STUDENTS’ AWARENESS OF VARIETIES OF WORLD ENGLISHES: A CASE OF VIETNAMESE EFL STUDENTS AT HUE TOURISM COLLEGE

Abstract: Because English is an international language, there are various accents of English around the world. However, for Vietnamese students, in general, and for EFL students, in particular, they are mostly familiar with American English accent, due to their lack of exposure to other dialects. This case study of Vietnamese EFL students at Hue Tourism College was conducted to see the students’ awareness of varieties of world Englishes. The findings showed that the students face a lot of difficulties when they communicate in a working environment of different accents of English. 96.3 % of the students in the survey expressed their difficulties to cope with the regional accents. Nearly two-thirds of the students said they could not understand their guests because of the speakers’ strange pronunciation, different regions vocabulary and their linking sounds when speaking. 97.5 % of the participants in the survey were aware of the importance of mastering the differences in accents and lexicon for their future jobs as tourist guides, travel agents staffs, receptionists, housekeepers, or waiters/waitresses after graduation. A number of suggestions and solution were also made to help students improve their knowledge of different accents and thus further their language competency