Roel Delft, who planned

my visits and made sure everything went as smoothly as possible. I would also like to thank all

the pupils for their enthusiastic participation in this study.

Furthermore, I want to express my gratitude towards Dr. Sarah Haas, Joanna Britton,

Leah Budke, Emma Braeckman and Annelore Peeters, who lent me their voices and their time

to record the stimulus tapes that were used for the matched guise test.

Lastly, thanks to my parents for their endless support and help, and to my friends for

always being there for me, for allowing me to complain and for cheering me up when things

did not go according to plan.

Table of contents

1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1

2 Background: motivation, attitudes and beliefs in relation to language learning .......... 4

2.1 Motivation ................................................................................................................... 4

2.1.1 Definition ............................................................................................................................ 4

2.1.1.1 The social-psychological period .............................................................................................. 4

2.1.1.2 The cognitive-situated period ................................................................................................. 5

2.1.1.3 The process-oriented period................................................................................................... 5

2.1.2 Relation to language proficiency ........................................................................................ 5

2.2 Attitudes ...................................................................................................................... 6

2.2.1 Definition ............................................................................................................................ 6

2.2.2 Relation to language proficiency ........................................................................................ 7

2.3 Beliefs .......................................................................................................................... 8

2.3.1 Definition ............................................................................................................................ 8

2.3.2 Approaches ......................................................................................................................... 9

2.3.2.1 The normative approach ......................................................................................................... 9

2.3.2.2 The metacognitive approach .................................................................................................. 9

2.3.2.3 The contextual approach ...................................................................................................... 10

2.3.3 Relation to language proficiency ...................................................................................... 10

3 Previous research on attitudes and beliefs towards different accents of English ....... 11

3.1 Native accents of English ............................................................................................ 11

3.2 Non-native accents of English ..................................................................................... 12

4 English as a global language ..................................................................................... 14

4.1 Globalization .............................................................................................................. 15

4.2 The British Empire as a global power........................................................................... 16

4.3 America’s dominant position in today’s world ............................................................. 17

4.4 Impact of globalization: English as lingua franca .......................................................... 18

4.4.1 English in business settings .............................................................................................. 19

4.4.2 English in media and entertainment ................................................................................ 20

4.4.2.1 Hollywood, television and music .......................................................................................... 20

4.4.2.2 Advertisement ....................................................................................................................... 21

4.4.2.3 Social media .......................................................................................................................... 21

4.4.3 English in scientific research ............................................................................................ 21

4.4.3.1 Higher education ................................................................................................................... 22

4.4.3.2 Publishing .............................................................................................................................. 22

4.4.3.3 Contacts between researchers ............................................................................................. 22

4.4.4 English in diplomacy and international politics................................................................ 23

5 The situation in Belgium .......................................................................................... 24

5.1 The language situation in Belgium .............................................................................. 24

5.2 English in Flanders ...................................................................................................... 25

5.3 English in Flemish secondary schools .......................................................................... 27

6 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 30

6.1 Aims .......................................................................................................................... 30

6.2 Participants ................................................................................................................ 32

6.3 Instruments ............................................................................................................... 32

6.3.1 Modified matched guise test ........................................................................................... 32

6.3.2 Questionnaire ................................................................................................................... 34

6.3.3 Production Test ................................................................................................................ 36

7 Results .................................................................................................................... 38

7.1 Matched guise test ..................................................................................................... 38

7.1.1 Part 1: speaker assessment .............................................................................................. 38

7.1.2 Part 2: speaker identification ........................................................................................... 43

7.2 Questionnaire ............................................................................................................ 44

7.2.1 Important aspects of learning a new language ................................................................ 44

7.2.2 Importance of learning English ........................................................................................ 46

7.2.3 Influence/input ................................................................................................................. 47

7.2.4 Preferred variety .............................................................................................................. 52

7.2.5 Mixing varieties ................................................................................................................ 55

7.2.6 Teaching standard ............................................................................................................ 57

7.3 Production test .......................................................................................................... 59

8 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 64

8.1 The use of multiple pronunciation varieties ................................................................ 64

8.2 Educational context vs. real-life speech ....................................................................... 66

8.3 Influence of media on language learning ..................................................................... 67

8.4 Motivation and attitudes towards learning English (pronunciation) ............................. 67

8.5 Mid-Atlantic in Flemish classrooms ............................................................................. 69

9 Limitations and recommendations for future research ............................................. 70

10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 72

References ...................................................................................................................... 75

Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 80

Appendix A. Student questionnaire (English translation) ......................................................... 80

Appendix B. Student questionnaire (original Dutch version) .................................................... 85

Appendix C. Pronunciation choice per word (third-year students) ............................................ 90

Appendix D. Pronunciation choice per word (sixth-year students) ........................................... 91

(24759 words)

List of tables and figures

Tables Table 1. Number of hours that English television shows are broadcasted on the 26

most popular Flemish channels between 6-12 pm

Table 2. Words used to test the students’ pronunciation 37

Table 3. P-values for the comparison of the survey ratings 39

Figures Figure 1. Quality of ‘likeable vs. unlikeable’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year 39

and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 2. Quality of ‘intelligent vs. stupid’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year 40

Figure 3. Quality of ‘educated vs. uneducated’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by 40

third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 4. Quality of ‘selfless vs. selfish’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year 40

Figure 5. Quality of ‘successful vs. unsuccessful’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by 40

Figure 6. Quality of ‘interesting vs. boring rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year 41

Figure 7. Quality of ‘funny vs. not funny’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year 41

Figure 8. Quality of ‘kind vs. mean’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and 41

sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 9. Quality of ‘organised vs. messy’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year 41

Figure 10. Quality of ‘polite vs. rude’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and 42

Figure 11. Quality of ‘determined vs. undetermined’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by 42

Figure 12. Quality of ‘honest vs. deceitful’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year 42

Figure 13. Quality of ‘ambitious vs. lazy’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and 42

Figure 14. Number of students who correctly identified the nationality of the 43

speakers (%)

Figure 15. The most important aspect of learning a new language according to 45

third-year students (%)

Figure 16. The most important aspect of learning a new language according to 45

sixth-year students (%)

Figure 17. Origin of the television shows that the students mostly watch (%) 48

Figure 18. Factors that influence the way students speak English (%) 49

Figure 19. Number of students who have regular English contact with (non-)native 51

speakers of English (%)

Figure 20. Varieties of English that the students want to speak (%) 52

Figure 21. Varieties of English that the students believe they speak 54

Figure 22. Answers to the question whether it is acceptable to mix British and 55

American English (%)

Figure 23. The variety of English that students find most suitable for teaching (%) 57

Figure 24. Average pronunciation variety per category of words (%) 60

Figure 25. Average pronunciation variety per word (%) 62

1 Introduction In 1789 Noah Webster stated that English was the “possession and birthright of Anglo-Saxons”

(quoted from Bolton 2010: 129). Nowadays scholars and non-scholars alike would take a

different stance and agree that English has made its way into the languages and life-styles of

much of Western Europe (Stern 1977: 128). One of the countries where English plays an

important role in the everyday life of its citizens is Belgium. English is omnipresent in media,

in advertisements, at universities, in international corporations etc. Because of its

omnipresence, even young children are exposed to the language and start using English words

and phrases at a very young age in their everyday conversations.

Children already know a large number of English words before receiving any formal

education in English (Goethals 1997: 107; Lippens 2010; De Jans 2013). Flemish pupils

generally start English lessons in the first or second year of secondary school. This makes

English the second foreign language they learn at school – the first being French in the fifth

year of primary school. Up until recently, the variety of English used in school contexts in most

European countries was British English. However, the supremacy of British English as the

educational standard, as well as the spoken standard in Europe has been challenged by

American English (Bikelienė 2015: 29; Modiano 1996: 209), so whereas British English used to

be the norm that was aimed for in school contexts, American English might be on its way to

take its place. This means that English teachers are faced with some important questions:

‘Which variety of English ought to be the target?’, ‘Which variety should they themselves

speak?’, ‘Should they stick to one variety or is it acceptable to mix the different varieties?’ etc.

This research paper might provide them with some new insights.

The important global status of the United States and English has also led to the

question whether it is still desirable for second language (L2) learners to try to achieve native-

like pronunciation (Simon & Taverniers 2011: 4). When so many different people, from so

many different language-origins speak English as L2, it is hard to imagine them all being able

to have a native-like accent. It is therefore not only a question of choosing which accent to

aim for, but also a question of achievability. Furthermore, while variation in pronunciation

might be upsetting to some people, a mixture of varieties does not often impede actual

understanding (Bikelienė 2015: 30). In this respect, some scholars argue in favour of the

teaching and the use of Euro-English and Mid-Atlantic English instead of the British or

American variety (e.g. Modiano 1996; Jenkins, Modiano & Seidlhofer 2001, Modiano 2003).

These varieties of English focus on a neutral pronunciation and a vocabulary based on the

speaker’s frame of reference.

Many scholars have investigated the rapid spread of different varieties of English in

school contexts in different European countries and have researched students’ attitudes

towards those different varieties (e.g. Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit 1997, Mobärg 2002,

Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006, Queiroz De Barros 2009, Rindal 2010, Bikelienė 2015). Not only

attitudes towards pronunciation have been researched, but attitudes towards spelling and

lexical variation have been the subject of investigation as well. Several Master Papers at Ghent

University have been written about the attitudes and beliefs of Flemish (secondary) school

students towards English (e.g. Tavernier 2007; Houthuys 2011; Deneckere 2011; De Meerleer

2012). However, not much research has focused on the attitudes and beliefs of Flemish

secondary school students towards different pronunciation varieties of English, namely British

and American English. Therefore, the present research paper will attempt to answer the

following questions:

1. What are Flemish secondary school students’ attitudes towards different

pronunciation varieties of English, more specifically towards British English and

American English?

2. Which pronunciation variety of English do Flemish secondary school students use

when speaking English?

3. Do these students’ attitudes towards those different varieties of English match their

actual pronunciation?

4. Should English teachers take into account the different varieties of English or should

they only teach one variety?

The first three questions will be used as a base to answer the last question. They will

be answered based on the analysis of a matched guise test and a questionnaire that was filled

in by two groups of secondary school pupils: a group of third-year pupils (14-15 years old) and

a group of sixth-year pupils (17-18 years old). A subsample of the pupils was also asked to

participate in a production test to check their actual pronunciation.

This paper is structured as follows: chapter 2 will provide some theoretical background

on motivation, attitudes and beliefs in relation to language learning and to language

proficiency. Following chapter 2, chapter 3 will summarise previous research on attitudes and

beliefs towards different pronunciation varieties of English. Chapter 4 will talk about the status

of English as a global language before chapter 5 zooms in on the language situation in Belgium

and explains the role English fulfils in this country. Chapter 6 will explain this study’s

methodology and in chapter 7 the results will be described. Following the description of the

results, chapter 8 will discuss some of the relevant findings from the previous chapter. Based

on the results and the discussion of those results, in chapter 10 a conclusion will be

formulated.

By analysing the way secondary school students feel about the different varieties of

English, this study hopes to provide some new insights about the way secondary school

teachers of English could approach this language during their lessons.

2 Background: motivation, attitudes and beliefs in relation to language learning

Because this research paper focuses on the attitudes towards varieties of English in an

educational context, this chapter will provide some theoretical background on attitudes

towards second language learning, beliefs about second language learning, second language

motivations, and the relationship of those concepts to language proficiency.

2.1 Motivation

Motivation is an important concept when it comes to the acquisition of a second or foreign

language. It has been widely accepted as one of the key factors that influence the rate and

success of second or foreign language learning (Dörnyei 1998: 117). Because of motivation,

people start learning a language and continue the – often difficult and long – learning process.

2.1.1 Definition Although a lot has been written about motivation in educational and research contexts, the

concept is not easily defined because different phases put emphasis on different elements of

the term. Broadly speaking, motivation refers to goal-oriented behaviour (Masgoret &

Gardner 2003: 128). Even though there might be disagreement about the exact definition of

motivation, Masgoret & Gardner (2003) argue that it is possible to measure motivation. The

most important characteristics to measure are ‘motivational intensity’, ‘desire to learn’ and

‘attitudes towards learning the target language’ (218).

The history of research on L2 motivation can be divided into three phases (Dörnyei

2014: 66). The first period is ‘the social-psychological period (1959-1990). This phase is

characterised by the work of Gardner and his students and associates. The second phase is

known as ‘the cognitive-situated period’ (1990s). This period is known for works drawing on

cognitive theories in educational psychology. The last period, ‘the process-oriented period’

(2000 onwards) is defined by an interest in motivational change (Dörnyei 2014: 66-67).

2.1.1.1 The social-psychological period The first research on motivation was pioneered by social psychologists Robert Gardner and

Wallace Lambert. To them motivation to learn a second language was part of the social world

of the learner and could not be compared to motivation to learn any other school subject.

They considered languages to be the mediating force between different communities and

therefore, they regarded the motivation to learn another community’s language as a means

of intercultural communication (Dörnyei 2014: 67). Dörnyei (1998) states that the reason for

this can be found in the nature of language learning. He claims that

language is at the same time (a) a communication coding system that can be taught

as a school subject; (b) an integral part of the individual’s identity involved in almost

all mental activities; and also (c) the most important channel of social organisation

embedded in the culture of the community where it is used. (Dörnyei 1998: 118).

In other words, motivation to learn a language cannot be compared directly to the attainment

of other school subjects, because compared to other subjects, L2 motivation involves

personality and social dimensions as well.

2.1.1.2 The cognitive-situated period In the 1990s the cognitive-situated model started gaining ground. This period is characterised

by two trends. Dörnyei (2014) argues that a first important trend was the desire to catch up

with advances in motivational psychology and to import some concepts from cognitive

psychology. This meant that how one assessed oneself became an important element of

motivational theory (74). The second significant trend was the desire to narrow down the

perspective of L2 motivation from the disposition of a whole community to an analysis of how

motivation operates in actual learning situations (Dörnyei 2014: 74). This means that the

external factors that influence a student’s learning (e.g. classroom, teacher, teaching

methods) became a central object of research.

2.1.1.3 The process-oriented period During the social-psychological and the cognitive-situated period, motivation was seen as a

static concept. However, if motivation is considered as static, its dynamic character and

temporal variation are neglected (Dörnyei 2014: 83). Pintrich & Schunk define motivation as

“the process whereby goal-oriented activity is instigated and sustained” (quoted from Dörnyei

1998: 118). This means that motivation is no longer considered a reflection of certain inner

forces; neither is it viewed in strictly behavioural terms. From this point of view, the focus

rather lies on the individual’s thoughts, beliefs and emotions that are transformed into action

(Dörnyei 1998: 118). In other words, a person’s motivation is subject to changeability.

2.1.2 Relation to language proficiency Motivation to learn a language is an important indicator of someone’s level of proficiency.

Dörnyei states that the motivation to learn a language can make up for any deficiencies in

one’s language aptitude and learning conditions (1998: 117). In other words, people who are

more motivated to learn a language are more likely to succeed than people who have a

naturally higher aptitude to learn languages.

This was already discovered in the 1970s with research by, among others, Gardner,

Smythe & Clément (1977 and 1979). They argue that Francophone students in Canada who

were highly motivated to learn English ended up having a higher English language proficiency

(Clément, Gardner & Smythe 1977: 131). The same could be said about Anglophone Canadians

learning French: students who were highly motivated to learn French before entering a French

language learning programme were much more successful in developing oral skills than

students who were not as motivated to learn the language (Gardner, Smythe & Clément 1979:

These findings are confirmed by Lasagabaster (2011), who investigated a group of

Spanish ‘content and language integrated learning’ (CLIL) and ‘English as a second language’

(ESL) students. His findings state that students with greater motivation to learn English

performed significantly better than students who were less motivated (Lasagabaster 2011:

2.2 Attitudes

As mentioned in the previous section, language learning is a deeply social event and because

of its social dimension, the study of L2 motivation and attitudes was originally initiated by

social psychologists (Dörnyei 2003: 4). The last few decades, however, the domain of attitudes

towards language learning has been important for scholars of linguistics as well.

