A Study Of College Non-English Major EFL Teachers' Viewpoints On English Accents And Their Pronunciation Teaching Strategies

With the development of the world economy and globalization, English is mostly used among non-native speakers as a primary lingua franca (ELF) or an international language (EIL). After experiencing the three stages of Old English, Middle English and Modern English, the English language has greatly been different from its origins, with lots of local varieties appearing, some of which have been institutionalized and standardized, such as Singalish, Indian English, Nigerian English, etc. Currently, issues about English as a lingua franca or English as an international language, and English varieties have received widely concern. And the related the research has attracted more and more language researchers.In respect to English variations on the level of phonology, researches on pedagogy mostly focus on the importance of different features of pronunciation in facilitating ELF or EIL communication. Many studies have been conducted on the mutual intelligibility of different English accents. The principles of pronunciation teaching are also suggested to shift from "nativeness" to "intelligibility" by researchers and instructors. As for'teaching methodology concerning intelligibility, some scholars claim the importance of exposure to different English accents, others recommend applying lingua franca core (LFC). Most of these studies are carried out in western countries but few in China.English pronunciation teaching in Chinese universities is still confined to classrooms, where students interact with other Chinese students or the teacher, which is especially true for non-English major students. In this situation, possible pronunciation problems that might threaten intelligibility are ignored, or untreated in the process of English pronunciation teaching and learning. As teachers'role is very important, it is worth examining university non-English major EFL teachers'attitudes towards different English accents and their teaching strategies. The main objectives are:to explore College non-English major EFL teachers'attitudes towards English accents, teaching goals and strategies; to reflect the current situation of pronunciation teaching in China; and to provide recommendations for pronunciation teaching according to the current problems.This thesis consists of six chapters, including:introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion, recommendations and conclusion. The findings mainly include:first the majority of teachers still believe that standard accents are American or British, and other accents are non-standard; second, as for the goals of English pronunciation teaching, most of teachers hold the view that the best goals are American or British accent, and English pronunciation teaching is to facilitate communication with native speakers; third, there is a positive relationship between teachers'accents and their expectation on their students'; finally, teachers'strategies are focusing more on removing the influence from students'mother tongue, instead of developing their communicative competence. Based on the findings, the author provides some recommendations for pronunciation teaching and points out some limitations of the present study as well as suggestions for further research. It is hoped that this study can contribute to the literature of English pronunciation teaching and attract researchers, and educators to be more concerned with this issue.