IMPACT OF ACCENT AND PRONUNCIATION ON LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILLS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

This research paper studies the impact of accent and pronunciation on the listening and speaking skills of university students from a public sector government university. It is a general observation that students coming to universities from both rural and urban areas tend to become impressed by those teachers more who speak in a native like English accent and pronunciation. However, there is still need to know on a deeper level what they actually think about the importance of accent and pronunciation in a teaching session. Moreover, it is also vital to know if these students get to learn and improve themselves in their accent and pronunciation by listening to such teachers at a mature level or not. The methodology for this research paper is mainly observation and survey; making it Holistic in nature i.e. both qualitative and quantitative. The number of students selected for surveys were twenty five from all levels of university programs i.e. Bachelors, Masters, MPhil and PhD. The students were from assorted disciplines of Computer Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Fine Arts, Psychology, Law, Physics, and Mathematics, Mass Media and Communication Studies, etc. The data collected from surveys is represented via table and bar chart along with theoretical analysis. This paper will discuss both positive and negative implications of using native like accent and pronunciation while speaking English by teachers from learners’ perspective.