2.2.1 Definition Once again, the concept of attitude is not easy to define and many scholars use different

definitions. In early work on attitudes towards languages, Allport (1935) claimed that “attitude

was the most indispensable concept in social psychology”. He defined the term as follows: “a

learned disposition to think, feel and behave toward[s] a person (or object) in a particular

way” (cited from Garrett 2010: 19). Fazio (2007) sees attitudes as object-evaluation

associations. In other words, attitudes are seen as associations between a given object and a

given summary evaluation of the object (608). This means that attitudes towards language

learning refer to the individual’s reaction to anything associated with the immediate context

in which the language is taught (Masgoret & Gardner 2003: 127).

According to Mantle-Bromley, attitudes have three components: affect, cognition and

behaviour (Mantle-Bromley 1995: 373). Firstly, affect is an evaluative emotional reaction. In

other words, it refers to the degree of like or dislike associated with the attitudinal object. In

this respect, attitudes towards the second language teacher, the classroom, the language

itself, speakers of the language etc. have been found to be statistically significant in their

relationship with students’ achievement and their intentions to continue to study a language

(373). The second component, cognition, refers to what a person knows (and believes) about

an attitudinal object, in this case language learning. Mantle-Bromley states that what students

believe about the nature of language learning may cause obstacles that could affect their

language-related attitudes and behaviours. Lastly, behaviour involves intentions and actions

related to the attitudinal object (373).

Recently, however, there has been some questioning over the status of these three

components in relation to attitudes. Garrett (2010) states that recent views warn that one

should be careful not to equate these individual components with attitudes themselves.

Instead, affect, cognition and behaviour can be seen more as triggers of attitudes (23). In other

words, an emotional reaction (affect) or a certain behaviour might bring about an attitude and

its associations. Garrett adds that especially the component behaviour has been the subject

of some controversy, because many researchers believe that there are differences between

people’s attitudes and the way they behave (Garrett 2010: 26).

2.2.2 Relation to language proficiency Students’ attitudes have a great effect on their classroom achievement and language

proficiency (Mantle-Bromley 1995: 373). This finding is supported by Garrett (2010), who gives

the example of Welsh language education in Wales. He states that positive attitudes towards

the Welsh language are an important input factor to the learning and the general revival of

Welsh. These positive attitudes lead to high levels of achievement in Welsh language

programmes (21). In other words, favourable attitudes towards a language and towards

language learning can lead to better study results and a higher achievement and proficiency

in the language.

Dehbozorgi (2012) takes it one step further. She claims that “attitude is believed to be

the factor that makes differences between underachievement and accomplishment” and that

the learners’ attitudes, skills and strategies prescribe whether or not they will be able to

completely master the language (2012: 41).

2.3 Beliefs

Clearly linked to attitudes and motivations is the concept of beliefs. Many scholars have

concluded that students’ beliefs influence their attitudes and motivations towards learning a

second or a foreign language.

2.3.1 Definition Just like motivations and attitudes towards second language acquisition, beliefs about

language acquisition are difficult to define. Generally speaking, beliefs could be defined as the

“opinions and ideas that learners (and teachers) have about the task of learning a

second/foreign language” (Kalaja & Barcelos 2003: 1). Barcelos (2003) argues that two general

trends can be observed in research on beliefs about second language acquisition:

Firstly, all the definitions stress that beliefs about second language learning refer to

the nature of language and language learning. Second, some definitions emphasize the

social and cultural nature of beliefs. (Barcelos 2003: 8)

This means that the social dimension of beliefs cannot be underestimated and that in order

to understand students’ beliefs one has to understand their world and their identity. Barcelos

argues that beliefs can be defined as “a form of thought that covers all the matters of which

we have no sure knowledge and yet which we are sufficiently confident of to act upon”

(Barcelos 2003: 10). This definition emphasises the social constructs that are born out of our

own experiences.

Beliefs are often talked about in terms of the cognitive component of attitudes (Garrett

2010: 31). Many studies have been written about learner beliefs in relation to (foreign)

languages, but there is no clear consensus on the distinction between the terms ‘beliefs’ and

‘knowledge’. Wenden states that knowledge is generally seen as factual, objective

information that is acquired through formal learning. This knowledge is usually representative

of the body of knowledge that constitutes a particular discipline of study (Wenden 1998: 517).

Beliefs, on the other hand, are considered individual, subjective understandings, which are

often related to value and are characterised by commitment not present in knowledge

(Wenden 1998: 517).

Learners’ beliefs about language learning are the result of several factors that shape

one’s thinking and belief formation. These shaping factors include past experiences, culture,

context, and personal factors (Bernat 2006: 202). According to Bernat beliefs are defined as

“psychologically held understandings, premises, or propositions about the world that are felt

to be true and are said to act as strong filters of reality (2006: 203). She adds that these beliefs

have the potential to influence the learners’ attitude to language and to learning, and their

motivation. Furthermore, they can also shape their experiences and actions in the classroom

(203). This means that beliefs can either hinder or promote the learners’ success in the

acquisition of a new language.

2.3.2 Approaches Barcelos (2003) argues that there are three approaches to beliefs about second language

learning: the normative approach, the metacognitive approach and the contextual approach.

2.3.2.1 The normative approach The studies within the normative approach consider beliefs about second language acquisition

as indicators of students’ future behaviours as autonomous or good learners (Barcelos 2003:

11). Studies within this approach have mostly dealt with the different types of beliefs students

have towards second language learning. According to Barcelos (2003), most studies that

follow this approach define beliefs as perceived notions, myths or misconceptions. This means

that students are thought to have opinions and ideas about language learning, but these ideas

are seen as misconceptions (11). The normative approach usually works with questionnaires.

The most widely used questionnaire is the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)

developed by Horwitz (1985).

2.3.2.2 The metacognitive approach Within this approach, beliefs are defined as metacognitive knowledge (Barcelos 2003: 16).

Wenden defines metacognitive knowledge as “the stable, statable although sometimes

incorrect knowledge that learners have acquired about language, learning and the language

learning process” (quoted from Barcelos 2003: 16). As opposed to the normative approach,

the metacognitive approach emphasises the metacognitive knowledge of the students and

makes a stronger connection between beliefs and autonomous behaviour (Barcelos 2003 17).

2.3.2.3 The contextual approach More recently, studies have started researching beliefs from different perspectives. This group

of researchers aims at getting a better understanding about beliefs in specific contexts and

characterises beliefs as contextual, dynamic and social (Barcelos 2003: 19-20). The basic idea

behind this method is interpreting students’ beliefs in their contexts by combining different

methods of gathering information (Barcelos 2003: 20). Crucial to this type of analysis is that

beliefs are recognised as part of the experiences of learners and are seen as situationally

conditioned.

2.3.3 Relation to language proficiency Many researchers have argued that students’ beliefs about foreign languages influence their

attitudes and motivations towards learning that language. A study conducted by Banya &

Chen (1997) concluded that students with positive beliefs about foreign language learning are

strongly motivated and hold favourable attitude and higher motivational intensity. They also

use more learning strategies, are less anxious and have better language achievement (1997:

24). This means that students who hold more positive beliefs towards language learning and

the language they are learning will have a higher achievement and proficiency.

However, not every researcher of second language acquisition agrees with this. Ellis

(2008) summarises several studies on the relationship between beliefs and proficiency and

concludes that the link between beliefs and proficiency is weak, because the fact that students

hold certain beliefs does not mean that they will always act on them. He argues that if beliefs

do really have an impact on learning, it is likely they do so indirectly by influencing the kinds

of learning strategies learners use (Ellis 2008: 702-703).

3 Previous research on attitudes and beliefs towards different accents of English

In teaching English as second language (ESL) or English as foreign language (EFL), teachers with

a native and teachers with a non-native accent might be treated differently by students.

Therefore, in this section, a number of previous studies on attitudes towards different

pronunciation varieties of English will be discussed. This overview will include both the

attitudes of L2-learners and the attitudes of native speakers of English. Because the present

research paper only focuses on British and American English, studies about other accent

varieties of the language will not be included.

3.1 Native accents of English

Social Identity Theory (SIT) suggests that the social part of our identity derives from the groups

we belong to (Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006: 104). This would mean that we hold more positive

attitudes towards people who belong to our own in-group. In European ESL or EFL contexts

this would mean that learners are more attracted to British English, because the United

Kingdom is part of the European Union and is situated a lot closer to the countries in Europe

than, for example, the United States or Australia are. On the other hand, the United States

has a much bigger power and influence on the rest of the world, which could mean that

European English learners might identify so much with American culture that they consider

speakers of American English as part of their in-group as well.

When it comes to researching attitudes of second/foreign language learners towards

varieties of English, Möbarg is an influential scholar. In the 1990s, he investigated the attitudes

of Swedish secondary school students towards multiple accents of English. He reported that

British English is better rated for status, while American English is better rated for solidarity

(quoted from Queiroz De Barros 2009: 36), but that Swedish speakers of English often mix

those two varieties in their own speech (quoted from Simon 2005: 15).

A study by Dalton-Pufffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit (1997) confirms that students have

different attitudes towards different pronunciation varieties of English. This study concluded

that Austrian learners of English prefer British English over American or Austrian varieties of

English (126). These findings are confirmed by Ladegaard & Sachdev (2006), who researched

the attitudes of Danish learners of English towards several varieties of the language (Received

Pronunciation (RP), Scottish, Australian, Cockney and Standard American). They conclude that

British English remains the favourite model of pronunciation among secondary school pupils

(106).

As stated above, social identity theory suggests that people will react more favourably

towards the language variety that is associated with their most prominent in-group

(Bresnahan et al. 2002: 172). This means that someone who speaks with a foreign accent will

be identified as a member of an out-group by native speakers and is thus likely to evoke

negative stereotypes. However, Hiraga (2005) states that this is not always the case: native

British speakers rate “Network American” (standard spoken American) higher than several

regional varieties of British English. Hiraga adds that this has to do with the British class society

and the importance of prestige in the British culture (Hiraga 2005: 306-307).

3.2 Non-native accents of English

Various studies have shown that L2 learners with little or no foreign accent are generally rated

more favourable by native speakers than learners with a strong foreign accent (Dalton-Puffer,

Kaltenboeck & Smit 1997: 116). However, achieving a native pronunciation is not possible for

most L2 learners. This means that, in second language teaching, it is not always possible to

find teachers who are native speakers of the language that needs to be taught. Kelch &

Santana-Williamson (2002) argue that this does not need to be a problem. Not only do non-

native speakers possess the same professional attributes and qualifications as native speakers,

they can further contribute to a healthy learning environment by displaying great sensitivity

to the needs of the language learners. Furthermore, they also serve as more realistic role

models than native speakers (2002: 58).

This is supported by Bresnahan et al. (2002: 182). This study revealed that people react

more favourably to individuals with whom they share an accent (i.e. Social Identity Theory).

This would mean that non-native speakers react positively to other non-native speakers with

the same accent and thus see them as role models. Nevertheless, Dalton-Pufffer, Kaltenboeck

& Smit (1997) contradict this finding. They conclude that advanced Austrian EFL learners

display negative attitudes towards their own non-native accent of English. They state that

among the native accents the respondents prefer the variety they are most familiar with (126),

which in the case of Austrian learners is British English.

Many non-native speakers prefer native speakers when it comes to institutional roles

(teacher, radio announcer). However, speakers with a non-native accent often score the same

as speakers with a native accent on the solidarity level. Kelch & Santana-Williamson (2002)

add that, in teaching situations, students do prefer native speaking teachers for fluency

lessons, but that it does not matter whether the teacher is a native speaker or not for accuracy

lessons (64).

As just mentioned, non-native learners of English rate native speakers higher than

other non-native speakers in specific contexts. However, when it comes to the attitudes of

native speakers, the degree of intelligibility of the non-native speaker is more important than

the context. Native speakers often judge non-native speakers with an intelligible accent as

more pleasant than non-native speakers with an unintelligible accent. A study carried out by

Breshanan et al. (2002) showed that Americans prefer native speakers of English, both as

teaching-assistants and as friends, i.e. both on an institutional and a solidarity level.

Furthermore, this study revealed that friends were always judged as significantly more

attractive than teaching assistants, regardless of their accent (2002: 182). In other words,

heavily accented speakers are judged as less attractive when they hold a teaching position,

while their heavy accents are more accepted in casual contexts.

Lev-Ari & Keysar (2010) relate intelligibility to credibility and state that because non-

native speakers are often harder to understand and because their accent classifies them as an

out-group member, they are perceived as less credible (Lev-Ari & Keysar 2010: 1093-1094).

They add that even when listeners are informed that the difficulty of processing accented

speech could impact their judgment, they are unable to undo the impact of a heavy accent

(1095).

4 English as a global language English is used in many places around the world, either as a first language (for example in the

United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States), a second language (for example in Malta or

in India) or a foreign language (for example in European context in Belgium). These places

might all use English on a regular basis, but the way the language is actually spoken varies

from place to place. There are differences in pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary etc. Not only

are there several varieties in the world (e.g. British English, American English, Australian

English…), even within those varieties a lot of differences can be observed (e.g. the

Manchester accent, the Texas accent…) (Collins & Inger 2003: 2). The present research paper

will focus on the regional variation on a larger scale, more specifically on the differences

between British and American English.

English might exist in an array of different forms, but those forms are not seen as equal

in terms of status. Ladegaard & Sachdev state that researchers have found evidence that both

native and non-native speakers of English perceive RP as the highest status variety (2006: 92).

As mentioned in section 3, among native speakers of English, RP is typically associated with

more competence and status than other varieties, but on the other hand, it seems to be less

socially attractive than non-standard varieties of English. Speakers of American English are

often considered to be “moderately prestigious and not very socially attractive” (Rindal 2010:

242). Nevertheless, many scholars (e.g. Crystal 2003, Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006, Rindal 2010)

argue that American global cultural hegemony might cause the dominant language model to

shift from Received Pronunciation towards American English.

Traditionally, American English was seen as a less prestigious and less educated variety

of English, due to Britain’s long established history of publishing educational materials

(Bikelienė 2015: 30). However, America’s importance in the world of international business,

scientific research and entertainment has made American English grow in global status as well,

which has brought more people to adopt an American accent, either consciously or

subconsciously.

America’s status as a global power is important when looking at changes in English.

Moreover, new discoveries in technology have made it possible to communicate with people

from all over the world. As Block & Cameron (2002) state, much everyday interaction still

occurs within local networks today. However, large numbers of people, from all over the world

now also participate in networks which go beyond the local. Advances in (communication)

technologies enable individuals to have regular exchanges with others who they might never

have seen face-to-face (2002: 1). Where transatlantic communication used to be only readily

available for international corporations and important political leaders, the rise of

technological improvements and social media have made it possible for individuals to have

easy access to whatever happens on the other side of the world with a mouse click and to

establish close relationships with people who live thousands of kilometres away.

Even though distance might no longer be an obstacle for communication across

countries, Block & Cameron argue that a new obstacle arises: the absence of a shared linguistic

code (2002: 1). In practice this obstacle is often overcome by using English as the language of

communication and thus making English that shared linguistic code. However, this does not

say anything about which variety of English should be used and why the dominant variety has

been changing from British English to American English over the last few years (Ladegaard &

Sachdev: 2006).

