Exploring EFL Learners’ Accent Preferences for Effective ELF Communication

Abstract

This study explores Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ attitudes towards accent for effective English as a lingua franca (ELF) communication. Notwithstanding the research conducted on EFL learners’ perceptions of different variations of the English language for their language learning, little attempts have been made to investigate their perspectives in detail within the context of China. This inquiry thus intends to bridge this gap by exploring EFL learners’ accent preferences for ELF communication. Data were collected qualitatively from 34 students at an international university in China to examine their experiences of EFL learning and ELF communication. Data were classified and categorized based on learners’ accent preferences and then coded for analysis from their learning discourses, cultural media, material conditions and social agents. The results point to various sociocultural and sociohistorical variables that have reified their language choices and ideology to further underpin their native speaker (NS) and non-native speaker (NNS) dichotomy.

Keywords

Accent ideology mediation ELF EIL WE EFL NS and NNS dichotomy

Introduction

With the inception of globalization and internationalization, the past century has witnessed a growing body of research on English as an international language (EIL) in English language teaching (ELT). In many English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts around the world, a sociocultural perspective has been increasingly utilized as an approach to investigating learners’ beliefs and attitudes (Yang and Kim, 2011) since their language learning can be significantly influenced by various contextual factors through multiple interactions.

As one of the salient variables in learners’ language acquisition, accent has been a widely studied subject in the field in which two opposing views can be noted: pursuing a native-like accent or prioritizing intelligibility. Studies on EFL learners’ attitudes towards these two views have thus proliferated in the past decade as the reality of EIL has been recognized in today’s globalized world (Walker, 2010). However, research investigating the reasons behind these two disparate attitudes remains sparse in China despite the fact that it has the most EFL learners in the world. This inquiry is hence necessary to take learners’ attitudes into account in terms of how accent is perceived by EFL learners. This will inform practice that has had little discussion so far within the paradigm of EIL in China (Wang, 2015).

Does Accent Matter?

In the field of second language acquisition (SLA), accent has been one of the areas in language education for the past few decades (Jenkins, 2014). Notwithstanding the proliferation of empirical research on late language learners’ accent acquisition, contradictory findings still prevail regarding how it impacts effective communication in an international arena. Research has thus been conducted and revealed that poor accent ratings might be related to phonetic, phonemic and grammatical mistakes that hinder the correct and natural intonation when a word is pronounced (Pitzl, 2012). Communication breakdown is likely when non-native speakers focus more on segmental cues while missing other essential aspects of contextual information such as suprasegmental and lexical cues (see Seidlhofer, 2011).

Meanwhile, research has also been conducted exploring the possibility of acquiring a native-like accent after the proposed critical period of a language learner. As Wang (2013) has maintained, the reality that only few were able to do so denotes that reaching a native-like accent is unrealistic during the process of SLA. Other sociocultural and sociohistorical variables are also noted to be correlated with learners’ accent. For instance, language contact and learning experience are two essential factors that influence accent acquisition in various ways along with identity and motivation, see Fang (2016) for a review.

Sociocultural Theory for Language Learning

A crucial concept of sociocultural theory examines how humans’ mind is mediated and functioned for any possible collaboration (Gao, 2009). This sociocultural perspective provides insight into the social, cultural and historical aspects of human cognition and the role of social interaction and culture media for learners’ SLA. As VanPatten and Williams (2014) have clearly illustrated, mediation refers to the process through which humans utilize culturally constructed media, concepts, and actions to regulate their learning behaviour. Based on this paradigm, learners’ cognition includes a high degree of mental processing when an L2 is acquired, which involves not only the mediation of various resources but also the transformation from these resources to all related psychological media (Lantolf and Poehner, 2014). Thus, learners’ different sociocultural variables have been considered by many scholars to explore learners’ beliefs and attitudes during the process of language learning. Learners’ beliefs were defined by Swain et al., (2015) as their thoughts and attitudes towards learning an L2, whereas their attitudes refer to the preferences and beliefs with regard to how they deem their learning trajectory.

This sociocultural perspective is essential within the EIL framework in that it epitomizes how English is used in a wide range of cultural settings for effective intercultural communication (Pitzl, 2012). From learners’ various culturally intermediated media, culture can be conceptualized as social systems embodied through their shared beliefs, values, attitudes and practices that give rise to the appearance of norms and patterns when it comes to how the concept of EIL is shaped (Seidlhofer, 2011). As Jenkins (2014) has lucidly indicated, this influences how different aspects of EIL are perceived such as usage and accent both intranationally and internationally in today’s globalized world. The fluidity of language and culture also reveals a constantly emergent state with no fixed end point for EIL to be evolved and developed (Pilus, 2013).

