Non-native speaker accents

[Mylanguageclick]

Should business English listening resources material include non-native speaker voices? What do you think?

Regards.

 

[Raymott]

Should business English listening resources material include non-native speaker voices? What do you think?

Regards.

Will the users of the material eventually be conducting business in English with non-native speakers?

 

[Mylanguageclick]

Yes, they will. The problem is that it's very difficult for me to find study material including non-native speaker voices... so I was wondering if, in general, business English listening resources material should include non-native speaker accents.

Regards.

 

[Raymott]

Yes, they will. The problem is that it's very difficult for me to find study material including non-native speaker voices... so I was wondering if, in general, business English listening resources material should include non-native speaker accents.

Regards.

Given that all non-native speakers will have different accents, I'd vote no.
Sure, you might use a German or Spanish accent in your materials just for fun, but is that going to help you understand a Chinese businessman speaking English?
It might have its place in a course for students who know the nationality of the non-native speakers they will be dealing with. But that would be a very specialised course - Business English for Spanish speakers who will be dealing with Chinese, for example.

 

[Mylanguageclick]

I see your point Raymott, thanks for your opinion.
Regards.

 

[phamduc.minhanh]

Greetings,

I am a high school pupil from Singapore.

I have one more point to add. If a foreigner wants to master a language quickly, he or she should conform to only one version of English. Therefore, he or she should stick to either British or American English, and therefore one accent. There is no point in listening to British accent in one day, and then switching to Chinese accent the next day. This will cause confusion.

Rather than that, as Raymott said above, there should be courses dealing with specific varieties of English and accent.

Cheerio,

Pham Duc Minh Anh

 

[emsr2d2]

I actually think that listening to a variety of accents while learning a language is very useful. It can be confusing but at least when the learner comes to speak to a native speaker, they may well have heard that accent before.

 

[Tdol]

Given that listening to non-native speakers is a very common thing in real life for many people in business, then I think exposing learners to non-native speakers is a good idea, and especially useful in a monolingual class.

 

[kayvelic]

My main feeling is to agree with member emsr2d2, as in my heart I like to think one is not better than another.
Only, we are talking about business here aren't we? If your training to enter a corporate environment I'm thinking your intentions are to achieve success. The accent in which a student learns to speak English should be in tune with the main & most prestigious, or upper class, accent of the environment or country they are going to have to communicate within.
-(I found this on our good friend wiki- The notion of a "standard" language in a speech community is related to the prestige of the languages spoken in the community. In general, "greater prestige tends to be attached to the notion of the standard, since it can function in higher domains, and has a written form.)
If the student is heading for the world stage firstly I believe having a grasp of several languages, not just their native tongue & english, is a must. Working in a global business environment the accent for english study should be as neutral as possible, RP or Received Pronunciation has always been a popular choice, especially among foreign correspondents & journalists, although it does appear to be diminishing slightly.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, everything I have expressed is only in my most humble opinion & I hope you find it helpful.

Cheers, Kay.