This shift in the dominant language model from British to American English and the

spread of the language in general has to be considered in light of past and present

developments of the United Kingdom and the United States as global political and economic

powers. The rise and expansion of the United Kingdom and the United States on the world

stage will briefly be discussed in the following sections.

4.1 Globalization

The world we are living in today is often described as globalized: it is a world that is becoming

noticeably smaller as distant lands are being linked together; yet at the same time, this world

is becoming larger because our horizons have never been so broad (Osterhammel & Petersson

2005: 3). The online Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘globalization’ as follows:

the action, process, or fact of making global; esp. (in later use) the process by which

businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on

an international scale, widely considered to be at the expense of national identity.

(online Oxford Dictionary)

To that definition, the online Cambridge Dictionary adds that ‘globalization’ is “a situation in

which available goods and services, or social and cultural influences, gradually become similar

in all parts of the world”. However, Osterhammel & Petersson argue that globalization implies

more than just the existence of relations between distant places on earth. They state that the

term should only be used “where such relations acquire a certain degree of regularity and

stability and where they affect large numbers of people” (2005: viii). In order to gain

permanence, these relationships have to stabilise into institutions. This means that the global

empires that were built by European and Asian nations from the sixteenth century onwards

could be considered as globalized structures, just like the economic market today is part of

our globalized world.

Globalization can be seen as a positive evolution, but for many people it connotes a

loss of diversity and creeping homogenisation (Sonntag 2003: xi). This is especially the case

when it comes to cultural activities and languages: many nations repress other cultures to

make their own nation grow and to impress their own cultural ideals and values upon others.

Looking at it from this perspective, globalization implies the loss of cultures as well as the

death of languages.

As mentioned before, any invocation of worldwide social relations that is unobstructed

by the constraints of geography must raise questions about language (Block & Cameron 2002:

1). Language is indeed the medium through which most human communication takes place.

As argued earlier in this section, the language in which a lot of the international

communication and relations take place is English.

4.2 The British Empire as a global power

To understand why the English language – and especially the variety spoken in England –

became the dominant language of communication between non-English speakers, one has to

look at the history of the British Empire as one of the most powerful empires in history.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the British Empire was the largest in the

world. It governed roughly a quarter of the world’s population, covered the same amount of

land and dominated nearly all its oceans (Ferguson 2004: xi). This meant that it was able to

spread its customs and language across a big part of the world. By governing or politically

influencing a country, the British Empire indeed also imposed its culture and ideals on the

repressed populations. Without the Empire, the world would not know the Common Law,

Protestantism, or the English language.

It is clear that the spread of the English language across the world in the nineteenth

and twentieth centuries was the result of the British Empire’s colonial expansion (Fant 2002:

166). However, the English language continued to spread even after the decline of the British

Empire and not only colonised nations and members of the Commonwealth have adopted the

English language; billions of people around the world are learning English as a second or a

foreign language.

In the years to come, the United Kingdom and its language stabilised their influence in

Europe. Until the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark joined Belgium, France, Italy,

Luxembourg, West-Germany and the Netherlands in the European Common Market in 1973,

French used to be the main official language of what was to become the European Union (Fant

2002: 167). Before 1973, the United Kingdom’s requests to join the European Economic

Community were refused by the French president Charles de Gaulle, because he doubted the

UK’s political will. It is, however, believed that he feared that English would take over and

become the common language of the European Community (BBC online). A little over fifty

years later, his fears seem to have been well-grounded.

4.3 America’s dominant position in today’s world

As mentioned in the previous section, the fall and decline of the British Empire did not bring

an end to the spread of English across the world. Another English-speaking nation rose to

power: the United States took over on the world stage. It became the most powerful Western

nation due to its political, economic, technological and cultural rise in the beginning of the

twentieth century (Fant 2002: 166). Since the Second World War, the United States is

considered to be the biggest Western hegemonic power. The U.S. rose to this position thanks

to its military and economic strength. Due to this strength and influence, for some people

globalization has become almost synonymous to Americanisation (Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006:

America’s rise to power did not go without obstacles. When the Second Word War

ended, a new war presented itself: the Cold War. McCrum states that when this war finally

came to an end, there was an astonishing new landscape for the English language to explore.

During those years “the spread of Anglo-American culture seemed like the fulfilment of the

ambition expressed by America’s Founding Fathers to ‘play among the Powers of the Earth’”

(2010: 3). The Cold War might have ended, America’s military involvement in the world did

not. This, nevertheless, does not mean that the world only associates the United States with

its foreign policy. McCrum adds that there is an important distinction to be drawn between

culture and foreign policy (5). In other words, people can disagree with America’s military

policy, but still watch American films, idolise American pop starts, love American fashion

trends, and speak American English.

That American culture is popular all over the world is seen in the fact that film has

become one of the leading U.S. export products (Marling 2006: 19-20). By exporting films, the

United States also exports its language. Bolton (2010) uses the 1995 film Clueless to illustrate

this point. This film was set in a Los Angeles high school and “consciously drew on the slang

and speech styles of privileged teenage girls for its authenticity and comedic effect”. The

language that was used in the film influenced the language not only across the United States,

but throughout teenage culture worldwide (137).

Because of this political, economic and cultural strength, the backbone of global

English today is the power of the United States (Fant 2002: 166). The Oxford Guide to World

English summarises this as follows:

American English has a global role at the beginning of the twenty-first century

comparable to that of British English at the start of the twentieth – but on a scale larger

than any previous language or variety of a language in recorded history (McArthur

2003: 165).

4.4 Impact of globalization: English as lingua franca

A result of the dominant position of the United Kingdom and the United States is that more

people want to learn English as a foreign language. Today in China, for example, there are

more learners of English than there are native speakers of the language (Sonntag 2003: xi).

This illustrates that English has become more than just a language that is spoken in different

countries in the world; it has become one of the world’s most important international

languages. According to McKay (2002) an international language is not just a language with a

large number of native speakers. For a language to become international, it needs to be

developed to where it is “no longer linked to a single culture or nation but serves both global

and local needs as a language of wider communication” (24). It is clear that English is fulfilling

this job.

A concept that is linked to that of ‘international language’ is the concept of ‘English as

lingua franca’ (ELF). Due to this political and cultural hegemony of both the U.K. and the U.S.,

English has become the lingua franca in a big part of the world. ELF refers to the formal

features of English that can be found in the speech of non-native speakers when they use this

language for communication in international contexts (Berns 2009: 192). According to Jenkins,

“in its purest form, ELF is defined as a contact language that is only used among non-native

speakers” (2006: 160). Thus, for English to be considered as lingua franca, it has to be used in

a variety of domains and by a large number of speakers, who do not have English as a native

language.

In the following sections, some of the domains where English is used as a lingua franca

will be discussed briefly.

4.4.1 English in business settings As a result of the global nature of business, English has largely taken over this domain

worldwide. With very few exceptions, English has become the language that multi- and

transnational companies use. Fant (2002) states that all spoken and written communication

on a global level takes place in English: yearly reports, higher-level meetings, e-mails and

telephone calls between top executives etc. (168). He adds that this also means that people

will usually code-switch into English at their workplaces even when they are speaking or

writing their native language.

In the Netherlands, for example, English is the daily language in most international

companies. Not only among speakers of different languages, but also among speakers of

Dutch. Berns et al. state that sometimes this is a formal policy to underscore the international

flavour of the company, but other times English is used in internal communication because

one individual in the communicative chain may not be a native speaker of Dutch (2007: 20-

21), thus showing that English is taking over the world of business.

English might have become the language of business, it is no longer the U.S. version

that everybody strives to speak (Marling 2006: 16). It has become a matter of understanding

each other. Even though people might no longer strive to sound as native as possible, this

statement still provides evidence that English is one of the most important languages for

(international) business; a fact that is also supported by the huge number of ‘English for

business’-handbooks that are widely available and the number of students who actively

choose to pursue the learning of English.

4.4.2 English in media and entertainment English – and especially American English – does not only play an important role in business

settings; contemporary European popular culture owes much to the cultural and media

products imported from the United States.

4.4.2.1 Hollywood, television and music After the First World War had disrupted the powerful French, German and Italian film

industries, it left the U.S. film industry to bloom. Now, a century later, film has become one of

the leading U.S. export products (Marling 2006: 19-20). Even though many of the film studios

behind Hollywood films are no longer purely American, they do continue to produce films in

English. While many places in the world dub their imported films instead of showing the

original or a subtitled version, the illustration of the influence of the Hollywood film Clueless

in section 4.3 illustrates that the language that is used in films has a much wider reach than

only native speakers.

A second important English cultural export product is television shows. Not only do the

regular national television channels air a lot of Anglophone television programmes (see also

section 5.2), but services like Netflix and iTunes make downloading foreign television shows

into a daily practice. Furthermore, television channels like BBC and CNN are available

worldwide, thus broadcasting English into a lot of households.

A last illustration of the influence of popular culture on the spread of English is the

spread of the language in hip-hop music. Bolton (2010) argues that hip-hop music has spread

from the United States through youth culture worldwide (137). Because the music spread

across the world, the verbal expressions that were – and still are – used in that type of music

entered the mainstream of the language and young people worldwide use expressions found

in their favourite hip-hop songs in their everyday conversations.

Teenagers worldwide not only subconsciously pick up parts of English through media

and entertainment, they also actively try to learn the language in order to be able to consume

more English media.

4.4.2.2 Advertisement A second domain of media where English is omnipresent in non-English speaking parts of the

world is advertisement. According to Gerrisen et al. English has been shown to be the most

frequently used foreign language in non-Anglophone advertisements (2007: 294). Advertisers

exploit English to reach international audiences and are often explicitly told to use the

language because the better-educated and the youth throughout Europe can be reached with

English (Berns et al. 2007: 21), thus saving the advertising companies a lot of money on

translations. Nevertheless, Edwards states that the origin of the advertised product seems to

influence the attitudes towards the use of English (2016: 40). When a product is typically

Belgian, for example, English is not considered as appropriate as for an international product.

4.4.2.3 Social media A last example of the influence of contemporary media on language spread is social media.

Social media has become part of many people’s life and especially young people do not go a

day without posting on or checking their various social media profiles. A study organised by

The Dutch Language Union [Nederlandse Taalunie] reveals that people in Belgium and the

Netherlands still mostly use Dutch on social media, but that English is the second most used

language among social media users (Rys et al. 2017: 193-201). They state that the reason why

so many people use English next to their native language is that a lot of people have

international friends on social media. In order to also reach those international friends, many

people switch to English (195).

Non-Anglophone people do not only use English to post on social media, they also

mostly watch online content that is in English. Many of the most subscribed to-channels on

YouTube, for example, are in English. As of the 18th of April 2017, 36 out of the 50 YouTube

channels with the most subscribers used English.

4.4.3 English in scientific research Not only the domains of business and entertainment have been taken over by English, the

domain of scientific research has been influenced as well. In the following sections the use of

English in higher education, in publishing and in the contacts between researchers and

scientist will be discussed.

4.4.3.1 Higher education Due to the increasing internationalisation of education and the higher mobility of students,

English started to play an important role in higher education (Berns et al. 2007: 27) and many

universities from all over Europe have started offering courses taught in English. This is further

encouraged by the Conference of Bologna, which introduced common diplomas in the

European Union, and the popularity of international exchange programmes.

Students want to study abroad because it prepares them for international careers

(Coleman 2006: 15) but they are often not prepared to learn the language of the country they

are visiting. Because universities have become part of the globalized economic market and

more students means more income, they have no choice but to offer courses and even entire

study programmes in English if they want to attract international students, because these

students usually know enough English to take the courses that are offered.

4.4.3.2 Publishing The consequence of the evolution of English as lingua franca is that everything that is not

written in English will not reach an international audience. Not only international audiences

are important; even in national contexts, publishing in English has become common practice

in the natural sciences and this phenomenon has spread to the fields of social sciences and

humanities (Lillis & Curry 2010: 44). Fant states that no scientist or scholar can escape the

obligation to learn English (2002: 167), because otherwise he or she would risk being excluded

from the international scientific community. Another risk of not publishing in English is not

acquiring enough funds (Edwards 2016: 31) and those funds are needed for further scientific

research. This means that specialists in other fields have to become specialists in English as

4.4.3.3 Contacts between researchers English as lingua franca in the field of research is not only a matter of publishing and being

read in English. English is also the language that is used in a most international (and even

national) meetings and conferences. Edwards observes that even when a conference in the

Netherlands is attended by only Dutch speakers, the conference is often held in English to

attract an international audience (2016: 33). This shows that English has become the most

important language for scientific researchers.

4.4.4 English in diplomacy and international politics At European level, English is a link language at the highest levels of official international

communication. The United Nations or the European Union, for example, will mostly use

English for their communication (Berns et al. 2007: 19). Not only real communities like the

two aforementioned communities use English; individual nations use English for international

communication as well. McCrum states that during the crisis in Georgia in 2008 the county’s

president exploited his fluency in English to dominate the international coverage of the crisis

(2010: 11). Because his communication was in English he was able to reach other nations much

more quickly than were he to communicate in his native language. Edwards (2016: 47) adds

that queen Beatrix, the former queen of the Netherlands, also had the habit of communicating

with representatives of other nations in English, even when those nations did not have English

as an official language. This shows that many countries use English in order to be understood

on by other nations, who might not even have English as an official language. This is

furthermore illustrated by the fact that most country’s official websites are available to access

both in that country’s official language and in English.

5 The situation in Belgium After having discussed the status of English on a global scale, this section will zoom in on

Belgium and look at the language situation there and at the role that English plays in the

country.

5.1 The language situation in Belgium

The language situation in Belgium is a rather special one. Belgium has 3 official languages

(Dutch, French and German), but not everyone speaks the three languages. Belgium uses the

principle of territoriality. This means that different parts of the country use a different

language (or languages): Flanders and Wallonia are mostly monolingual Dutch and French and

Brussels, Belgium’s capital, is bilingual Dutch and French. However, this does not mean that

every inhabitant of Brussels speaks both Dutch and French, but rather that the official

institutions are bilingual. The use of Dutch in Flanders and French in Wallonia does not only

apply to daily personal life, it is a “legal obligation for trade, administration and education”

(Goethals 1997: 105). This means that French is a foreign language for many Flemings; it is not

part of daily communication for most inhabitants of Flanders (Goethals 1997: 106). The same

could be said about the status of Dutch in Wallonia.

Especially in Flanders, the laws on language use are stricter than in most other

European regions. This is due to Flanders’ complicated history with language. Tensions

between the Dutch- and French-speaking inhabitants of what later became Belgium go back

as far as the 13th century and were caused by alternating periods of power and prestige for

each language (Berns et al. 2007: 18). When Belgium became an independent parliamentary

monarchy in 1830, its constitution provided for linguistic freedom. However, this linguistic

freedom was only profitable for the rich and powerful upper-class population in Flanders and

Wallonia, all of whom were French speakers (Willemyns 2002: 37). The majority of Belgium’s

population spoke Dutch, but throughout the 19th century, they were often the ones to endure

widespread discrimination.

It took 50 years, until 1889, for Dutch and French to receive an equal status and to

become the two official languages of the country (Willemyns 2002: 37). It took another 40

years before Dutch became the main language of instruction at Ghent University. Laws that

were passed in the 1960s further determined Belgium’s linguistic future: the linguistic border

became fixed and education, administration and justice were subjected to the principle of

territoriality (Berns et al. 2007: 18).

Today, the different communities in Belgium are governed for a large part by their own

regional government. The Flemish government oversees matters of education, administration

and justice and the use of other languages than Dutch is mostly prohibited in official matters.

Flanders’ battle to recognise Dutch as official language in Belgium has made the use of other

languages – including English – in official matters quite restricted.