ELF and Native-Speakerism

In the era of globalization and internationalization, English is increasingly used as a lingua franca (ELF) that can be defined as the act of communication in English between speakers with different first languages (Seidlhofer, 2011). The concept of ‘World Englishes’ (WE) has also been embraced by many scholars and was defined by Jenkins (2014) as ‘all local English varieties regardless of which of Kachru’s (1985) three circles they came from’. In ELF communication, EFL speakers’ perceptions about accent can be reflected in many ways. While an emerging body of research has investigated how EFL learners perceive their own accents in ELF communication (Sung, 2016), and some studies have investigated Chinese university students’ attitudes towards different English accents (Wang, 2015), relatively little is known about how accent is perceived in ELF communication in China.

Among the large body of research investigating learners’ preferences and attitudes towards various English accents (Pilus, 2013; Wang, 2015; Kang, 2015; Fang, 2016), the native-speaker (NS) ideology, especially the American or British English which is known as the Inner Circle English (Kachru, 1985), is a predominant phenomenon among the non-native speakers (NNSs) worldwide. Though being challenged by the increased popularity of ELF along with the concept of WE and EIL, the ideology of the US and UK English has always played an influential role underpinning EFL learners’ beliefs. Sung (2016) suggested learners should be encouraged to critically examine the reasons behind their accent preferences and understand the ideological underpinnings of their accent choices. Therefore, the reasons behind EFL learners’ attitudes towards accent are still worth investigating within the paradigm of ELF, especially in the context of China where it has the most EFL learners (Fang, 2016). In light of this need to inform practice, the following research question guided this study: What are Chinese university students’ attitudes towards accent and how they influence their EFL learning and ELF communication?

Methodology

Context and Participants

The study was conducted at an international university in southeast China where English is used as the medium of instruction in the majority of the courses due to an increased number of exchange and international students from other countries. ELF communication thus seems to be crucial on campus due to a mix of international students and teaching faculty from various parts of the world. As for the criteria during recruitment based on purposeful sampling (Suri, 2011), local Chinese university students who had experiences of ELF communication both locally and internationally were selected from various degree programmes. Thirty-four undergraduate students (18 females and 16 males) from different majors (literature, business, engineering, and medicine) and years (from freshmen to seniors) took part in this study from each college at the university. Aged between 19 and 20 (M=19.5), these participants’ experiences of learning English varied from 9 to 10 years. An English placement test conducted before the study placed all the students at the intermediate level (CEFR B1).

Data Collection and Analysis

Data were collected qualitatively through an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interview. Qualitative analysis is especially useful for exploring learners’ experiences regarding their perspectives on accent and ELF communication. The questionnaire elicited personal information from the respondents, which included gender, age, major and years of EFL learning. Ten questionnaire items were constructed after a critical review of the literature (see Appendix 1) and administered in Mandarin before being translated by two professional translators for clarity and correctness to ensure comprehensibility. As for the interview, a semi-structured interview was employed not only to help the interviewees fully understand the questions adequately, but also to elicit their experiences in a more flexible manner as ‘every step of an interview brings new information and opens a window into the experience of people’ (Rubin and Rubin, 2012: 1). Five items were adapted from the questionnaire to explore the research question further (see Appendix 2). The interview was conducted with each participant in Mandarin and was audio-recorded with their permission before it was translated into English by two professional translators. A researcher journal was kept by us separately to note all the salient interaction that took place during the data collection period. Member check was used via e-mail to ensure the authenticity of the data collected and analysed.

Data were firstly coded into two categories based on the participants’ accent preferences. During subsequent note-taking while listening to the recordings, an additional coding category was utilized using content analysis based on Gao’s (2010) taxonomy of sociocultural factors for SLA from the specific examples of all participants’ English learning and ELF communication experiences in China. As Gao (2010) has contended, learners’ sociocultural variable should be considered by researchers to examine the experiences and attitudes that conceptualize their SLA. As the aim of this research is to explore EFL learners’ language choices and attitudes towards accent for ELF communication, it is deemed suitable to utilize such a taxonomy in the Chinese EFL context under investigation.

Results

From the data, 25 out of 33 participants (76%) show a desire to speak English with a native-like accent, while nine participants prefer not to pursue a native-like accent. To explore the reasons behind their preferences, what follows is an analysis employing the taxonomy of the mediating sociocultural factors including learners’ learning discourses, cultural media, material conditions and social agents for effective SLA (see Gao, 2010).

