Attitudes toward Regional British Accents in EFL Teaching: Student and Teacher Perspectives

In this attitudinal-based study, British EFL teachers report on their regional accents, both in terms of their own attitudes, and the reported attitudes of their EFL students. Drawing on interviews with 20, mostly, Northern EFL teachers, there are three broad findings. First, the participating teachers reported that EFL students sometimes found their accents difficult to understand, but appreciated, and often celebrated, their ‘difference’ nonetheless. Second, student attitudes contrast with that of one particular senior staff member, who instructed a teacher to adopt more ‘standard’ Southern pronunciation. Finally, the teachers themselves expressed pride in their accents, and explained that outside of a perceived need to modify their accents to be better understood, otherwise exercised agency and resisted suggestions that their accents needed to change. Overall, the students’ reported positive engagement, and teachers’ pride in their regional accents are key implications of our findings.