5.2 English in Flanders

Flemish people usually do not speak English daily. Nevertheless, the language is very

prominently present in most aspects of everyday life and even young children encounter it

regularly. The level of proficiency is generally very high, especially among young speakers, who

grow up with English-spoken pop songs and pop culture (Simon & Taverniers 2011: 2-3). Young

speakers who consume a lot of English popular culture have a higher level of proficiency than

speakers who do not consume as much English pop culture. Kuppens claims that children and

teens who watch subtitled English television shows (almost) daily possess an active English

vocabulary which is much larger than children who (almost) never watch English television

shows (2007: 334). In other words, the fact that Anglophone pop culture is widely available in

Flanders plays an important role in the English proficiency of Flemish children and teenagers.

Up until recently the variety of English that was used most in Flanders (and Belgium)

was British English. Not only the United Kingdom’s proximity to Belgium, but also its

involvement in the European Union, made sure that British English was – and still often is –

favoured by the educational system in Flanders (and in the rest of Europe). Even though the

educational system favours British English, people are still subjected to a massive amount of

American English in the entertainment field (Modiano 1996: 208) and American English is

actively present in the world of business (Goethals 1997: 110) (see also section 4). For this

reason, many scholars have investigated the attitudes of students and teachers from all over

Europe towards both British and American English (e.g. Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit

1997; Mobärg 2002; Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006; Queiroz De Barros 2009; Rindal 2010;

Bikelienė 2015).

The enormous amount of English in Flemish media can be illustrated by looking at the

television schedule. By looking at the television schedule of one week in April (8 – 14 April

2017), it becomes clear that the six most popular television channels broadcast a large number

of Anglophone television shows. As Flanders does not usually dub its imported television

shows but rather adds subtitles, Flemish people are subjected to a large amount of English

while watching television. The fact that most people automatically read the subtitles does not

prevent them from processing the audio input (Danan 2004: 72). In other words, even though

there are subtitles to help them understand the television programme, people do –

subconsciously – listen to the spoken English and incidentally acquire parts of the language.

Table 1. Number of hours that English television shows are broadcasted on the most popular Flemish channels between 6-1 pm

Dutch British American Other Total hours

Eén 33h05 3h55 5h / 42

Canvas 25h25 5h45 / 8h05 39h15

VTM 35h40 / 6h20 / 42

Vier 17h40 / 24h20 / 42

Vijf 8h30 1h50 31h40 / 42

Q2 9h35 1h55 30h30 / 42

Total hours 129h55 (52%) 13h25 (5%) 97h50 (40%) 8h05 (3%) 249h15

Table 1 shows that out of the 249:15 hours of broadcasted programmes between 6-12

PM, only a little over half is Dutch-spoken (these programmes are mostly Flemish, but they

are sometimes also made in the Netherlands). Noteworthy is that three out of the six channels

(Vier, Vijf and Q2) air more American shows than Flemish shows. These channels are mostly

marketed towards young people, while the three channels that mostly broadcast Dutch shows

are marketed towards families (Eén and VTM) or highly educated people (Canvas). Seeing as

there are a lot more American than British shows (97:50 hours versus 13:25 hours), especially

young people are subjected to more American English than British English and might pick up

this variety of the language without being aware of it. Kuppens argues that children who watch

a lot of English television pick up the language more easily than children who do not watch

English television shows (2007: 334). This means that if the television programme they are

watching is spoken in American English, they will subconsciously pick up elements of American

English. The same could be said about the most popular songs on the radio and the films that

are playing in the cinema.

Another area where English plays an important role in Flanders is higher education. As

mentioned in section 4.4.3.1, in order to stay profitable and to attract foreign (exchange)

students, European universities need to offer a large number of courses and even whole study

programmes in English. Whereas some European universities (e.g. Maastricht University in

the Netherlands) have become international and now offer many programmes in English,

Flemish institutions of higher education are quite restricted with respect to the language of

instruction. Because of Flanders’ fight to recognise Dutch as an official language in Belgium,

other languages are subjected to quite a strict regime and Flemish legislation thus limits the

use of English at universities. The upper limit for courses taught in English is installed by decree

on 20 percent of the total curriculum (Vandenbussche 2010: 15). This, nevertheless, does not

stop universities from offering entire master and postgraduate programmes in English.

Because of the position of English in education and everyday life, the number of

Flemish people that possesses little to no knowledge of English is decreasing. Belgium is rated

as having ‘high proficiency’ on the English Proficiency Index (Education First 2017) and

Flanders is even rated as having ‘very high proficiency’. The English Proficiency Index compares

the level of English in 72 counties in which English is not a national language and in 2016 it put

Belgium on the 11th place. This, once more, demonstrates that many Flemish people are

exposed to English and are able to use this language whenever necessary.

5.3 English in Flemish secondary schools

Because the present study focuses on Flemish secondary school students, schools that do not

belong to the Flemish Community (e.g. schools that are part of the French Community,

international schools) will not be discussed here, because they are governed in a different way

and might emphasise different subjects or teaching methods.

The first foreign language that Flemish pupils learn at school is usually French. The

formal education of this language already starts in primary school. English lessons start later:

Flemish pupils typically start English lessons in the first or the second year of secondary school

and have about 2-4 hours of English every week. This means that, compared to other

European countries, they have relatively few teaching periods for English and the formal

teaching of English starts quite late (Goethals 1997: 108-109). In the Netherlands, for example,

the government is less strict about the use of Dutch in school contexts and in 2013 17% of all

primary schools offered bilingual education and 50% of the subjects in the first 3 years of

secondary school were taught in English (Edwards 2016: 27-29). Since September 2014 the

Flemish government decided to put more emphasis on languages and allowed secondary

schools to offer CLIL. This means that 20% of the non-language subjects can be taught in

French, English or German (Denies, Heyvaert & Janssen 2015: 14). This increase in bilingual

education seems to be largely attributable to parental and student demand (Edwards 2016:

27-29), proving the importance of the English language in everyday life. Due to Flanders’

history and its strict rules about the use of Dutch in official settings, completely bilingual

schools will not be possible in the near future.

The fact that Flemish students start their formal education in English quite late does

not mean that they are completely clueless when it comes to understanding and speaking

English. In 1997 Goethals argued that Flemish 13-year-old pupils already knew about 400

English words before taking their first English class (1997: 107). A Master Thesis by Houthuys

(2011) confirms these findings and states that Flemish students have a more extended

vocabulary than Walloon students (43), despite the stricter language rules in this part of the

country. Because of the growth of social media, online video games and international films

and television the number of words 13-year-olds today know is probably even higher than in

1997. Berns et al. state that a study from 1994 showed that Flemish university students

perceived the transition from English at secondary level to English at university level as easier

than the transition from French at secondary level to French at university level (2007: 38). This

shows that Flemish students’ language proficiency is higher in English than in French even

though by the time they graduate students generally will have received more hours of formal

education in French than in English.

Flemish secondary schools used to be required to teach “slower colloquial educated

(Southern British) English” (Goethals 1997: 110), but the most recent version of the official

curriculum does not mention a formal pronunciation norm (Secundair onderwijs - Derde graad

ASO - Moderne vreemde talen Frans-Engels- Eindtermen 2017). This would mean that schools

and individual teachers can choose which variety of the language they themselves speak and

expect their students to speak. In Flemish tertiary education teacher training programmes

(e.g. the ‘specifieke lerarenopleiding’ (SLO) at Ghent University and the teacher training

course at Artevelde University College) future teachers are allowed to use the variety they feel

most comfortable with, as long as they use that variety in a consequent manner.

By the time Flemish pupils leave secondary school and enter university, they will

typically have had 5 to 6 years of formal English classes in school. The number of hours per

week that are spent studying the English language depends on the type of school and the

option within that school that the pupils have chosen. In English lessons, quite some time will

usually be devoted to grammar and spelling, but pronunciation is often an underrated

language proficiency. Jenkins (2000) argues that someone who makes a lot of grammar

mistakes but has an adequate pronunciation is easier to understand than someone who uses

correct grammar but pronounces words incorrectly (cited from Rupp 2014: 4). In other words,

students might gain more from pronunciation lessons and lessons about different varieties of

English, than from their grammar and spelling lessons, when it comes to actually being able

to communicate.

As stated above, English is not the first foreign language that Flemish students learn.

However, according to Denies, Heyvaert & Janssen they are surprisingly enthusiastic about

the language and they find their English classes more interesting and often more useful than

their other courses at school (2015: 24). Even though French is the first foreign language that

Flemish students learn, they have more frequent contacts with English because of (social)

media. English seems to be taking over the role of French as prestigious language among

secondary school students: they often listen to English music, use English websites, and watch

English films and television shows (Denies, Heyvaert & Janssen 2015: 24-26).

6 Methodology This section will provide a detailed overview of the methods that were used in the present

research paper. The aims of this study, the participants and the three instruments used for

gathering information will be discussed.

6.1 Aims

Many research papers have been written about the attitudes of secondary school students or

university students towards different varieties of English in different European contexts (e.g.

Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit 1997; Mobärg 2002; Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006; Queiroz

De Barros 2009; Rindal 2010; Bikelienė 2015). There have also been several Master Theses at

Ghent University which have looked into attitudes and beliefs of Flemish (secondary) school

students towards English (e.g. Tavernier 2007; Houthuys 2011; Deneckere 2011; De Meerleer

2012). However, not much research has yet been carried out on the attitudes and beliefs of

Flemish secondary school students towards different pronunciation varieties of English,

namely British and American English. English is a language that is used in many aspects of

everyday life in Flanders, so it is a language that students will encounter for the rest of their

lives. This means that their secondary school education should be able to prepare them for a

life in which English will – without doubt – play a role.

Until recently, the variety of English that was used in most schools around Europe –

and Belgium – was British English. Recently, however, the hegemony of British English has

been challenged by American English (Bikelienė 2015: 29; Modiano 1996: 209). British English

might be the variety that many secondary school teachers use, it is not the variety that most

students are most familiar with. Because the United States has become important in many

aspects of life, American English has gained a new important status as well (see section 4). For

this reason, the present research paper aims to answer the following questions:

American English?

By comparing the attitudes of Flemish secondary school pupils to the ways they

actually speak the language, the present research paper tries to discover if there is a

discrepancy between the way the students think about the language and the way they

themselves use the language. The fourth research question will be answered based on the

analysis of the first three questions. If the students do not like British English better or if they

use more American elements in their speech, it might not be completely relevant anymore to

see British English as the variety most suitable for teaching and it might be better to include

American English in the curriculum as well.

This research paper mostly focuses on the attitudes towards and the differences

between British English and American English. The reason for the choice not to include other

varieties of the English language (e.g. Scottish, Irish, Australian, South-African) is that those

two varieties of English are the most important on the world stage and have received the

status of global language(varieties). Furthermore, these are also the varieties that are most

commonly used in Flanders and are thus the varieties that Flemish secondary school students

are most familiar with.

Even though there are many differences between the varieties of English (in terms of

the lexicon, spelling, grammar etc.), the present research paper only focuses on one language

component: pronunciation. As the status of English has grown a great deal and the language

is now used in many domains of today’s society (see sections 4 and 5), a certain degree of

proficiency in English is necessary to be able to communicate. As mentioned in section 5.3,

correct pronunciation is more important than correct grammar when it comes to being

understood (Rupp 2014: 4) and some schools have already adopted a more communicative

approach towards language teaching. A second reason why this research paper focuses on

pronunciation rather than on vocabulary, spelling or grammar is that pronunciation is the first

characteristic of someone’s speech that you usually notice. Since verbal cues play an

important role in shaping perceptions and evaluations of speakers (Fuertes et al. 2012: 120),

pronunciation differences between varieties of English will influence listeners’ attitudes

towards speakers of these varieties.

6.2 Participants

This study was carried out during March, April and May of 2017 at the Don Boscocollege in

Zwijnaarde. 65 students from the third year and 56 students from the sixth year took part. All

121 students completed the same tests. Don Boscocollege is a secondary school which only

offers ‘General Secondary Education’ [Algemeen Secundair Onderwijs], but the participating

students were enrolled in a wide variety of study programmes. Don Boscocollege offers

English classes starting in the second year of secondary school. This means that the

participating third-year students had already had (at least) 2 years of formal English classes

and the participating sixth-year students had already been studying English for (at least) 5

years.

Prior to filling out the questionnaire, the students were not told the exact nature of

the study; they were only told it was to help a Master Thesis in English linguistics at Ghent

University. Nevertheless, they were told that they could ask questions after completing all the

tests, which some students did.

The reason that the present research paper opted to investigate students from the

third year and from the sixth year was that this would make it possible to compare two groups

of students who went to the same school but, because of their age and interests, could be

influenced differently.

6.3 Instruments

A mixed-methods approach was adopted to answer the research questions. Firstly, a modified

matched guise test was performed to investigate the students’ attitudes towards the different

varieties of English on a more subconscious level. When they had finished the matched guise

test, the students were asked to fill out a questionnaire that inquired into their conscious

language preferences. Lastly, a subsample of the students’ actual language use was tested.

6.3.1 Modified matched guise test Originally, the matched guise technique was developed to investigate individuals’ attitudes

towards “social, geographical or ethnic language varieties and to the different languages

spoken in bilingual communities” (Stefanowitsch 2005). Instead of just asking people about

their attitudes and risking that their answers would reflect conscious stereotypes, the

matched guise technique examines people’s subconscious attitudes towards different

language varieties. In a normal matched guise test, one speaker will take on different guises.

However, in a second language context it is practically impossible to find speakers who are

equally convincing in several guises (Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit 1997: 117). For this

reason, several speakers were used in the present research paper.

The speakers who were chosen for the stimulus tape were four females between the

ages of 20 and 35, who were working at Ghent University or were finishing their master’s

degree at the time of recording. Because this study focuses on the differences between British

and American English, extra care was taken to find speakers with a clear British and American

accent. The native speakers of British and American English, were complemented with two

native speakers of Dutch.

Because the two available American speakers had been living outside of the United

States for some time, they were afraid that their accent did not sound American enough. A

pilot study was organised to evaluate the American speakers based on their accent and their

“Americanness”. Five master students of English at Ghent University evaluated the two

candidates and decided who sounded “more American”. After some discussion, they

concluded that one speaker sounded more American than the other, so that recording was

used. The British speaker did not voice any concerns about not sounding British enough, so no

other candidate was sought.

The first speaker was an American PhD researcher working in the English literature

department at Ghent University. The second speaker was a British lecturer in the English

linguistics department at Ghent University. These speakers were complemented with a native

speaker of Dutch with an American accent and a native speaker of Dutch with a British accent.

Both speakers were students of Literature and Linguistics (Dutch and English), who were

finishing their master’s degree and stated that they aimed to speak with, respectively, an

American accent or a British accent.

The text that was read aloud by the speakers was taken from previous research by

Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit (1997). The questions that were asked about each speaker

were part of that same research paper as well. Dörnyei and Taguchi state that borrowing

questions from established questionnaires makes sure that the “bugs are ironed out of them

(…) because they have been through extensive piloting” (2010: 40). Even though this material

was already piloted, another pilot test was organised to make sure it was appropriate for the

specific population of pupils that is researched here: five 15- to 16-year-olds evaluated the

complete survey. The results of this pilot study confirmed that secondary school students

were indeed able to answer the questions without any real problems within the provided

A list of 13 attributes was presented to the students, who were asked to indicate to

what degree this attribute applied to the speaker (see Appendix A for a full version of the

student questionnaire). The attributes could be rated on a scale from 1 to 4. This 4-point

forced choice scale was used as a way to avoid a tendency bias (Simon & Taverniers 2011: 13).

