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from the inclusion of a range of different English speech varieties used in audio materials used in classroom, including accents of English learners would not encounter otherwise.
In addition, while it seems that learners might become better at understanding different speech varieties of English as they become more proficient in English, the findings of the present research imply that exposure to speech varieties of English, awareness of phonological features and the use of listening strategies could enhance this ability of learners. Extensive listening to spoken English with pronunciation unfamiliar to learners may improve their ability to “tune to”
the new accent automatically while relying on contextual clues and their schematic knowledge to decipher the meaning (cf. Section 4.3.3). Extensive listening could be optionally scaffolded by reading the transcript of the audio material simultaneously with listening (Chang & Millett, 2014; Renandya & Farrell, 2010). Exposure to spoken English can be complemented by awareness of phonological features of English to enhance learners‟ success in the comprehension of unfamiliar pronunciations. Learners ability to identify certain sounds that can cause comprehension problems can help them in deciphering utterances with similar instances of phonological variation (cf. Section 4.3.3). This does not mean that secondary school learners of English would need extensive training in English phonetics and phonology, but they could be acquainted with common patterns of variation in English through making them aware of the different realisations of certain sounds by different speakers, such as the different realisations of the TH sound, the R-sound or shifts in vowel sounds. Familiarity with a small number of such variants would be beneficial for learners since similar patterns of variation tend to occur in a number of different varieties of English in different combinations (cf. Chambers, Trudgill &
Schilling-Estes, 2008; Wardhaugh, 2006; Wells, 1982), discussed in Section 4.3.3
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Another finding of the studies was that Hungarian secondary school learners of English tend to have favourable attitudes towards standard ENL speech varieties of English and positive stereotypes towards their speakers, while they show unfavourable attitudes towards ESL and EFL pronunciations and negative stereotypes towards their speakers (cf. Section 4.4). These attitudes may lead to problems because they reflect a limited conception of English and they might affect learners‟ willingness to make an effort in understanding speech varieties of English other than the standard varieties they are familiar with (cf. Section 4.5.1.3). Besides, such native-speakerist attitudes are likely to perpetuate inequalities pertaining to the use of English (cf.
Sections 4.4.3.4 and 4.5.2.2), while they might also have a negative impact on Hungarian learners‟ view of their own pronunciation and their ability to use English pronunciation for identification (cf. Section 4.5.2).
Although learners‟ language attitudes are, to a large extent, rooted in experiences and beliefs outside school, it may be argued that a change in the way English is presented to Hungarian secondary school learners in the English classroom might make a difference in their attitudes towards English speech varieties. While an abstract standard English speech variety such as RP GA English pronunciation may be useful in language classes for pedagogical purposes for providing learners with stable points of reference (Widdowson, 2012), presenting English as the linguistic and cultural artefact of certain groups of native speakers can give rise to misconceptions about the language. Instead of regarding English as the language of its native speakers, adopting an approach of viewing English as a lingua franca in ELT would encourage learners to be more open minded about variation and varieties in general. This new approach can also involve familiarising learners with variation in World Englishes or ELF pertaining to different areas of English grammar and language use in order to demonstrate that although
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variation is particularly noticeable in pronunciation, it is only one of the areas of language in which natural variation can occur, and variation does not hinder communication but it can be used as a resource to enhance mutual understanding (cf. Section 2.3.2). Viewing English as a language whose main purpose is to communicate with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds would change the priority of learning English, including English pronunciation, from conformity to ENL to practical and adaptive use of the language. This way, the aim of learners‟ own pronunciation is not to artificially unlearn their L1 accent and learn to emulate an ENL accent but to develop an English pronunciation which they can use in a natural, confident and unselfconscious manner. In this sense, requiring learners to alter their naturally acquired English pronunciation is only justifiable if it serves a communicative purpose such as making it more intelligible for other speakers by accommodation (cf. Jenkins, 2012).
Although learners might be initially reluctant to accept non-ENL pronunciations because of the established norms of ELT and the sociolinguistic meanings of non-native accents among non-native speakers (cf. Jenkins, 2007; Murray, 2003), providing learners with competent ESL and EFL pronunciation models through characters they can relate to and identify with may be helpful in breaking the ice. These can include celebrities or successful professionals who use English successfully and confidently without conforming their pronunciation to a standard ENL variety. Of course this does not mean the exclusion of standard ENL accents from ELT, but instead of presenting them as the only viable models of pronunciation, they should be seen as resources for learners‟ English pronunciation in addition to a number of other legitimate options (cf. Galloway & Rose, 2014). Accepting variation in the English pronunciation of other speakers can help learners accept natural phonological variation in their own English; thus, they can
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genuinely appropriate the language and use it as a means of communication, while they may also express their own L2 identity through English pronunciation.
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5 Conclusion
Comprehending spoken language is a vital aspect of communication in English, which is becoming increasingly frequent between various speakers as a result of globalisation, the interconnectedness of the global labour market and the mobility of people around the World.
Therefore, Hungarian learners ought to be prepared for these communicative situations by developing more adaptive English comprehension skills. The present research project set out to investigate Hungarian secondary school learners‟ comprehension of and attitudes towards speech varieties of English because of the growing importance of diversity in English for users of English in global contexts. The investigation included three successive studies with a mixed methods approach to research, a questionnaire study with an accent-comprehension task, an interview study with a think aloud protocol and an additional questionnaire study with a comprehension task based on the findings of the first two studies. The aim of the three studies was to investigate learners‟ comprehension and attitudes pertaining to speech varieties of English by focusing on four research questions
In the following sections, the findings of the research project will be summarised with reference to the four main research questions of the research project, and comments will be offered regarding their limitations and potential contributions to language pedagogy. This will be followed by suggesting directions for future research based on the findings.
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