Reasons for Participants’ Preferences for a Native-like Accent

In this study, all the 25 participants who prefer a native-like accent specifically indicated that they want to learn the American accent or British accent. Corresponding with what Jenkins (2007) has found that most NNSs display a more positive attitude towards the NS English model than the NNS English model, and English different from the US or UK is considered wrong and non-standardized (Jenkins 2003); 23 participants hold the attitude that English different from the US or UK is not ‘normal’ or ‘standard’. Further, guided by Gao’s (2010) taxonomy mentioned above, three major themes emerged as follows:

Cultural Media and Material Conditions: The Influence of English Learning Materials

Among those who prefer the British or American accent, 12 participants mentioned the influence of their early English learning materials. For example, either an American or a British accent was commonly used in the recordings attached to the locally produced textbooks they used in their EFL classrooms adopted by their schools, which heavily influenced their first perceptions of accent as evidenced below:

In the first few years of primary school, our textbook was “Cambridge English”. The teacher always played the recordings for us, so at that time I believed only the accent in the recordings was correct and others were wrong (no. 4, female).

In a similar vein, when asked how they would define the ‘standard accent’, many interviewees indicated that they think the radio/TV broadcaster-type accents of Voice of America (VOA) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) should be taken as the standard. In addition, many of the interviewees are used to the American or British TV series, movies and video games that they have access to on a daily basis. For many participants, this is the main reason why they chose to learn based on the British or American model as illustrated below:

At the beginning, maybe because of the influence of the American TV shows and Hollywood movies, I think this accent is beautiful so I wanted to learn it (no. 26, male).

Since junior high, I began to know the American TV series and some video games, and I liked to imitate how the characters spoke. […] Mainly because the cultures we are exposed to are American and British cultures, such as the TV series and movies. If we had more Bollywood movies in China, maybe there would be more people learning the Indian accent (no. 23, male).

Many participants mentioned that they like to watch the American TV shows and imitate the characters’ speech. They sometimes talk to themselves with the accents of their favourite characters as a way to socialize with their friends.

It’s not only because of the accent itself. I like this character, so I like something else about him… like the way he talks (no. 8, female).

In summary, teaching materials and learning access have played a significant role in the preferences these participants have for certain accents. As a result of the teaching materials used, their ideology of the English language accent was entrenched during their childhood; furthermore, the exposure to the American and British cultural media, such as TV series and movies, to a certain extent has shaped their preferences and contributed to their language development.

Social Agents: the Influence of Teachers, Peers and ELF Interlocutors

Many participants mentioned the influence of their teachers on their attitudes towards accent. However, this influence is shown in very different ways. Some participants mentioned that one of the reasons why they think the US or UK English model is the standard is that their English teachers told them so when they began learning English. Additionally, teachers influenced these participants’ attitudes towards accent through the role they have played in the classroom. For example, some participants expressed their admiration towards teachers who speak fluently with a British or American accent by showing a willingness to imitate these teachers when they speak. In contrast, some students shared their experiences of having English teachers who speak with a strong and unintelligible Chinese accent. This emphasizes the value the participants place on wanting to speak with a native-like accent as opposed to other variations.

When I was in junior high, I had an English teacher with a strong accent. After class everyone was gossiping about the accent. This made me realize a native-like accent is important (no. 17, male).

Based on the participants’ EFL learning experiences, peers also played two different roles similar to the analysis above. That is, some peers with a native-like accent were admired by others as well as the teachers, and thus became the role models that further provided them with more motivation to pursue a native-like accent. Nonetheless, the unintelligible speech of those who had a strong local accent reminded these participants to reflect on themselves compared with the role models emulated by all. These two opposing roles are evidenced by the following excerpts respectively:

When I was a freshman, some classmates sounded very much like a native speaker. When listening to their recording assignments, I felt stimulated because I think I need to learn from them… (no. 2, female).

In class, when some classmates speak in a strong local accent, I can’t understand what they’re saying. And I can tell the foreign teachers also barely understand. So I will remind myself to speak like a native speaker so others can understand what I say (no. 23, male).

In addition, many participants mentioned that their accent is easily influenced by the interlocutors in ELF communication. For instance, when talking to native speakers, they would unconsciously or consciously follow the way native speakers talk. Some of them also mentioned that they would observe how native speakers talk and imitate them. Hence, ELF interlocutors can also serve as a negative role model:

When I was participating in a debate in the US, one of our opponents was an Indian. Every time he spoke we would laugh; we were not laughing at him, but because we could not understand what he said. […] So maybe the reason why so many people choose the American or British accent is that they are what most people can understand (no. 5, female).

