Social and Educational Challenges of International Students Caused by Accented English in the Australian Context: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Linguistic Experience

Abstract

This study investigates the issues that international students studying at tertiary institutions in Australia face due to their accented English. While studies in the field of international education have clearly established the impact of these students’ language difficulties, limited attention has been directed at the issue of the effects of accentedness on L2 tertiary students. International students have to deal with difficulties caused by accented English at two different levels: 1) their own foreign accent or that of their conversation partner, which can result in loss of confidence in their linguistic skills: and 2) negative societal attitudes towards foreign accents. This study adopted a sociolinguistic lens when viewing this issue, providing a richer level of understanding of accent-associated linguistic experience of these students in both social and educational settings. A mixed-methods approach was employed to access the views of international students. This combined a survey of international students, followed by group interviews, in order to explore the students’ views of their difficulties associated with accentedness, and strategies they used to mitigate those challenges. While the survey captured an overall pattern of the experiences of accentedness and the strategies used to address these issues, the follow-up group interviews added in-depth perspectives on accent-related experiences, beliefs, perceptions and concerns of the students. The results reported the linguistic experiences of 182 L2 students who were enrolled at three major universities in South East Queensland. Descriptive analysis was used to capture the interesting and unexpected responses of the majority of the participating L2 students. Thematic analysis was employed to account for the issues arising from the survey and achieve a richness in understanding the experiences of these students.