English as a second language learners' perceptions of different varieties of English

Language attitudes color listeners' perceptions of speakers and language varieties. Speakers of standard varieties are often valued while speakers of non-standard varieties are often disparaged because of their speech. Previous research has extensively documented native English speakers' attitudes toward the non-standard and non-native English varieties students might encounter in American higher education; however, few studies have examined listeners' perceptions of World Englishes, and even fewer have utilized an all-English as a Second Language (ESL) sample. Thirty-one ESL students in two college ESL programs listened to two short texts read by a Standard American English (SAE) speaker and a Standard Indian English (SIE) speaker and rated each speaker's perceived accentedness, comprehensibility, friendliness, attractiveness, education, wealth, and professional desirability. Additionally, the listeners indicated the speakers' professions and answered three comprehension questions about each text's content. The results confirm that speaker accent influences listener perceptions: the SAE speaker is more highly rated than the SIE speaker on measures of perceived accentedness, perceived comprehensibility, education, attractiveness, wealth, professional desirability, and job attainment. Ratings of perceived accentedness, perceived comprehensibility, and actual comprehension are not significantly different, suggesting that a strong perceived accent and reduced perceived comprehensibility does not affect actual listener comprehension. This study suggests the need for more research on the relationship between perceived accentedness, perceived comprehensibility, and actual comprehension. In finding that ESL students harbor traditional views of English, this study also suggests the need for further development of programs focusing on English's linguistic diversity to combat linguistic stereotypes and standard language ideologies