Abstract
Due to globalization, English becomes increasingly important and it has developed from a national language into an international language. As a result, English has shown some distinct regional characteristics. The globalized society asks for a high standard of interdisciplinary talents. But there is a conflict between the goal that students need to learn multiple English varieties for international communication and the fact that only mainstream English is emphasized in the teaching and learning process. Besides, the existing studies mainly concentrate on descriptions of English varieties but neglect researches of acceptability of varieties from learners’ perspective. In terms of research methodology, as qualitative research methods are in the dominant position, few empirical studies are seen in the literature.
This paper reports an empirical study on the learners’ acceptability of six English phonological varieties including American English, British English, Indian English, South African English, French English and China English, aiming to explore to what extent each English variety is acceptable to the English majors and find out factors affecting the acceptability. The primary data are derived from questionnaires. The major findings are summarized as follows:
Firstly, there is a significant difference of acceptability between Englishes from the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle. Learners show a high acceptability to the Inner Circle (British English and American English), show a respectively high acceptability to the Expanding Circle (French English and China English), but show a low acceptability to the Outer Circle (Indian English and South African English). The extent to which a particular English phonological variety is acceptable to a learner differs from lower grade to higher grade. The higher-grade group shows a higher acceptability to French English than the lower-grade group.
Secondly, setting, user and language are found to have great influence on acceptability. Specifically, in terms of the setting, teachers’ accents, learners’ entertainment, the country’s economy, politics and the foreign country’s culture can be factors influencing acceptability. In terms of the user, acceptability may be affected by learners’ motivation, attitude and aptitude. In terms of language, the more negative transfer of L1, the lower acceptability learners have.
Key words: English majors, English phonological varieties, acceptability
Contents
Abstract
中文摘要
Chapter One Introduction-3
1.1 Background of the Study-3
1.2 Purpose and Significance of the Study-4
1.3 Layout of the Thesis-4
Chapter Two Literature Review-5
2.1 Definition of Key Terms-5
2.1.1 English Phonological Varieties-5
2.1.2 Acceptability-5
2.2 Key Theories-6
2.2.1 The Three Concentric Circles Theory-6
2.2.2 Affordances Theory-7
2.3 Related Studies-8
2.3.1 Acceptability of Phonological Varieties-8
2.3.2 English Phonological Varieties in the Three Concentric Circles-9
2.3.3 Factors Affecting Acceptability-10
2.4 Summary-10
Chapter Three Methodology-12
3.1 Research Questions-12
3.2 Participants-12
3.3 Instruments-12
3.4 Data Collection and Analysis-13
Chapter Four Results and Discussion-14
4.1 Results-14
4.1.1 Acceptability of Six English Phonological Varieties-14
4.1.2 Factors Affecting Acceptability-14
4.1.2.1 The Setting Factors-14
4.1.2.2 The User Factors-15
4.1.2.3 The Language-related Factors (L1 Influence)-15
4.2 Discussion-16
Chapter Five Conclusion-19
5.1 Major Findings-19
5.2 Study Implications-19
5.3 Limitations of the Study and Room for Improvement-20
References-22
Acknowledgements-25
Appendix A-26
Appendix B-27
