Exposure to varieties of English accent: Attitudinal changes among Japanese adult learners of English

This thesis reports a study investigating the attitudes of Japanese adult English learners towards varieties of English accents (VEAs) and the effects of their exposure to VEAs. Researchers have highlighted the great importance of such exposure in order to raise awareness about the status of English among Japanese individuals. The study involved two groups: Japanese adults who had temporarily stayed in a Canadian multicultural city for about a month (Group A), and those who had stayed about a year in the same city (Group B). The 48 participants listened to six English speakers with different English accents and indicated their attitudes towards these accents on a questionnaire. The data showed few attitudinal differences between the two groups. Individual interviews with 4 participants provided little evidence that the exposure caused attitudinal changes in them. The study suggested that other factors may have more influence on their attitudes to English accents.