Culture

Many teachers worry about what the best model accent should be, and whether their own accent serves as a suitable model. My argument is that the premise of the question is wrong – there needn’t be a single model accent, and that the teacher’s own accent will usually be the best model, providing that the teacher is an intelligible speaker of English.

Eighth and last in the series Accent through the keyhole. Scroll down for the mp3 podcast version.

What’s the correct answer to the accent by numbers puzzle?

View 7: Twang!

Seventh in the series Accent through the keyhole. Scroll down for the mp3 podcast version.

So what’s this post about?

Sixth in the series Accent through the keyhole. Scroll down for the mp3 podcast version.

Why are you illustrating this post with a picture of a mouthless face?

Fifth in the blog/podcast series Accent through the keyhole. Scroll down for the mp3 download.

So who’s this accent creep you mention in the title?

Fancy an accent tattoo? Fourth in the series Accent Through the Keyhole. Scroll down for the mp3 podcast download.

Speech sounds are just neutral, aren’t they? So how can there be a ‘bad boy’?

One person's prestige accent is another person's speech impediment. Third in the series Accent through the keyhole. Scroll down for the mp3 podcast version.

Can you remind us what a lisp is?

This is the second in the blog/podcast series Accent Through the Keyhole: small views of big pictures. Scroll down for the mp3 podcast.

This series of 8 podcasts / posts looks at key questions relating to accent and English teaching by focusing on specific instances and generalizing out from them. This page serves as a contents list for the series:

View 1: Either will do. In which we look at what's not important in pronunciation teaching.

ACCENT THROUGH THE KEYHOLE: small views of big pictures. This series of posts looks at key questions relating to accent and English teaching by focusing on specific instances and generalizing out from them. Check out the podcast too - it's at the bottom of the page...