Accent: are we bovvered?

There is a write-up of this talk here. Accent can be a problem in English teaching. Which accent do we take as a model? Must it be a native-speaker accent? Must it be a prestige accent? In this session, we will look at how accents vary, both across the UK and in the wider world, and examine some of the implications for English language teaching. We'll look at accent from various angles - the space dimension, the social dimension, the time dimension, and English as a Lingua Franca. I'll argue that we need to move away from a monolithic view of target production model, and in favour of a more flexible receptive tolerance. This talk forms part of the IATEFL Pronsig day. Find an article relating to the theme of this talk here.