This means that there was no neutral option, since attitudes cannot, by definition, be neutral

(Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit 1997: 118). It also means that students had to make up

their mind and could not go for the middle values. The list of attributes was followed by three

open questions about the speaker they just listened to: ‘What nationality does this speaker

have?’, ‘Do you think this speaker would be a good English teacher?’ and ‘Why do you think

so?’.

The students were asked to respond to each fragment while they were listening to it,

but they were given some time to finish the questions after each speaker had finished. In

different classes the audio fragments were played in a different order, as a way to avoid a

biased result towards the first or last speaker.

6.3.2 Questionnaire When the whole class had finished the matched guise test, the students were asked to fill in

a questionnaire with more direct questions about their attitudes towards different varieties

of English. This study opted for questionnaires instead of face-to-face interviews for several

reasons. The first reason was a practical one: questionnaires make it possible to collect a large

amount of data in a small amount of time. To make the students miss not too much of their

lessons, questionnaires were considered most appropriate, because all the respondents could

fill in the questionnaire at the same time. Secondly, this study opted for the use of

questionnaires because questionnaires make the respondents more at ease than face-to-face

interviews. While filling out a questionnaire, participants are less likely to give socially

favourable answers and present themselves in what they believe is a good light (Simon &

Taverniers 2011: 8). In other words, questionnaires allow the respondents to speak their mind

because they feel more anonymous.

The questionnaire that the students were asked to complete consisted of 12 questions

that inquired into the way they thought about the different varieties of English. The

questionnaire consisted of three types of questions: factual questions, behavioural questions

and attitudinal questions (Dörnyei & Taguchi 2010: 5). The first set of questions asked for

some personal information about the participants (name, age, study programme etc.). The

behavioural questions inquired into the participants’ contact with English and asked about

their favourite television shows, whether they have any regular contact with native English

speakers and whether they have ever visited an Anglophone country. The last set of questions,

the attitudinal questions, inquired into their attitudes towards English in general and towards

the different varieties of English more specifically. A complete version of the questionnaire

can be found in appendix A.

The questionnaire contained mostly open-ended questions. The reasoning behind this

choice is that open-ended questions give the students a greater freedom of expression

(compared to multiple choice questions), and it thus allows them to answer in ways that the

researcher might not have thought about. Dörnyei and Taguchi state that “open-format items

can provide a greater ‘richness’ than fully quantitative data (…) and respondents might like to

have an opportunity to express their opinions more freely” (2010: 36-37).

The questionnaires were composed in Dutch because the quality of the obtained data

increases if the questionnaire is presented in the respondents’ own mother tongue (Dörnyei

& Taguchi 2010: 49). Dutch questionnaires allowed the respondents to express themselves

fully without fear of making mistakes in the language they are most familiar with. This was

especially important for the third-year students, whose level of English might not be high

enough to fully understand and answer the questions in English.

A questionnaire with a separate set of questions was sent out to the English teachers

working at Don Boscocollege. The questions the teachers were asked looked into the variety

of English they themselves spoke during lessons. A second set of questions probed into their

attitudes towards the different varieties of English and asked whether they allowed their

students to speak whichever variety they preferred. It was also checked whether they found

it acceptable to mix different varieties of the language. A third set of questions inquired into

their teaching methods. The questions posed here checked whether they usually spend more

time on British or America literature, history and culture and what sort of audio/video

fragments they usually use in class. Lastly, they were asked to what extend they were aware

of what the curriculum prescribed in terms of which varieties of English to use in class.

However, because of a very low response rate, in the end, it was decided not to use the results

of this questionnaire.

6.3.3 Production Test After finishing the matched guise test and the questionnaire, a subsample of the students

were selected to participate in a production test (35 third-year students and 41 sixth-year

students). Disguised as a ‘fill in the gap’-vocabulary exercise, the students’ pronunciation of

certain characteristic elements of British English and American English was tested. The

students were given some time to complete 11 sentences. Afterwards, they were asked to

read the completed sentences out loud. The words they used to fill the gaps were not the

words that were targeted. By having the students complete the sentences before reading

them out loud, it was hoped that they would focus on the words they filled in and that the

rest of the sentences would be pronounced more naturally.

Four classes of words were selected to determine the students’ pronunciation

preferences. Those words were then consulted in Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (2008),

which gives both the British and the American pronunciation of each word. Two classes of

vowels and two classes of consonants were used. The classes of vowels consisted of words

that are pronounced with [ɑ] in British and with [æ] in American English and words that are

pronounced with [ju] in British and with [u] in American English. The classes of consonants

consisted of words with a post-vocalic /r/ and an intervocalic /t/. Table 2 gives an overview of

the words that were used to test the students’ pronunciation. A full version of the production

test can be found in Appendix A.

Table 2. Words used to test the students’ pronunciation

British American

V o w e l s

[ɑ] vs. [æ] glass

example

dancing

ˈglɑːs

hɑːf

ɪg ˈzɑːmp ᵊl

ˈɑːskt

ˈdɑːnᵗs ɪŋ

lɑːst

ˈglæs

ɪg ˈzæmp ᵊl

ˈdænᵗs ɪŋ

[ju] vs. [u]

students

studio

assume

ˈstjuːd ᵊnts

ˈstjuːd i əʊ

ə ˈsjuːm

tjuːn

ˈstuːd ᵊnts

ˈstuːd i oʊ

ə ˈsuːm

C o n s o n a n t s

Post-vocalic /r/

brother

winter

father

ˈbrʌð ǝ

ˈwint ǝ

jiǝ / jɜː

ˈfɑːð ǝ

stɑːt

ˈbrʌð ǝr

ˈwint ǝr

ˈfɑːð ǝr

stɑːrt

Intervocalic /t/

little

better

heating

butter

matter

lɪt ᵊl

ˈbet ə

ˈhiːt ɪŋ

ˈbʌt ə

ˈmæt ə

lɪt ᵊl

ˈbet ᵊr

ˈhiːt ɪŋ

ˈbʌt ᵊr

ˈmæt ᵊr

7 Results The results of the matched guise test, the questionnaire and the production test will be

analysed with the tools provided in Zoltán Dörnyei, Research Methods in Applied Linguistics

(2007). To analyse the data, mixed methods research was used. A mixed methods study

involves the collection or analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study

with some attempts to integrate the two approaches at one or more stages of the research

process (Dörnyei 2007: 163). In this case, quantitative data were used in the matched guise

test and in the production test. The questionnaire was analysed based on qualitative research

methods.

7.1 Matched guise test

The modified matched guise test consisted of two tasks. During the first, the students were

asked to assess 4 speakers. The second task consisted of identifying the nationality of the

different speakers.

7.1.1 Part 1: speaker assessment During the first task, the students were asked to evaluate the speakers based on 13 qualities

and to rate those qualities on a scale from 1 to 4 (1 being the most positive and 4 being the

most negative). Because the present study focuses on the differences between the third-year

students and the sixth-year students and on the way those two groups think about the

differences between British and American English, the results of this task were analysed using

two methods. First, the ratings within the same year were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed

rank test, because of the paired nature of the ratings: the same pupils rated both British and

American English. Second, the differences between the two years were tested using the

Wilcoxon rank sum test.

To correct for the family-wise error rate (FWER), the significance level alpha is at 0.001

(0.05/52 = 0.0096; with 52 being the number of statistical tests). Table 3 gives the P-values for

the tests, with the significant results highlighted in orange. This means that there are only four

significant results: in the category of British vs. American English the third-years yield

significant results for the qualities of ‘likeable vs. unlikeable’, ‘funny vs. not funny’ and ‘kind

vs. mean’. The sixth-year students produce significant results in the category of ‘kind vs. mean’

as well.

Table 3. P-values for the comparison of the survey ratings.

American vs. British American British

3rd Year 6th Year 3rd vs. 6th Year 3rd vs. 6th Year

Likeable - Unlikeable 0.0007 0.507 0.529 0.002

Intelligent - Stupid 0.304 0.752 0.369 0.076

Educated - Uneducated 0.269 0.917 0.142 0.039 Selfless - Selfish 0.023 0.032 0.354 0.202

Successful - Unsuccessful 0.316 0.138 0.884 0.048

Interesting - Boring 0.080 0.150 0.054 0.039

Funny - Not funny 0.001 0.180 0.172 0.854

Kind - Mean 0.0001 0.0001 0.249 0.850 Organised - Messy 0.131 0.044 0.034 0.357

Polite - Rude 0.118 0.146 0.652 0.671 Determined - Undetermined 0.562 0.691 0.431 0.228

Honest - Deceitful 0.007 0.048 0.733 0.747

Ambitious - Lazy 0.032 0.162 0.419 0.269

As mentioned before, the results suggest that there is little significant statistical

difference between the ratings of British and American English, but, as seen in figures 1 to 13,

American English systematically receives higher ratings than British English; especially the

third-year students gave American English the highest possible rating in many of the

categories. This could suggest that American English is subconsciously favoured by many third-

year students. A second observation is that the students generally rated both British and

American English higher than Dutch-British or Dutch-American.

Figure 1. Quality of ‘likeable vs. unlikeable’ rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 2. Quality of 'intelligent vs. stupid' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 3. Quality of 'educated vs. uneducated' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 4. Quality of 'selfless vs. selfish' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 5. Quality of 'successful vs. unsuccessful' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 6. Quality of 'interesting vs. boring' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 7. Quality of 'funny vs. not funny' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 8. Quality of 'kind vs. mean' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 9. Quality of 'organised vs. messy' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 10. Quality of 'polite vs. rude' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 11. Quality of 'determined vs. undetermined' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 12. Quality of 'honest vs. deceitful' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

Figure 13. Quality of 'ambitious vs. lazy' rated on a scale from 1-4 by third-year and sixth-year students per speaker (%)

One significant result can be found in the quality ‘likeable vs. unlikeable’ (figure 1).

Here, the third-year students significantly favoured American English over British English (P =

0.0007). The sixth-year students, on the other hand, were more tolerant towards the other

varieties. The quality of ‘kind vs. mean’ produces significant results for both the third-year and

the sixth-year students. In other words, both groups of students significantly favour American

English when it comes to kindness (P= 0.0001 and P=0.0001).

7.1.2 Part 2: speaker identification As a second part of the matched guise test, the students were asked to identify the nationality

of each of the speakers. The sixth-year students were able to do this relatively well. The third-

year students, on the other hand, seemed to find this task more difficult: only a small number

of students managed to do this correctly.

Figure 14. Number of students who correctly identified the nationality of the speakers (%)

Figure 14 shows that most of the students from the sixth year were able to correctly

identify the different speakers. 86% of them could identify the British speaker and 68%

identified the American speaker. The number of third-year students who could correctly

identify these two speakers was a lot lower: while 57% thought the British speaker came from

the United Kingdom, only 31% believed the American speaker to have the American

nationality. Most of the third- and sixth-year students accurately identified the Flemish

speaker with a British accent as native Dutch speaker. The Flemish speaker with an American

BrE AmE Belgian with BrE accent Belgian with AmE accent

Number of students who correclty identified the nationality of the speakers

Third-years Sixth-years

accent, however, seemed more difficult to identify. Especially the third-year students did not

realise that she was not a native speaker of English. Many students believed her to be

American, Canadian or Australian.

7.2 Questionnaire

After finishing the matched guise test, the students were asked to fill in a questionnaire. This

questionnaire looked into the way they thought about the importance of language learning,

the status of English, varieties of English, and the importance of English in educational

contexts.

7.2.1 Important aspects of learning a new language Because the present research paper investigates students’ attitudes towards pronunciation

varieties of English, the first question inquired into what they found important aspects of

learning a new language to see whether these students attach much importance to

pronunciation. Figures 15 and 16 show that both third-year students and sixth-year students

generally found it more important to be able to communicate than to have correct grammar,

an extended vocabulary, or correct pronunciation. Being able to communicate was most often

rated as being ‘very important’. However, the other options (grammar, vocabulary and

pronunciation) were often rated as being ‘important’ and even ‘very important’ as well,

showing that students believe that other aspects of language learning are not to be neglected.

Figure 15 shows that 82% of the third-year students found it very important to be able

to communicate. Only 6% rated being able to communicate as ‘not important at all’. Even

though these third-year students generally find communication a very important aspect of

learning a new language, figure 15 shows that they do not think the other options are

irrelevant. The number of students that rated correct grammar, extended vocabulary and

correct pronunciation as ‘not important at all’ is very low.

The same trends can be observed in the results of the sixth-year students (figure 16).

Here, a large majority (79%) also indicated that they found ‘being able to communicate’ a very

important aspect of learning a new language. A difference with the third-year students is that

more sixth-years found that having an extended vocabulary and correct pronunciation is very

important as well: 55% of the students rated having an extended vocabulary as very important

and 45% rated correct pronunciation as very important, while only respectively 40% and 31%

of the third-year students believed these elements to be very important.

Figure 15. The most important aspect of learning a new language according to third-year students (%)

Figure 16. The most important aspect of learning a new language according to sixth-year students (%)

Generally speaking, both groups of students believed that being able to communicate

is a very important aspect of learning a new language. However, when looking at the options

that were rated both as important and very important, it becomes clear that secondary school

Correct grammar Extended vocabulary Correct pronunciation Being able tocommunicate

What is the most important aspect of learning a new language?

Not important at all Not important Important Very Important

Correct grammar Extended vocabulary Correct pronunciation Being able tocommunicate

What is the most important aspect of learning a new language?

Not important at all Not important Important Very important

students find the importance of using correct grammar, having an extended vocabulary and

speaking with a correct pronunciation not to be underestimated either.

7.2.2 Importance of learning English Almost all third-year students reported that they found it important to learn English: 97% of

the third-year students answered affirmatively to the question ‘Do you find it important to

learn English?’. Nevertheless, the reason for wanting to learn the language varies a lot among

the students. The motivation that was mentioned most often was that English is a global

language; it is a language that you can use to make yourself understood in most countries in

the world. In other words, most students emphasised the practical use of the language. Some

examples:

(1) “English is a global language” [Engels is een wereldtaal]

(2) “English makes it easier to communicate in foreign countries” [Engels maakt

communicatie in het buitenland gemakkelijker]

(3) “Because almost everyone speaks English, you can communicate with people

from all over the world” [Omdat bijna iedereen Engels spreekt, kan je met bijna

iedereen van de wereld praten]

Some students connected the global status of English with travelling and career goals:

4 third-year students said that they thought English was important to communicate when on

holidays and 5 students felt that knowing English would help them in their later careers. Lastly,

2 students mentioned that they wanted to learn English, because learning/speaking this

language is fun.

Out of the 65 third-year students, only one student did not think it was important to

learn English and one student answered “yes/no”. The student that answered that it was not

important to learn English did not specify why. The student who indicated both yes and no

stated:

(4) “It is not necessary, but it is useful because English is a language that is used a

lot” [Het is niet noodzakelijk, maar wel handig, want Engels wordt zeer veel

gebruikt]

The students of the sixth year reported similar motivations and beliefs. All 56 sixth-

year students said that learning English was important. Compared to the third-years students,

an even bigger percentage stressed the importance of English on a global scale and English as

lingua franca. These students mentioned:

(5) “English is a global language that is used in many domains” [Engels is een

wereldtaal die op veel vlakken gehanteerd wordt]

(6) “[…] it has practically become the international working language” [(…) het is

zo goed als de internationale voertaal]

(7) “It is the language that is used when two people who do not share the same

native language cannot communicate in their own language” [Het is de taal die

wordt gebruikt wanneer mensen die beiden een andere moedertaal spreken

niet kunnen communiceren in hun eigen taal]

16% of the sixth-year students said that English could be important for their future

careers; only 8% of the third-year students mentioned future career goals. Another point of

difference between the two age groups is that several sixth-year students stated that

understanding English is important to know what goes on in the world, because a lot of media

sources are written in English:

(8) “It is language that is used a lot on (social) media” [Het is een taal die op

(sociale) media veelgebruikt is]

(9) “[Knowing English] makes it easier to stay connected to what is happening in

the world, because everything is in English [(Engels kennen) maakt het

gemakkelijk om op de hoogte te zijn van wat er in de wereld gebeurt, want alles

is in het Engels]

(10) “There are a lot of English sources” [Er zijn veel Engelstalige bronnen]

None of the third-year students voiced similar reasons or concerns.