To summarize, the participants’ attitudes towards accent were heavily influenced by what their teachers told them. Meanwhile, teachers, peers, and interlocutors in ELF communication played two opposing roles from these participants’ learning experiences: the good role model and the bad role model. These two opposite models have both affected them to pursue a native-like accent that favours the American and British models for ELF communication.

Learning Discourses: the Changing Learning Context and the Social Context

According to the participants, the transformation of their learning context also influenced their attitudes towards accent. Many participants indicated that they did not attach much importance to accent until they went to college, partly due to different assessment methods of EFL teaching and learning in Chinese high schools and universities. That is, English speaking is not assessed in most high schools in China, which leads to their attitude that deems speaking less important than English reading and writing for passing the entrance exam. However, these participants started realizing the importance of different accents after entering college and seeing the number of international students at the same university for them to engage in ELF communication. Another change of learning context that has exerted an influence on the participants’ attitudes towards different accents was the transformation from only talking with Chinese non-native speakers in high school to foreigners in college. The latter provided the participants with an environment as well as more motivation to speak with a native-like accent to facilitate their ELF communication.

When I talk to Chinese non-native speakers, my accent will be flat like everyone else’s, or else it’d be somewhat embarrassing, but when I communicate with native speakers, it’s more natural for me to try to learn the native-like accent, and it’s a new goal for me…When I was in high school, I mainly talked to Chinese speakers not like here in college where many students are from other countries so we need to talk in English only…(no. 24, male).

In addition, the social context also influenced these participants’ attitudes towards accent in various ways. The main reason frequently mentioned by the participants who wish to pursue a native-like accent is the stereotype in society where an EFL speaker with a native-speaker accent will get more opportunities as they are deemed more professional and sophisticated as evidenced in the description below:

Speaking with a native-like accent sounds more, like, more cultured, and thus what you are saying will also sound more professional. If you don’t sound like native speakers, people may doubt your words and your English proficiency as well (no. 32, female).

Meanwhile, prejudice may be imposed on those who speak English with a Chinese accent or even those who do not want to sound native-like, according to the participants:

If a student speaks English with a strong Chinese accent, I will think he/she doesn’t work hard, and it’s also uncomfortable to chat with him/her (no. 17, male).

Many participants mentioned that one of the reasons why they want to learn a British or an American accent instead of others is the concept of originality, which is important in Chinese culture. For instance, as evidenced by the following excerpt, the US and UK English accents are perceived as more authentic and original similar to the analogy of Chinese Huangmei opera:

When you want to appreciate Huangmei opera, you will want to go to Anhui for the most authentic Huangmei opera. It’s the same when learning English. You must want to learn from where it’s originally from instead of where it later developed, especially when the US and UK English are still highly coveted (no. 13, female).

Furthermore, 18 participants mentioned that they want to acquire a British accent or an American accent because people think these two countries are the mainstream:

First, America is a super powerful country in the world. Everyone has a tendency towards something stronger. Second, it’s similar to the mainstream of beauty appreciation; the standard is kind of based on how white people look: big eyes, white skin, blonde hair, and stuff like that (no. 8, female).

In sum, these learners’ accent preferences were influenced by the changing speaking context and their attitudes might change with the shift of the learning context. From the discourses of the participants, the NS ideology is constructed from various sociocultural and sociohistorical variables that further underpin their entrenched language choices for effective SLA and ELF communication.

Reasons for Participants Not Pursuing a Native-like Accent

Among the nine participants who prefer not to pursue a native-like accent, some mentioned the assessment criteria of the IELTS and TOEFL speaking tests where accent does not seem to matter as long as the speech is intelligible. Therefore, they hold that more time and energy should be spent on improving the content and fluency of their speech instead of struggling for a native-like accent. Participant 21 indicated that it is not possible to acquire a native-speaker accent as an EFL learner:

Though British TV series and movies will influence our accent more or less; in reality, British people may not speak this way in daily life. Only if you live in Britain can you learn a native-speaker accent…so I don’t pursue a native-like accent because I don’t live in an environment like that (no. 21, male).

