| This study examines the effect of native and non-native varieties of English on listening comprehension and attitudes. One hundred and fifty-two freshmen judges from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus listened to four accents: Standard American English (SAE), US southern, Puerto Rican and foreign (Greek). They completed a four-part questionnaire which assessed listening comprehension, elicited attitudes toward speakers and their speech, and collected demographic information.;All accents were comprehended equally well. In relation to attitudes, the Standard American and foreign accents scored high followed by the Puerto Rican and the southern American. When asked which voice they would like their English professor to have and which they would like to imitate, students overwhelmingly mentioned the SAE model. It is argued that students' bias (consumerism) points to this model as the best and, therefore, the one they should receive and imitate. |