7.2.3 Influence/input A third set of questions inquired into the influence and input of the English language the

students experienced. The students were asked which type of television shows they usually

watch, what they thought influences the way they speak English the most, and whether they

have any (regular) English contact with (non-)native speakers of English.

Figure 17. Origin of the television shows that the students mostly watch (%)

As illustrated in figure 17, the majority of the third-year students indicated that they

watch mostly American television shows and films (55%). 28% stated that they watch both

American and British television shows on a regular basis, while only 6% of the third-year

students said they watch mostly British television programmes. Even more sixth-year students

indicated that they mostly watch American shows (66%) and the number of students that

watch British television programmes is lower than the third-year students: only 5% mostly

watches British shows and 23% watches both American and British shows on a regular basis.

One explanation for the observation that the number of students who watch a lot of

British television shows is very small could be that Belgian television channels broadcast way

more American than British television programmes. The Anglophone television shows that are

broadcasted in Belgium and that are targeted towards teens and young adults are usually

American (see section 5.2). A second possible explanation could be that students are not able

to adequately identify the varieties of English (see section 7.1.2), and thus might not be able

to adequately identify the language of the television shows they regularly watch.

American American and British I don't watch Englishtelevision

British n/a

Which Anglophone television shows do you mostly watch?

The students were also asked what they thought influenced the way they speak English

the most. Figure 18 shows that teachers are no longer the most important influence on the

way students speak the language; television shows, films, social media, song lyrics and video

games play a bigger role. Among all students, the consensus was that films and television

programmes are the biggest influence (77% and 84%), closely followed by song lyrics and

social media. Many students specified that especially English YouTube videos are an important

part of their lives and thus influence the way they speak the language. They did, however, not

specify whether they usually watch British or American YouTube videos. Many of the students

who indicated that teachers were an important influence on their English also indicated that

they do not watch much English television.

Figure 18. Factors that influence the way students speak English (%)

One difference between the two age groups is that almost half of the third-year

students (43%) indicated that they are influenced by (online) video games. Less than half as

much sixth-year students (18%) state that video games are a source of influence. News media,

on the other hand, seem to influence sixth-year students more than they influence third-year

students. This is in line with what these sixth-year students reported about wanting to know

English in order to know what goes on in the world (see section 7.2.2).

Films andtelevision

Song lyrics Social media Video games Teachers News media Other

What do you think influences the way you speak English the most?

Another question probed into the students’ English contact with native or non-native

speakers of English. 31% of the third-year students stated that they have some contact with

native speakers of English; 29% indicated that they have English contact with non-native

English speakers from a wide range of countries. The number of times that contact takes place

varies from 3 times per week to once per year. Some examples:

(11) “My coach is from London. I see him 3 times per week” [Mijn coach komt uit

Londen. Ik zie hem 3 keer per week]

(12) “I speak English with one of my friends’ mum. She is from Japan. [I see her]

once or twice per year” [Ik praat Engels met de mama van een vriendin die uit

Japan komt. Één of twee keer per jaar]

A large number of students who stated that they are in contact with native English

speakers admitted that the contact was rather superficial and mostly takes place online. Some

examples:

(13) “We send ‘Happy Birthday’ once a year” [We sturen elk jaar “Happy Birthday”]

(14) “I talk to an Italian gamer while we play video games” [Ik spreek met een

Italiaanse gamer terwijl ik spelletjes speel]

(15) “When I play games on the PlayStation” [Wanneer ik op de playstation speel]

(16) “I met a French girl on holiday. She attends an English school, so she also speaks

English. We send emails a few times per month” [Ik heb een Frans meisje op

vakantie leren kennen. Ze gaat naar een Engelse school, dus ze spreekt ook

Engels. We sturen een paar mails per maand]

Figure 19. Number of students who have regular English contact with (non-)native speakers of English (%)

Similar trends can be observed in the results of the sixth-year students. Here, 30%

indicated that they are in contact with native speakers of English and 25% stated that they

regularly have English conversations with non-native speakers of English:

(17) “When I’m travelling and online. These people come from all over the world. I

also speak English with my Danish stepmother’s family” [Op reis en online, en

deze mensen komen van over heel de wereld. Ook praat ik Engels met de

familie van mijn Deense stiefmoeder]

(18) “With friends from London. Every school holiday for at least four days” [Met

vrienden uit Londen. Iedere schoolvakantie minimum 4 dagen]

Once again, however, the number of conversations varies from a few times per week

to a couple of times per year and just like the third-year students many students from the

sixth year mentioned that the conversations are often rather superficial and most of the time

take place online. Some examples:

(19) “A few times per month online” [Enkele keren per maand online]

(20) “Every once in a while (every month), I chat with an American that I met on

holiday and every two months with a Japanese guy that I met on holiday as

Contact with native speakers Contact with non-native speakers

Do you have regular (English) contact with native or non-native speaker of English?

well” [Af en toe (om de maand) chat ik met een Amerikaan die ik tegen-

gekomen ben op reis en om de twee maanden met een Japanner, die ik ook op

reis ontmoet heb]

The reason that more third-year students have regular contact in English might be

explained by the answers to the previous question: a larger number of third-year students

indicated that they play online video games (see figure 18), and thus speak with more foreign

people online.

It is important to note that students who mentioned that they have English contact

with (non-)native speakers of English only while on holiday were not considered as having

regular contact in English, because this type of contact is not consistent enough. A lot of

students also mentioned that they speak English with their English teacher at school. Because

this is something that all students do, this was not taken into account either.

7.2.4 Preferred variety This set of questions looks into the variety of English that the students think they speak and

the variety they aim for.

Figure 20. Varieties of English that students want to speak (%)

To the question which variety of English the students themselves want to speak, most

third-year students (32%) answered that they wanted to speak American English. 28% of the

AmE BrE Other Mixture of BrEand AmE

BrE and AmE n/a

Which variety of English do you want to speak?

students answered that they wanted to learn British English. 22% responded that they

preferred to be able to speak a different variety than British or American English (Irish,

Scottish, Australian, Jamaican) or a regional dialect (Texas, London). 4 students did not answer

this question.

The number of sixth-year students who aim to speak British English was coincidentally

much higher: 48% of the students wants to speak this variety, while only 25% aims to speak

American English and 14% prefers to speak a different variety. This other variety is most

commonly Irish or Scottish, but also Cockney or Scouse. Only a small percentage of both

groups of students wants to speak a mixture of both British and American English or wishes

they could speak both varieties.

Most students stated that they want to speak British English because it “sounds better”

or “has more prestige” (examples 21-23). The reasons for wanting to speak the American

variety were that it is the variety that students are most familiar with, that American English

is more common or sounds less posh than British English (examples 24-26). Some students did

not want to speak British or American English, but wished to speak a less widespread variety.

The reason for wanting to speak these varieties always had to do with pronunciation and

accent (examples 27-29).

(21) “It sounds the best and is less ‘vulgar’ than American English” [Het klinkt het

mooist en is minder ‘plat’ dan Amerikaans]

(22) “The way British people speak is very elegant” [De manier waarop Britten

spreken is zeer sierlijk]

(23) “This variety is more official” [Deze is meer officieel]

(24) “The United States is bigger than Great Britain” [De Verenigde Staten zijn groter

dan Groot-Brittannië]

(25) “It is widespread and easy to understand” [Algemeen verspreid en toch goed

verstaanbaar]

(26) “[American English] sounds more informal than Received Pronunciation, so

more people will understand me” [Het klinkt informeler dan Britse

Standaardtaal. Meer mensen zullen me dan ook begrijpen]

(27) “I think [Irish] sounds nice, beautiful and happy” [Ik vind dat [Iers] leuk, mooi

en opgewekt klinkt]

(28) “[I prefer] a light Cockney accent because it sounds pretty and less ‘elite’ than

Received Pronunciation” [Licht Cockney: het klinkt mooi en is minder ‘elite’

dan received pronunciation]

(29) “Irish has a funny accent” [Iers heeft een grappig accent]

Figure 21. Varieties of English that the students believe they speak (%)

The students were also asked to identify the variety of English they thought they

themselves spoke (figure 21). Most students – correctly (see section 7.3) – identified the way

they speak as a mixture of British and American English. 66% of the sixth-year students

indicated that they spoke a mixture of those two varieties, while 46% of the third-year

students thought they spoke a mixture of varieties. More students believed they spoke

American English than British English: 18% of the third-year students and 16% of the sixth-

year students thought they used American English and only 14% of the third-year students

and 2% of the sixth-year students believed they spoke British English. It is striking that the

number of sixth-year students who believe they speak British English is so low, because most

of those students see British English as their aim (see figure 20). Once again, this could be

linked to the observation that more sixth-year students were able to correctly identify the

Mixture of BrEand AmE

AmE BrE Regional AmE Regional BrE Other No idea

Which variety of English do you think you speak?

nationality of the speakers of the matched guise-test (see section 7.1.2) and are thus also

more adequate in identifying their own variety of English.

7.2.5 Mixing varieties The next question that will be discussed is the following: “Native speakers of Dutch often mix

elements of British and American English. Do you find this acceptable, or do you think this

should be avoided? Why?”. As mentioned in the previous section, most students believed that

they speak a mixture of British and American English. It is not surprising then that the majority

of the students do not have any problems with mixing several varieties.

Figure 22. Answers to the question whether it is acceptable to mix British and American English (%)

Figure 22 clearly shows that most students do not think that mixing British and

American English causes problems: 75% of the third-year students and 84% of the sixth-year

students state that they find it acceptable. Most students back up this claim by saying that

mixing multiple varieties is unavoidable when you are learning a foreign language:

(30) “You cannot learn the whole specific language by heart” [Je kan niet de hele

specifieke taal vanbuiten leren]

(31) “At school you learn British, but outside of school you hear more American”

[Op school leer je Brits, maar in je omgeving hoor je meer Amerikaans]

Yes Yes, but… No n/a

Do you find it acceptable to mix British and American English?

(32) “The varieties are a lot alike, so mixing them does not matter” [De talen lijken

goed op elkaar, dus verwarring is niet erg]

A second reason as to why they feel that mixing the varieties is acceptable is that

mixing British and American English does not impede understanding:

(33) “Everyone understands it” [Iedereen verstaat het]

(34) “As long as people can understand you and you can communicate, it does not

matter” [Zolang je wordt begrepen en kunt communiceren, is er geen problem]

(35) “The most important thing is that you can express yourself and that people can

understand you” [Het belangrijkste is dat je je kan uitdrukken en dat mensen je

kunnen verstaan]

(36) “It does not matter, as long as everything is clear” [Zolang je verstaanbaar bent,

maakt het niet uit]

Lastly, a small number of the students felt that mixing the varieties made the language

richer and made it easier for non-native speakers to acquire the language:

(37) “It helps to develop the language” [Het helpt de taal verder evolueren]

(38) “Languages have to evolve” [Talen moeten evolueren]

15% of the third-year students and 4% of the sixth-year students did not think that

mixing the two varieties was unacceptable, but they voiced some concerns about too much

mixing for a variety of reasons (in figure 22 classified as ‘Yes, but…’). Some of the students

thought that mixing was acceptable, but that it should be avoided if possible. One student

believed that mixing the varieties could cause the British and American standard language to

get lost. Another student found mixing several varieties acceptable in an informal

conversation, but not in a formal one. Someone else thought that the language sounds better

without the elements of multiple varieties. Lastly, some students believed that mixing the

varieties was acceptable for people who do not use much English in everyday life, but should

be avoided by people who speak a lot of English.

Five third-year students (8%) and six sixth-year students (11%) felt that mixing British

and American English was to be avoided (example 39), because this could lead to confusion.

Others stated that British and American English are two different languages and that we

should sound as native as possible (example 40). One student believed that mixing varieties

makes the language ugly, and lastly, some students felt that mixing varieties was not

professional and would distract from the message.

(39) “It should be avoided because it is kind of a different language” [Best vermijden

omdat het eigenlijk een beetje een andere taal is]

(40) “It is best avoided in order to sound as native as possible”. [Best vermijden en

zo veel mogelijk als een moedertaalspreker klinken]

7.2.6 Teaching standard The last question the students were asked dealt with the variety of English they found most

suitable in Flemish educational contexts.

Figure 23. The variety of English that students find most suitable for teaching (%)

Even though most third-year students (32%) aim to speak American English (see

section 7.2.4), more students (49%) prefer British English as a standard for teaching in

secondary education in Flanders. The second highest rated teaching standard is American

English (29%). The results of the sixth-year students are slightly different: a larger majority of

this group (48%) aims to speak British English and an even bigger percentage (59%) believes

that this variety should be taught in schools.

BrE AmE BrE and AmE Mixture BrE or AmE n/a

Which variety of English do you find most suitable for teaching English in Flemish secondary schools?

The most important reason that a big majority of the students gave for choosing British

English as variety to use in Flemish secondary schools is the United Kingdom’s proximity to

Belgium; students thus believe that this is the variety they will encounter the most. Some of

the explanations that were given by students are:

(41) “Great-Britain is closer” [Groot-Brittannië is dichter]

(42) “Belgium is closer to Great Britain, so we encounter more British English”

[Groot-Brittannië ligt dichter bij ons, dus komen we sneller in contact met Brits

Engels]

(43) “We live in Europe and we should not learn English that is spoken on another

continent” [We leven in Europa en moeten niet de taal leren van op een ander

continent]

A second explanation for the preference for British English as teaching standard was

that a lot of students feel that British English sounds “more standard” or “more official” than

other language varieties:

(44) “British is standard language” [Brits is standaardtaal]

(45) “[British English] is correct English” [Het is correct Engels]

(46) “[British English] sounds more educated and official” [Het klinkt geleerder en

officieel]

The last reason why many students believed that British English should be taught in

schools is that they like the British accent more:

(47) “British English has a better pronunciation and is easier to understand” [Brits

heeft een beter uitspraak en is beter verstaanbaar]

(48) “The British variety sounds best” [De Britse variëteit klinkt het beste]

(49) “[British] sounds more beautiful and polite” [Klinkt mooier en beleefder]

Most students felt that British English should be taught in school, but still 29% of the

third-year students and 27% of the sixth-year students believed that American English is the

most suitable in school contexts. The two most common justifications for this choice were the

fact that the students are most familiar with this variety because of American television and

films and that it is the variety that is most commonly used in other situations as well:

(50) “Most children have already heard more American English” [De meeste

kinderen hebben al meer Amerikaans gehoord]

(51) “[There is] not much difference with British English, but American English is

easier to learn, because you already know half of it” [Niet veel verschil met

Brits, maar het is gemakkelijker te leren, want je kan de helft al]

(52) “More people speak American than British English” [Er wordt meer Amerikaans

gesproken dan Brits]

(53) “Most films are American, so you hear that a lot more” [De meeste films zijn

Amerikaans en je hoort dat dus vaker]

(54) “[It is the variety that] you encounter most in everyday life” [Kom je het meest

tegen in het dagelijks leven]

It is interesting to note that the students who believed that British English is more

suitable in school contexts often described the language in value-related terms (beautiful,

nice, classy, educated etc.), whereas American English was never described in these types of

terms. American English was always chosen because students thought it was the most

commonly spoken/heard language or because the United States is bigger. A lot of students

also saw RP as the most formal or official variety. American English, but especially Australian,

Irish, Scottish… English were often not considered to be a standard variety of the language by

the respondents.

