Assignment 2-Written Component 1 (My Point of View on Accents and Equity)

Are there any downfalls of a teacher teaching with a strong accent?

How do teachers with accents and dialects affect the classroom and student learning in Ontario schools?

Can the use of dialects and accents have detrimental effects or positive effects?

Is there a difference supporting an ELL from the Caribbean?

How is this related to pronunciation?

Are all dialects considered an issue? 

How can we assess these issues?

What are the implications for parents with accents/dialects?

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Teachers with accents teaching their materials and content using their natural speaking attitudes are within their rights to do so and no one has the right to tell them otherwise. Firstly, Canada is a cultural mosaic, regarding language, there are people in Chinatown (Toronto) who I know and others who I have met, that haven't learned English for the 14 years that they had been living there. Say its "a rare case", but a person would be surprised how little the English levels are of immigrants at times and how long they remain unlearned in English. Therefore, if the country is willing to allow people who do not speak the native languages of Canada (because even born Canadians can't speak the Native Languages of true Canada), then there needs to be a level of understanding. Once people are let in as citizens, or residents of this great country, it is a "free" country. It is highly controversial if suddenly people's job opportunities are limited due to their language or culture, there is no easy line to be drawn. Unfortunately, there needs to be a level of professionalism that is carried out from government positions of public servants like that of a teacher, in which English levels are monitored at a scrutinizing level. The level of scrutiny that someone with an accent would face, should not be as bad as to say that if a Francophone is teaching in British Columbia they would be turned down from a teaching job, but that is the discussion being had at this moment. The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks developed a series of descriptors and rubrics in which newcomers are expected to be assessed through, this document clearly distinguishes English speaking abilities versus communication abilities (2012). The need for communication abilities is necessary to participate in some professional environments based on needed skills, not race or ethnicity. Equitable teaching in Ontario is important however they clearly state that for teachers who are internationally trained and then applying for the a position through the college, that they need to meet in order to become certified OCT members (2019). I think the assessment of these teachers is important to ensure that the students are getting the skills training they need form the system, it could very well be recognized that there are inherent benefits to cultures shared through the listening and appreciation of an accent. 

In a BBC news article, Hannah Richardson, describes the event of a teacher needing to lose a thick "yokel" accent due to fear of discrimination in England (2017). This is particularly surprising to hear, that a teacher from England is in need of accent neutralization to avoid ridicule and keep a professional impression in the minds of their colleagues. In a place that is responsible as a lead facilitator in delivering standardized English, there is a citizen who needs Accent neutralization. This could leave a lot of things for speculation, but the fact of the matter is that through history the English language was adapted to later become "North American English". If a Canadian speaking English as a first language travels, works and teaches to/in England, they do not need an accent neutralization, nor are they questioned about their English Language communication skills. Ultimately, the point being made is that there is a standard level of English communication skills that a teacher should have, however it should not be solely determined based on their "accent" or "dialect", a teacher who is truly capable of educating is able to communicate their ideas. Teachers or candidates do deserve an opportunity to prove themselves in a probationary period. In a situation like this one, the concern would seemingly be in the superficial aspect of the accent, but it could be stated the real negative impact an accent may have on a student is the inability to be understood by the student. This is an opportunity and real discussion, students in this teacher's classroom would need to understand the language but struggle to do so (genuinely). The students who do speak standard English will now be confused because they were not prepared to be decoding and/or learning a new language in "English" class. Granted then, ELL would find the class very difficult and frustrating because all the work done before in standard English would now be felt as if it is being completed in a foreign conversation that is not English 

This is concept of needing to neutralize an accent even though a person is a born and raised Canadian citizen is a rather uncommonly heard of phenomenon in Canada in the teaching profession, as there is little data about these sorts of situations. The majority of the discussion seems to stem from Quebec though for any of the discussion that does occur regarding Canada. The Hammer (an online news cast) put out an article June 29th 2001, in which the students of a Grade 8 class were on a year-end trip to Quebec as apart of a French Immersion trip. The students studied French very hard all year and they believed that the teacher spoke French fluently, being ready to take them to Quebec as a tour guide. When they arrived, they were a little less than prepared to say the least, "Edouardo speculated that Ms. Bassett doesn't really speak French, she just tries to make it sound like how the class thinks French should sound. "The way she talks French sounds nothing like the way that guy in the gas station talked. It's like, no way at all" (The Hammer 2019). I think that the last sentence there is crucial, the first language French speaker sounds nothing like the French Teacher that the students had guiding them through Montreal. Teachers, professionals, the public can say whatever they want about the situation and trip in general. There is however a inherent relativity to the discussion of an English teacher with a thick accent teaching English. It could be inferred that if the student experiences working with the accent for a sustained period of time, that they would indeed develop the accent themselves. The student won't develop and only speak with a British accent after one year of grade school unless the student is really trying to develop the accent. Nonetheless, the teacher in this article is clearly unable to speak proper French, yet she taught it to her students, they then put it into practice and found that they really struggled to get by. Even though the students probably knew and understood French, the true French accent was seemingly too difficult for the students to grasp due to their lack of experience with the accent. it could be deduced then, that teachers teaching English in Quebec, would like face difficulties if the roles were switched.

Resources

http://thehammer.ca/content/view.php?news=2001-06-29-children-visit-quebec

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-boards-desperately-short-of-french-language-teachers-report/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/the-accent-effect-toronto-4-1.4407769

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-39028994

http://blog.tesol.org/you-say-tomato-is-accent-variation-relevant-to-esl-students/

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdf

Feedback from the Facilitator:

Thank you for your assignment Carmelo. You have provided excellent information! I appreciate your research and attempt! You have provided information which was insightful. Note that pronunciation is a huge part of ELL students learning the English language. ELL students who at older (/junior/intermediate/senior) will have a harder time grasping the sounds of the English language as this as something that was learned very early on in their first language. Pronunciation should be “taught” to ELL students through the use of various techniques using symbols to help represent sounds, avoid correcting them in front of their peers, individual instructions, read alouds, listening to books on tape, digital books on the computer, and visual organizers. I find these techniques/strategies very beneficial to ELL students and I do believe that teachers can easily implement these strategies to assist ELL students with learning the sounds of the English language.

The teacher's role is to teach the right way of pronouncing each words and correcting mistook pronunciation. ELL students are then to use the English immersed environment to practice what they've learned. There should always be a mini lesson on how to pronounce words correctly via teacher/adult during school lessons. For example, every time a new vocabulary word is introduced to students, teacher model how to pronounce the word correctly. For words that have more than one syllable, dividing them up into syllables (by clapping: pho-to-graph) can help ELL students to learn how to pronounce long, difficult words easily. Also by being naturally immersed in language-rich environment, ELL students can listen and see how English-speaking students pronounce words/sentences when communicating with others. From my personal experience as an ESL student, I used to 'copy' exactly in speaking what other English-speakers did when communicating. I would gradually learn when and where English-speakers use certain vocabulary words when speaking and then simply copying them. So teaching pronunciation should be taught in-class by a teacher and outside the class by others (friends, family).