Social Agents: Reflection and Positive Feedback from ELF Interlocutors

Five out of the nine participants indicated that they had received affirmations or compliments for their spoken English from several interlocutors in ELF communication, so their goal of communication was achieved. They thus do not think it is necessary to pursue a native-like accent, as evidenced in the following excerpt:

When I was abroad, people said my English is good and asked me if I had lived abroad. […] So just speaking this way is fine (no. 1, male).

In addition, noticing the diversity from other interlocutors’ accents in ELF communication was another reason why these participants did not pursue a native-like accent, which can be seen in the excerpt below:

There are so many English accents out there; you don’t know which one you should learn, so speaking clearly in your own way is enough (no. 1, male).

Learning Discourses: Accommodating the Speaking Environment

The main reason for these participants not pursuing a native-like accent was what they found when communicating with many ELF interlocutors on campus. They hence deem that the focus of effective ELF communication should be on content instead of accent during the process as shown in the extract below:

People don’t care about your accent but what you’re saying, and what you really want to express does matter more… so you’ll forget about your accent (no. 12, male).

Some participants indicated that since they mainly speak English to other Chinese EFL learners, there is no need to speak like a native speaker as long as they can understand each other. As Chinese EFL learners themselves, they can understand each other for effective communication. Others stated that based on their ELF communication experiences, native speakers are capable of decoding different accents, so it is not necessary to speak with a native-like accent to make themselves understood.

It’s interesting that non-native speakers from different countries may not understand each other, but native speakers can understand different English accents, so even if you have a Chinese accent, it won’t be a problem for native speakers because Chinese are everywhere around the world these days right? (no. 14, female).

In sum, notwithstanding the favour given to the American and British models by the participants, some students still wish to maintain their local accent because of their understanding of ELF where many variations coexist for effective communication. In other words, they hold that accent does not seem to be the only determiner that governs the entire process of effective ELF communication in today’s globalized world.

Discussion and Conclusion

According to this study, sociocultural factors influenced these participants’ attitudes towards accent through their mediation of various learning resources such as textbooks, TV series, teachers, peers, and learning context. The mediation process of these participants is similar to the internalization process of the participants in Lei’s (2016) study, which includes three sub-processes – noticing, imitating and goal-setting. First, the participants in this study noticed the accents of the speakers from the recordings or TV series, or the accents of their teachers, peers or interlocutors in ELF communication. The process of noticing is sometimes co-constructed, either with other social agents or through various media outlets. As many participants have opined here, when they watched the American TV series or movies, they repeated the characters’ words and further imitated the way they spoke. The EFL education in China also seems to favour the traditional American and British models for instruction that influenced how students regard the English language in the current global setting. One participant here exemplified that ‘Cambridge English’ was the norm from the locally produced textbooks used in the classroom growing up learning EFL in China. This confirms what Fang (2016) has illustrated that the EFL textbooks used in China still adopt the Inner Circle variations that might give students limited room for critical reflection given the reality of EIL these days where English is used as a global language in a wide range of cultural and linguistic settings. Interestingly, a transformation can be observed when they need to communicate with people with various accents in college after high school. These participants’ goals have changed while the learning context has also changed. As the data reveal, students in China are used to communicating with the locals (EFL learners) in high school; however, with more international students studying in the university setting, it is necessary for them to adopt new strategies for effective ELF communication. This finding concurs with what Lantolf and Poehner (2014) and Wang (2015) have contended: teaching materials and learning access play a significant role in learners’ accent preferences. For ELF communication to be effective, it is essential for learners to know how to converse with people using different variations of the English language currently used in the EIL context, where English is used not only intranationally within certain communities, but also internationally to facilitate intercultural communication (Kang, 2015).

From the data collected, the sociocultural factors such as social agents and learning discourses may have disparate influences on these participants’ attitudes because they seem to mediate their learning resources differently. For example, the goal setting process of ELF communication. For participants who hold a preference for a native-like accent, their goal is to acquire the English language that adheres to the American and British models through ELF communication, and their noticing, as well as imitation, will hence be directed towards this goal. According to Jenkins (2014), the prevalence of NS ideology can still be found in the majority of English teaching materials available in the Expanding Circle countries, which exerts an influence on both English teachers and learners that mediates their language ideology and awareness. According to what this study has revealed, the NS ideology was embedded in the participants’ beliefs through the learning materials they used when they first started learning EFL in China. This thus propagates the entrenched NS ideology that can be seen in China’s EFL education that seems to hinder their ELF awareness. From the data analysed, the NS ideology still remains entrenched in China’s society, which boasts the majority of the EFL learners globally (Fang, 2016). This ideology not only influences their language choices, but also their perceptions of their NS and NNS teachers and peers in various ways. The American and British models seem to be the norm for students to learn from, while the local Chinese accent is deemed a reminder for them to refine their accent so it will be more like a native English speaker. These two different roles have prompted them to pursue a native-like accent that favours the American and British models for effective ELF communication. This corresponds to what Seidlhofer (2011) and Sung (2016) have clearly illustrated – that the NS and NNS dichotomy is still prevalent in many Expanding Circle countries such as China. As a result, it is necessary for EFL teachers to instill the ELF ideology in their students who after graduation might not communicate regularly with people from the Inner Circle countries. Furthermore, the participants here also show little sign of deeming the Outer and Expanding Circle Englishes to be legitimate varieties of English. For instance, some hold an Indian accent as unacceptable in terms of intelligibility and pleasantness. Even though some participants indicated that they have no prejudice against different accents, they still prefer the Inner Circle norm that seems to deviate from an ELF awareness.