7.3 Production test

During the production test, a subsample of the students (35 third-year students and 41 sixth-

year students) were asked to read 11 sentences out loud to test their (subconscious)

pronunciation preferences. These sentences contained 21 words which could be pronounced

in the British or the American way. The words that were targeted can be divided into 4

categories: [ɑ] vs. [æ], [ju] vs. [u], postvocalic /r/, and intervocalic /t/ (see section 6.3.3). A full

version of the production test can be found in Appendix A.

The first important observation, when looking at the spoken data on an individual level,

is that not one student consistently spoke one accent; all students mixed elements of both

British and American pronunciation in their speech. Even within the different categories of

words, most students switched between British and American English. For example, some

students pronounced ‘glass’ as [glæs] and ‘half’ as [hɑːf] within the same sentence. However,

the data shows that the level of “Britishness” or “Americanness” varies a lot per student. On

average, the third-year students are 37% British and the sixth-year students are 41% British,

based on their pronunciation. The students who sounded the least British were respectively

10% and 14% British and the students who were the most British were respectively 62% and

95% British. For a complete overview of the pronunciation preferences per word per student,

see Appendix C and D.

Figure 24. Average pronunciation variety per category of words (%)

Secondly, figure 24 reveals a distinction between the way the students pronounced

the vowels and the consonants. Generally speaking, the vowels were more often pronounced

in the British way than the consonants. The consonants, on the other hand, were almost

always pronounced with an American accent: 88% of the third-year students and 82% of the

sixth-year students pronounced the postvocalic /r/ in the American way and respectively 65%

and 76% of the students pronounced the intervocalic /t/ the American way and produced a

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

intervocalic /t/

postvocalic /r/

[ju] vs. [u]

[ɑ] vs. [æ]

Average pronunciation variety per category of words

British pronunciation (3) American pronunciation (3) Unclear pronuncation (3)

British pronunciation (6) American pronunciation (6) Unclear pronunciation (6)

more /d/-like sound. A possible explanation as to why more students pronounce the

postvocalic /r/ in the American way could be that the pronunciation of this /r/ lies a lot closer

to the Flemish /r/ and that students thus do not really pay attention to the pronunciation of

this particular letter and (subconsciously) use the variety they know best from their native

language.

Figure 25 shows that there not only is a difference between the categories of words;

there is a large difference between the pronunciation of individual words within the categories

as well. Within the category of [a] vs. [æ] most students opted for the British pronunciation

variety. The only word that was almost always pronounced with an [æ]-sound, was the word

‘dancing’: only 7% of the sixth-year students pronounced the word like [ˈdɑːnᵗs ɪŋ], and all

third-year students opted for [ˈdænᵗs ɪŋ]. This is in contrast with the word ‘half’, which was

almost always pronounced as [hɑːf]. A similar trend can be seen in the category of [ju] vs. [u].

In this category as a whole, most students used the American pronunciation. When looking at

the individual words, however, there is a big difference between those words. Almost all

students pronounced the /u/ in ‘studio’ and ‘new’ like a speaker of American English would.

The word ‘tune’, on the other hand, was almost always pronounced like [tjuːn], and thus

sounded more British.

The two categories of consonants show similar, but less outspoken, results. As

previously mentioned, most students pronounced the postvocalic /r/ the American way. The

number of students who did this varies from 76% to 97% in different words. The category of

the intervocalic /t/ shows clearer results. Here, 4 out of 5 words were more often pronounced

in American English. Only the /t/ in ‘heating’ was pronounced in British English by 71% of the

third-year students and 61% of the sixth-year students. These percentages are much higher

than the average pronunciation of this category: on average only 30% of the third-year

students and 23% of the sixth-year students pronounced the intervocalic /t/ with a British

accent.

Interesting to note as well is the fact that figure 25 shows that, generally speaking, the

third-year students used less British accents in their speech than the sixth-year students: out

of the 21 targeted words, 8 were pronounced in a British fashion by more third-year students,

while 13 were pronounced more often in a British way by more sixth-year students. Only in

the category of the intervocalic /t/, a larger number of third-year students opted for the British

Figure 25. Average pronunciation variety per word (%)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Heating

Matter

Butter

Better

Little

Winter

Father

Brother

Assume

Studio

Student

Dancing

Examples

Average pronunciation variety per word

pronunciation of all the targeted words. In the 3 other categories, the sixth-year students take

the upper hand when it comes to sounding British. When more third-year students sounded

British than sixth-year students in these other categories, however, the difference in number

was smaller than when the opposite occurred.

The subsample of students who were asked to participate in the production test

included all (but one) of the students who had indicated that they were opposed to the mixing

of several varieties of one language. The fact that everyone who took part in the production

test did mix different pronunciation varieties of English could mean that secondary school

students are not actually aware of the language variety they speak. However, it could also

mean that, as shown in section 7.1.2, they do not know enough about the pronunciation

differences between British and American English to apply it in their own speech.

8 Discussion The results from the matched guise test, the questionnaire and the production test showed

that British English is no longer the only objective for many Flemish secondary school pupils.

Instead, they are open to other varieties of the language as well; especially American English

plays an important role in their everyday lives.

8.1 The use of multiple pronunciation varieties

The data shows that not many secondary school pupils (especially the third-years) are aware

of the pronunciation differences between British and American English: they cannot always

recognise the different accents and are not fully aware of the variety they themselves use.

Most students understand that there are several varieties of English, which differ in terms of

spelling, lexicon, pronunciation… but they mostly emphasise the differences in spelling and

lexicon and they cannot truly distinguish different pronunciation varieties. Queiroz De Barros

(2009) states that this might be due to the simultaneous contact with British and American

English that the students experience (36). Nevertheless, the majority of the participants in the

present study succeeded in identifying the speaker of British English, but – especially the third-

year students – did not succeed in identifying the speaker of American English. This is

surprising, because Flemish children and teenagers are exposed to a great deal of American

pop culture (see section 5.2) and many of the participants indicated that they are mostly

influenced by American mainstream media (see section 7.2.3). The high correctness rating of

the British accent can thus not be attributed to familiarity with this accent, because if that

were the case, the correctness rating of American English would be higher. One possible

explanation might be that, because the British accent is the one they are least familiar with,

this accent is the most noticeable.

Not only did the participating students not truly manage to recognise the different

accents, they were also not able to attain their goal of speaking either British or American

English. These results are similar to what Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit (1997) found.

They discovered that the greater part of the questioned learners was not able to attain the

standard pronunciation they valued so positively (126). The same could be said about the

students who participated in the present study. Even though many students stated that they

wanted to speak either British or American English, none of them was able to commit to one

language variety during the production test. In other words, there is a discrepancy between

the language variety the students want to speak and the language variety they actually speak.

This thus suggests that attitudes about language behaviour may not always be reflected in

actual language behaviour. These findings are consistent with findings by Ladegaard &

Sachdev (2006), Lindell (2014) and Bikelienė (2015).

Even though Flemish secondary school pupils do not know the differences between

British and American English very well, they do give very specific reasons for wanting to speak

one of the varieties. A lot of the participants in the present study stated that they wanted to

speak British English because they like the accent or thought this language variety sounds

more classy, elegant or prestigious. When students preferred to speak American English, on

the other hand, they always attributed this choice to America’s position on the world stage or

to the fact that they find American English easier to learn. This is in line with what Queiroz De

Barros (2009) concludes about Portuguese learners of English as well; the respondents in her

study attributed their preference for British English almost exclusively to the accent, while

respondents who preferred American English justified their answer claiming that American

English is “easier to understand and learner-friendlier” (38). In other words, students who

favour British English are more attracted to the British accent, while students who favour

American English are more attracted by America’s position in the world and the fact that they

hear this language variety more, which makes it easier to learn.

As mentioned before, not one of the students was able to commit to one language

variety and elements of both British and American English were used in the speech of all

participating students. These students might not all have been able to identify the different

accents, many of them did realise that they were mixing multiple pronunciation varieties and

most of the students did not think this was a cause for concern. Furthermore, this mixing of

varieties of English is not specific to Flanders alone. Because of America’s growing influence,

English learners from all over Europe have been said to be mixing elements of different

language varieties (Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck & Smit 1997: 126; Queiroz De Barros 2009: 36;

Rindal 2010: 247; Bikelienė 2015: 33). In other words, looking at it from a European point of

view, the fact that Flemish secondary school pupils mix multiple varieties of English is not out

of the ordinary. An important question is then whether this should be discouraged or

encouraged.

8.2 Educational context vs. real-life speech

A second interesting observation from the data is that several students who aimed to speak

American English still indicated that they believed that British English should be used in

educational contexts. The same thing can be said about (the smaller number of) students who

stated that they wanted to speak British English, but still felt that American English was more

suitable for school. The fact that more students (49% of the third-years and 59% of the sixth-

years) believed British English is more suitable for school contexts is interesting, because the

number of students for whom British English is the aim is a lot lower. This shows that the

reasons for believing a certain variety is suitable in educational contexts and personally aiming

to speak a variety are not linked together. When personally choosing an objective, the

students gave a higher status to American English – because they know this language variety

better due to its position in the world. However, when choosing which variety is more suitable

in educational contexts, a lot of students seem to forget about this and focus on what has

been the norm in school contexts in the past.

As just stated, more than half of the questioned students believed that British English

is the more suitable language variety for education. Especially among the sixth-years, the

consensus was that British English should be used at school. Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck &

Smit (1997) state that in Austria the preferred accent is mostly RP, “due to traditional

preferences and present models offered at school” (126). This could be said about Flanders as

well. Traditionally, the favoured model here is British English and many teachers still mostly

use this model in class (Simon 2005: 18). Because sixth-year students have spent more time

in education than third-year students, this could possibly explain why more sixth-years believe

British English is the best language variety to use in school contexts. In other words, it is

possible that the norms that are installed by English teachers are generally accepted by their

students.

British English still seems to be the favoured modal among teachers, but a study by

Simon (2005) suggests that Flemish university students of English – who are often future

teachers of the language – mix several varieties of the language in their speech (15). This could

mean that as time goes on, more English teachers might stop using only the British model and

could possibly switch to other models or to a mixture of models. This, in turn, could mean that

secondary school pupils will be more exposed to other varieties of English as well. If this were

to be the case, their world inside and outside of school would link closer together, as many of

the questioned students in the present study indicated that they hear a lot more American

than British English in their daily lives, but that their English teacher at school usually speaks

British English.

8.3 Influence of media on language learning

The data suggests that Flemish secondary school pupils are very much influenced by American

mainstream media; a lot more than they are influenced by British mainstream media. A large

group of both the questioned third- and sixth-years indicated that films and television

programmes are the biggest influences on the way they speak English. This, once again, shows

that there is a discrepancy between what secondary school pupils learn at school (i.e. mostly

British English) and what they encounter most in their everyday lives (i.e. American English).

Kuppens (2007) states that exposure to English media helps children and teens to attain quite

a large English vocabulary (326). In other words, pupils who watch a lot of American television

will be quick to pick up American vocabulary. This could mean that those pupils will easily pick

up the American pronunciation of certain sounds as well, which in turn could play part in their

conscious choice for American English.

Many scholars believe that the spread of American media and culture is responsible

for the spread of American English among young people, but Ladegaard & Sachdev (2006) do

not agree with this. They conclude that Danish learners of English are not “helpless and passive

objects of cultural transformation” and that there is a “language-culture discrepancy” (106),

meaning that even though students might have positive attitudes towards members of a

certain ethnolinguistic group and might like certain aspects of that culture (e.g. television),

they do not necessarily take on all aspects, including language, of that culture. The present

research paper found different results. In contrast to what Ladegaard & Sachdev claim,

(especially younger) Flemish secondary school students see American English as the more

attractive variety, because of its vitality and its impact on culture, and for this reason

(especially third-year) students are keen to adopt this variety themselves.

8.4 Motivation and attitudes towards learning English (pronunciation)

The data also suggests that Flemish secondary school students have positive attitudes towards

learning English in general and learning English pronunciation more specifically; nearly all

respondents believed that learning English is important. These positive attitudes are related

to learning motivation and proficiency. Despite Jenkins’ (2000) claim that having a native-like

accent is not necessary for international communication (161), both the third-year students

and the sixth-year students stated that they find learning the correct pronunciation of English

words to be important or very important (in the same way that they also find that using correct

grammar and having an extended vocabulary is important or very important). This could thus

indicate that they are highly motivated to learn English, and to reach quite a high level of

English. However, a large majority of the students indicated that they believe that being able

to communicate is more important than the other three options (see section 7.2.1), thus

suggesting that they could be in favour of a more communicative approach to language

learning. A communicative approach focuses on task-based learning (Simon & Taverniers

2011: 3), rather than on the strict rules of the language.

As just mentioned, the participating students were all highly motivated to learn English

(see section 7.2.2). This motivation has several causes. Firstly, the students see English as an

important language, because they consider this language to be an important player on the

world stage. In other words, they are motivated to learn English because they think this will

help them get further in life. Furthermore, they also stress the importance of English as lingua

franca. Many students stated that they wanted to reach a certain level of English to be able to

communicate with people with whom they do not share the same native language. That many

of them want to learn American English has to do with the global status of America and

American products (see sections 4.3 and 4.4). In other words, “the high vitality of [American

English] is having an impact on attitudes to varieties of English” (Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006:

It is important to note that the participants showed different motivations for wanting

to learn British and American English. The status of the language variety itself and the sound

of the accent were two important factors for wanting to speak British English, while the status

of the country where the language is spoken and the availability of material were important

causes for wanting to speak American English. Prior research has shown that positive attitudes

towards the target language group can be important precursors to successful language

learning (Ladegaard & Sachdev 2006: 93). This means that the status that a country once had

and the prestige of the language that came with that, are still important (i.e. many students

still want to learn British English), but the status that a country has in present times is more

important (i.e. more and more people want to speak American English).

8.5 Mid-Atlantic in Flemish classrooms

The data from the present study reveals that Flemish students generally are not able to

consistently speak one pronunciation variety. Nevertheless, the mixture of varieties is not

necessarily a cause for concern and “the emergence of English as a global language has called

into question the desirability of setting the native speaker’s pronunciation as the model in

explicit pronunciation teaching” (Simon & Taverniers 2011: 4). This means that the mixing of

varieties based on personal preferences might become the norm.

Flemish students mix British and American English because they hear both varieties of

the language – British in school, American in the media – but are not explicitly taught the

differences between those two varieties. Queiroz De Barros (2009) states that simultaneous

exposition to British English and American English is sometimes claimed to have given rise to

a Mid-Atlantic variety among Europe’s non-native users of English (36). This variety is a “form

of English which is based mainly on RP, but shares many characteristics with General

American” (Simon 2005: 12). Because most Flemish non-native speakers of English use the

language to communicate with other non-native speakers it is not necessary make native

pronunciation the norm for all speakers. Furthermore, as Bernat (2006) states, there have

already been shifts in pedagogy from a focus on excellent pronunciation to intelligibility and

communicative competence (218). This is in line with what the participants of the present

study revealed; many of them are aware that they are not speaking perfect English, but that

they are mixing several varieties of the language. However, they do not mind this mix, because

they believe that most people they will encounter will still be able to understand them.

9 Limitations and recommendations for future research Even though the present research paper shines some light on the preferences of secondary

school students and the way they speak English, this study does not claim not to have

limitations.

