Cebu International EFL Conference

Abstract of paper

Authors
Paul Yap &
Rosemarie Alimon
DeLa Salle University
Philippines

Title
Effects of Speaker’s Accent on Students’ Learning and Speaker Rating 

Abstract
This study seeks to be aware of the significant effects of speaker accent on students’ deep learning, as measured by retention and transfer tests, and its effects on the students’ rating of the speaker. A narration of how lightning storms develop was done to 150 high school students from a private school in Quezon City. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 conditions; Filipino English–accent, American English–accent, and Korean English–accent. MANOVA was used to test the effect of the 3 accents. Findings showed that students’ performances on retention tests are better when the narration comes from a foreign-accented voice (American English-accent) (M = 1.48), while students’ performances on transfer tests (M = 4.6) and speaker-rating   (M = 6.06) are better and more positive when the narration comes from a standard-accented voice. The results are consistent with the Social Agency Theory and the Cognitive Load Theory.