While for the majority of the participants it seems essential to conform to the American or British model to have a more native-like accent, at the same time a few also expressed another perspective that may potentially be important. That is, they deem clarity and content to be more important as long as their accent is intelligible given that English is used as an international language with multiple variations. From their experiences of studying abroad and communicating with other international students, they have realized that the so-called ‘standard’ accent does not seem to be the norm for effective ELF communication among people of various nationalities. As the participants have clearly pointed out, hearing different variations of interlocutors’ accents in ELF communication is another reason why they do not intend to pursue a native-speaker accent that highlights their identity. In addition, these participants further regard it unnecessary to speak with a native-like accent since they mainly communicate with people who speak Mandarin (their first language). It could be perceived as pointless if they did speak with a native-like accent that differs from the norm existing in their own context that showcases their differences. This would not adhere to the tradition of Chinese culture where group harmony outweighs individual excellence (Wang, 2015). For them, native speakers seem to understand their accented English due to the prevalence of the Chinese population globally that somehow makes it acceptable and legitimate for effective ELF communication. This is in accordance with what Kang (2015), Kung (2015) and Sung (2013) have clearly illustrated that while a native-like accent is still valued for language learners, the reality of EIL has made them rethink the practicality of pursuing a native-like accent that does not appear to be likely for L2 learners in an EFL context with limited L2 input. Furthermore, effective ELF communication does not predicate on a native-like accent based on the framework of EIL (Seidlhofer, 2011). As Jenkins (2014) and Fang et al., (2017) have vividly illustrated, the conceptualization of EIL has blurred the line between language and culture. It is hence vital for policy makers and practitioners to be acutely aware of the native and target variations of the English language in the classroom. This will enable learners to be more linguistically as well as culturally informed of EIL in today’s globalized world.

Some pedagogical implications should, therefore, be noted to inform practice. First, since EFL learners’ attitudes towards accent as well as language can be significantly influenced by their teachers, they are thus advised to be more sensible when teaching EFL based on a broadened approach that takes the ELF ideology into account. Second, teachers are further advised to encourage EFL learners to reflect on the reality of ELF in today’s globalized world for effective global communication. This will create more chances for students to be more reflective and critical language learners when encountering people from different parts of the world. Third, it would be insightful to conduct an interview in English to capture learners’ different accents compared to the native one that the majority of them prefer to master. We believe this will result in a few potentially intriguing findings that might be different from the ones reported here.

To summarize, this study has revealed that different sociocultural and sociohistorical factors can influence EFL learners’ accent preferences and perceptions in various ways based on their different mediation processes in China’s EFL education. Learners’ NS ideology and beliefs are found to be co-constructed by many sociocultural variables that form their language ideology and choices in the process of SLA and effective ELF communication. As for the limitations of this study, the participants were all from the same university with similar English proficiency, so the findings may not be generalized to a wider context. In addition, students’ background (EFL learning experiences) should be used as another variable before data analysis for a clearer understanding of their language ideology. Other factors might also exist along with the ones identified here that underpin learners’ NS and NNS dichotomy. It is important to note that while we are acutely aware of these limitations, the data gleaned from this study support Gao’s (2010) taxonomy of sociocultural factors for SLA such as learners’ learning discourses, cultural media, material conditions and social agents. This study should thus be viewed as the first step towards understanding Chinese EFL learners’ attitudes towards accent for effective ELF communication. Future research is warranted to provide more insight into learners’ unique and complicated learning trajectory.

Footnotes

Appendix 1

Questionnaire Items

Appendix 2

Interview Items

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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