The three methods of gathering information used in the present research paper

displayed that Flemish third-year students generally show a higher level of “Americanness”

than the sixth-year students. Because this study only interviewed this group of students at

one point in time, it cannot be said for sure whether this difference is a diachronic or a

synchronic one and whether the sixth-year students’ attitudes have changed over time or that

the third-year students are influenced differently. For this reason, it would be interesting to

redo this research project in three years’ time when the third-year students have become

sixth-years to see whether their language preferences have changed.

Secondly, only a fairly small sample of students was questioned. All of these students

went to the same school, a school which only offers General Secondary Education and which

is situated in a suburban area of Ghent, Belgium. It is possible that schools from different areas

would yield different results. This particular school’s population is also mostly white and

catholic, so a school with students from a wider range of (migrant) backgrounds might lead to

different results as well.

Third, even though the matched guise test and the production test show real-time

results, the questionnaire was based on self-evaluation. This means that some pupils might

present themselves in a different or – what they believe is – a better light. Because the

questionnaire is based on self-evaluation, it is not possible to check whether the students

answered all questions truthfully. The fact that all tests took place at school, during school

hours, might have also influenced the students to give socially favourable answers.

Furthermore, the present study did not look closely at changes in the English language

in light of recent political developments that are happening all over the (Anglophone) world

today. Britain’s exit from the European Union might lead to the rise of different prestigious

varieties of English within Europe. It might also lead to the use of more localised varieties of

English instead of one prestigious variety. The same could be said about America’s political

developments under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Lastly, this study’s focus lies on the different attitudes towards British and American

English. However, the matched guise test also included native Dutch speakers with either an

American or a British accent, but due to time and space restrictions, these were not discussed

in much detail. As most Flemish teachers are not native speakers of English – and thus often

mix several varieties themselves –, it would be interesting to compare the attitudes of Flemish

secondary school students towards British, American and Flemish English to see whether their

attitudes are the same as the Austrian students in Dalton-Pufffer, Kaltenboeck & Smith (1997)

and prefer both British and American English over their own Flemish English accents.

10 Conclusion To conclude, the present study showed that British English, which is traditionally considered

to be the most popular and prestigious language model in Flanders, is still important for

secondary school students. Nevertheless, this language variety is losing ground in favour of

American English, both when it comes to students’ attitudes towards the language and in the

way the students actually pronounce the language.

This research paper posed four questions:

American English?

The first question can be answered in two ways, because there is a difference between

Flemish pupils’ overt and covert attitudes towards the English language. Overtly, many

students favour British English; they believe British English is the most suitable variety to use

in educational contexts (section 7.2.6). This is mostly due to the prestige that the United

Kingdom and its language still carries and the fact that this is the variety that the educational

system favours top-down (Goethals 1997: 110; Bikelienė 2015: 30). Secondly, many students

like British English because they prefer the sound of the accent over an American English

accent (section 7.2.4). However, many students seem to be conflicted about their preferred

variety and answered other questions differently. Other parts of the questionnaire show that

a large number of students seem to show greater affinity to American culture in general

(section 7.2.3) and American English more specifically (section 7.2.4) than to British culture

and British English. This is confirmed in the matched guise test (section 7.1.1). Subconsciously,

the students seem to be more attracted to American English than to British English. Even

though the matched guide test did not yield many significant results, it did show that American

English systematically received higher ratings than British English and that especially the third-

years often gave American English the highest possible ratings in many of the categories.

There is also a difference between the attitudes of third-year and sixth-year students.

Generally speaking, the third-year students are a lot more open towards American English,

because this is the variety they are most familiar with (as is confirmed by Queiroz De Barros

2009 and Bikilienė 2015). The sixth-year students, on the other hand, are more attracted to

British English because of the prestige it still has in European educational contexts.

This study revealed that Flemish secondary school pupils do not consistently use one

variety of English: all of the questioned students mixed several varieties of the language

(section 7.3). Even though many students wish to speak a certain variety – most often British

or American English, but also sometimes a less widespread variety like Irish or Scottish – the

present study showed that they are not fully able to attain that goal. To test the students’

pronunciation, a production test was used, which focused on certain categories of sounds that

are traditionally considered to be very British or American ([ɑ] vs. [æ], [ju] vs. [u], post-vocalic

/r/ and intervocalic /t/). There was not one student who did not mix British and American

pronunciations, and even within the categories of sounds, the students mixed several

language varieties for different words. Furthermore, the production test showed that in

sentences containing multiple words with the same sounds (e.g. ‘the glass is half full’), those

words were not necessarily pronounced in the same way.

There is not really a straightforward answer to the question whether secondary school

students’ attitudes towards different pronunciation varieties of English truly match their

actual pronunciation. At first glance, their attitudes do not match their pronunciation: the

matched guise test and the questionnaire revealed that (especially third-year) students have

the most positive attitudes towards American English, both on a conscious and on a

subconscious level. The production test, on the other hand, showed that these students do

not truly speak American English. This means that although most students want to speak one

variety, that they do not manage to do this and instead they mix several varieties. In other

words, they set themselves goals, but they are not able to attain those goals (as is also found

by Dalton-Puffer, Kaltenboeck and Smit (1997) about Austrian learners). Nevertheless, when

looking at the results on a deeper level, the data does show that the students’ attitudes and

their actual pronunciation are shifting closer towards each other. Most Flemish secondary

school students view American English in a fairly positive light, because it is the language

variety they associate with television, film and powerful politics. This makes it the variety they

are most familiar with, which, in turn, makes acquiring this variety more easy (Queiroz De

Barros: 2009). Because British English still the variety that many teachers (and handbooks)

use, the students often learn this variety in school (Simon 2005: 18). This means that they are

influenced by both their teachers and school context and by the world around them. The fact

that they go against their teachers by not solely using British English, but also – maybe

subconsciously – including American English in their speech, shows that the discrepancy

between their language attitudes and their actual language behaviour is smaller than

originally thought.

How should teachers react to this shift? Once again, this question deserves a twofold

answer. Firstly, the current data suggests that there is a need to enhance students’ awareness

of the pronunciation differences between British and American English because there are a

number of discrepancies between the way students use the language and the way they think

about their own language use. Flemish secondary school students do not have enough

knowledge about the different pronunciation varieties to be able to adequately identify the

different varieties, which means that they are not able to achieve their ideal of speaking either

British or American English. This could be solved by spending more time on the pronunciation

differences in classroom contexts, instead of mostly focusing on the differences in lexicon or

grammar. If teachers were to spend more time on other varieties than British English, this

would help to bring the students’ world from inside and outside of school closer together. This

is, however, not the only way of looking at it. Due to the rise of Mid-Atlantic English, using one

specific pronunciation variety becomes less important and the students know that no matter

which variety of English they use, people will understand them. This means that teachers could

stick to using the variety they prefer – which in practice is often British English – and students

can adopt this to fit their own needs.

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Appendices

Appendix A. Student questionnaire (English translation)

PART 1 Please listen carefully to the following audio fragments. Pay attention to the way the person

speaks. The content is not important. During each fragment, you are asked to fill in the

questionnaire based on your perceptions of the speaker.

Audio fragment 1/2/3/4 The person speaking is…

Likeable 1 2 3 4 Unlikeable

Intelligent 1 2 3 4 Stupid

Educated 1 2 3 4 Uneducated

Selfless 1 2 3 4 Selfish

Successful 1 2 3 4 Unsuccessful

Interesting 1 2 3 4 Boring

Funny 1 2 3 4 Not funny

Kind 1 2 3 4 Mean

Organised 1 2 3 4 Messy

Polite 1 2 3 4 Rude

Determined 1 2 3 4 Undetermined

Honest 1 2 3 4 Deceitful

Ambitious 1 2 3 4 Lazy

What nationality do you think this speaker has? ………………………………………………………………………

Do you think the speaker would be a good English teacher? …………………………………………………….

Why do you think so? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

PART 2 Please complete the following questionnaire

1. What do you think is most important when learning a new language? Please indicate how

important you think certain components are. 1 = not important at all, 2 = not important,

3 = important, 4 = very important

a. Correct grammar

1 2 3 4

b. Extended vocabulary

1 2 3 4

c. Correct pronunciation

1 2 3 4

d. Being able to communicate with others

1 2 3 4

2. Do you think being able to speak English is important? Why (not)?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. I mostly watch…

o American television shows

o British television shows

o I do not watch English television shows

o Other (please explain): …………………………………………………………………………………….

4. Which of these elements influences the way you speak English the most?

o English teachers at school

o Music and song lyrics

o Films and television shows

o News media (e.g. newspapers, magazines, television news …)

o Gaming

o Social media (e.g. YouTube, Instagram, Vine …)

o Other (please explain): …………………………………………………………………………….........

5. Do you have (English) contact with native speakers of English? If yes, how often? What

are their nationalities?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. Do you have (English) contact with non-native speakers of English? If yes, how often?

What are their nationalities?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. Which variety of English do you think you (mostly) speak?

o British standard language (Received Pronunciation)

o General American

o A regional variety of Received Pronunciation

o A regional variety of General American

o A mixture of British and American English

o I don’t know

o Other (e.g. Irish, Australian, Scottish …)

8. Which variety of English do you want to speak?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. Why would you want to speak this variety?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10. Which variety of English do you think your teacher speaks?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

11. Native speakers of Dutch often mix elements of British English and American English. Do

you think this is acceptable, or do you think this should be avoided? Why?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

12. Which variety of English would you consider most suitable for the teaching of English in

Flemish secondary schools? Why?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Personal details:

Name: ……………………………………………………...…. Age: ………………………………………………………..

Gender: …………………………………………………….... Native language: ……………………………………..

Study programme: ………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………..

Have you ever been to the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland or

any other English-speaking county? If yes, which country/countries did you go to and how long

did you stay there?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

What do you want to study next year? …………………………………………………………………………………….

PART 3: Vocabulary Complete the sentences. You can use the following words: from, broken, than, believe, empty,

moving, in, decision, before, with, without.

1. My little brother is three years younger … … … … I am.

2. While studying for exams, students learn a lot … … … … examples.

3. It is better to see the glass as half full than half … … … … … .

4. Last year, my father told me that we would be … … … … … … to Australia.

5. John is … … the studio to record his new song

6. I asked for some butter … … … … my toast.

7. I assume that you would like to take some time before making such an important

… … … … … … … … .

8. It doesn’t matter what you say, I will never … … … … … … … you.

9. Dancing is my passion. I could not live … … … … … … … it.

10. You will have to tune the guitar … … … … … … you can start playing.

11. Because our heating is … … … … … … , our house gets really cold during winter.

Appendix B. Student questionnaire (original Dutch version)

DEEL 1 Luister goed naar de volgende audiofragmenten. Let op de manier waarop de personen

praten. De inhoud is niet zo belangrijk. Duid tijdens elk fragment aan wat jij van de spreker

vindt.

Audio fragment 1/2/3/4 De persoon die spreekt is…

Aangenaam 1 2 3 4 Vervelend

Intelligent 1 2 3 4 Dom

Geleerd 1 2 3 4 Ongeletterd

Onzelfzuchtig 1 2 3 4 Egoïstisch

Succesvol 1 2 3 4 Niet geslaagd

Interessant 1 2 3 4 Saai

Grappig 1 2 3 4 Niet grappig

Vriendelijk 1 2 3 4 Gemeen

Netjes 1 2 3 4 Rommelig

Beleefd 1 2 3 4 Grof

Vastberaden 1 2 3 4 Onzeker

Eerlijk 1 2 3 4 Oneerlijk

Ambitieus 1 2 3 4 Lui

Wat denk je dat de nationaliteit van de spreker is? ………………………………………………………………….

Denk je dat de spreker een goede leerkracht Engels zou zijn? ………………………………………………….

Waarom denk je dat? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

DEEL 2 Vul deze vragenlijst zo volledig mogelijk in.

1. Wat vind je het belangrijkste bij het leren van een nieuwe taal? Duid aan hoe belangrijk

je de bepaalde componenten vindt. 1 = helemaal niet belangrijk, 2 = niet belangrijk, 3 =

belangrijk, 4 = zeer belangrijk.

a. Juiste grammatica

1 2 3 4

b. Uitgebreide woordenschat

1 2 3 4

c. Juiste uitspraak

1 2 3 4

d. Kunnen communiceren met andere mensen

1 2 3 4

2. Vind je het belangrijk om Engels te leren? Waarom (niet)?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Ik kijk meestal naar…

o Amerikaanse televisieprogramma’s

o Britse televisieprogramma’s

o Ik kijk nooit naar Engelstalige televisieprogramma’s

o Andere (leg uit a.u.b.): ………………………………………………………………………………….....

4. Wat beïnvloedt de manier waarop jij Engels spreekt het meeste?

o Leerkrachten Engels op school

o Muziek en songteksten

o Films en televisieseries

o Nieuwsmedia (v.b. kranten, tijdschriften, televisienieuws)

o Videogames

o Sociale media (v.b. YouTube, Instagram, Vine)

o Andere (leg uit a.u.b.): ………………………………………………………………………………….....

5. Heb je (Engelstalig) contact met moedertaalsprekers van het Engels? Indien ja, hoe vaak?

Wat zijn hun nationaliteiten?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. Heb je (Engelstalig) contact met niet-moedertaalsprekers van het Engels? Indien ja, hoe

vaak? Wat zijn hun nationaliteiten?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. Welke variëteit van het Engels denk je dat je (voornamelijk) spreekt?

o Britse standaardtaal (Received Pronunciation)

o Amerikaanse standaardtaal

o Een regionale variëteit van de Britse standaardtaal

o Een regionale variëteit van de Amerikaanse standaardtaal

o Een mengvorm van het Amerikaans en Brits

o Ik weet het niet

o Andere (v.b. Iers, Australisch, Schots …)

8. Welke Engelse variëteit zou je willen spreken?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. Waarom zou je die variëteit willen spreken?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10. Welke variëteit denk je dat je leerkracht spreekt?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

11. Moedertaalsprekers van het Nederlands mixen soms elementen van Brits Engels en

Amerikaans Engels. Vind je dit aanvaardbaar, of denk je dat dit best vermeden wordt?

Waarom?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

12. Welke variëteit van het Engels is volgens jou het meest geschikt om Engelse les te geven

in het middelbaar onderwijs in Vlaanderen? Waarom?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Persoonlijke gegevens:

Naam: …………………………………………………………. Leeftijd: …………………………………………………..

Gender: ………………………………………………………. Moedertaal: ……………………………………………

Studierichting: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Ben je ooit al naar het Verenigd Koninkrijk, de Verenigde Staten, Canada, Australië, Ierland of

een ander Engelstalig land geweest? Indien ja, welk(e) land(en) heb je bezocht en hoe lang

ben je daar verbleven?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………

Wat wil je volgend jaar studeren? ……………………………………………………………………………………………

DEEL 3: Woordenschat Vul de zinnetjes aan. Maak gebruik van deze woorden: from, broken, than, believe, empty,

moving, in, decision, before, with, without.

12. My little brother is three years younger … … … … I am.

13. While studying for exams, students learn a lot … … … … examples.

14. It is better to see the glass as half full than half … … … … … .

15. Last year, my father told me that we would be … … … … … … to Australia.

16. John is … … the studio to record his new song

17. I asked for some butter … … … … my toast.

18. I assume that you would like to take some time before making such an important

… … … … … … … … .

19. It doesn’t matter what you say, I will never … … … … … … … you.

20. Dancing is my passion. I could not live … … … … … … … it.

21. You will have to tune the guitar … … … … … … you can start playing.

22. Because our heating is … … … … … … , our house gets really cold during winter.

Appendix C. Pronunciation choice per word (third-year students)

Appendix D. Pronunciation choice per word (sixth-year students)

LEARNING BRITISH ENGLISH IN AN AMERICANISED WORLD

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