earticle

영어

This study explores how 65 sixth Korean-speaking students discern nativeness and identify English accents. It also examines their perceptions of English accents, considering factors such as preference, familiarity, comprehensibility, and instructional model suitability. For this investigation, the children listened to two native-accented and three nonnative-accented speeches and the results were subjected to statistical analysis. The findings are as follows: 1) The children faced challenges in accurately discerning nativeness, with an even greater difficulty in identifying accents. 2) Despite this, the children preferred and found AmE and BrE more familiar, comprehensible, and suitable as instructional models compared to nonnative accents, except for KoE. 3) No significant differences were found between native and KoE in preference, familiarity, and comprehensibility. However, KoE deemed less suitable than AmE for instruction, but not significantly different from BrE. 4) The assessed variables showed positive and statistically significant correlations, albeit with varying strengths. 5) Familiarity with the accents was the most influential factor in assessments of instructional model suitability. The study suggests pedagogical, materials development, and teacher education implications.