Harmful Effects and Implications of Accent Discrimination

malign effects and implications of accentuate discrimination Harmful effects on ESL learners As concluded by Munro (2003), accent discrimination has played a negative effect on many another(prenominal) situations. Some of the to the highest degree common cases include discrimination in hiring move, in employment, and even resulting in harassments. As a harmful result, second spoken phrase users be facing negative forces that may cause them to question beyond the issue. One example is these learners start questioning their own characteristics.Aspects such(prenominal) as skin color, dress, and other behaviors fall into the category, and soon, these second lyric poem users will disposition decrease in self-esteem, questioning if the issue is more than just accent. When this happens, most nation with low confidence and unwilling to confront issues, will chose to vitiate situation that requires oral communications, resulting the wooden leg of avoiding contact with native spe akers. The second stage starts when these low self-esteem learners seek companion.And because their lack of effort in public lecture with their ESL teachers, it is more likely that they find the great unwashed with similar situations. These second language learners, who rich person experienced accent discrimination, will form a self-protective group. within this group, they argon free to communicate in their first language and be cured _or_ healed self-confidence. Unfortunately, as a result, they begin losing interest in improving their side of meat and focus their social lives within the group. This tin layabout be summarized as drift off of motivation.If no one interferes with this group of people, sooner or later, the group of people will start to feel isolated and disconnected with the native Canadians, leave the accent discrimination issue unsolved, and even causing reversed effects, such as hostility and more discrimination towards the nation. This is the end of the c ycle where people lose faith in believing Canada is an equal opportunity inelegant that welcomes diversified culture. As we can see, the issue has turned from an accent take aim into a national prejudice level.Implication Despite some people argon experiencing the process described above, more and more people with accent issues are taking their steps to reduce the problem. To speak with a more accurate and understandable language, many learners are investing both their time and property so they might have a better future. Over the early(prenominal) few years, enrollment in classes that admirer reduce accent has change magnitude significantly (Gorman, 2007). In some situations, poor second language speakers are being placed responsible for their oral slope ability.In the US, it is consider that alum teaching assistants must achieve a current level of progress in spoken English, as this is a developing policy by the Institutions of higher education (Thomas, 1993). For some institutions, teaching assistants with low oral English teaching skills are required to first successfully complete courses in English before they can serve as a teaching assistant. According to Statistic Canada, it is predicted that a steady increase in the number of immigrants to this region will occur throughout the decade. By 2006 there are oer 1. 4 million Chinese in Canada (Stat. ca, 2006). The size is projected to prototype within 20 years. As Canada becomes a globalized country with increasingly multicultural exposure, the notion of an accent may change and increase in types. As a nation, only by becoming increasingly skilled in our ability to understand English spoken with various accents and be untoughened in attitudes toward all accents, can we live up to the reputation of have diversity. Communication is a two- delegacy process. Both the speaker and the listener have a responsibility for the act of communication.While different or foreign accents can sometimes inter fere with the listeners ability to understand the message, accents can conjure up negative evaluations of the speaker, reducing the listeners willingness to accept their responsibility in the communication process. Sometimes, it becomes leisurely to say, I simply cant understand you, placing full responsibility for the communication process on the speaker. We all have standards and preferences about the spoken language and certain accents can take more effort to understand.It is to be hoped, though, that we can practice an effort to hear the content of the message and look beyond the stereotypes associated with the way the message is being spoken. Friedman (2004) suggests several steps for ESL teachers when working with someone who is backbreaking to understand. First, dont pretend to understand. Ask the person to slow down a spot because you are having difficulty understanding them. Second, dont rush. Slow down yourself. Third, resist the lure to shout. The speaker is not hard of hearing. Fourth, avoid being rude. Ask for help from others if you need it.As a global citizen, we interact with newcomers to the communities, with businesspersons from around the globe, and with individuals and families who are at various stages in the process of developing Standard English intercommunicate skills. I believe respect for diversity can be elongate over language and speech. Modeling supportive behavior ourselves is an important step. Further, we can encourage others to confront the stereotypes and prejudices that are often associated with specific speech patterns. - Bibliography Friedman, N. (2004).How to enshroud foreign accent. Networking Today. Retrieved Nov 3, 2012, from http//www. networkingtoday. ca/articles/foreignaccent. htm Gorman, A. (2007). Accenting the American in their speech. Los Angeles Times, Retrieved Nov 3, 2012, from http//mobile. latimes. com/detail. jsp? key=57283&rc= worthless&p=1 Munro, M. (2003). A primer on accent discrimination in the Canadian context. TESL Canada Journal, v20, n2, p38-51 Thomas, C. F. , & Monoson, P. K. (1993). Oral English language proficiency of ITAs Policy, implementation, and contributing factors. Innovative Higher Education, 17 (3), 195-209.