How familiar are EFL learners with non-native English accents and how can running dictation activities help learners become familiar with accented English and mutual intelligibility among non-native speakers?

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate how familiar non-native English speakers are with other non-native learners’ accented English and to investigate how running dictation activities can help them familiarize themselves with these accents. This study was also an attempt to investigate more generally the reliability of running dictation activities as diagnostic tools for listening, pronunciation weaknesses and accent familiarization among foreign language learners, and the specific and unique features of running dictation activities that can help enhance learners’ communication skills with non-native speakers whose English is accented. Research was carried out over a span of three weeks in which a total of sixty-seven male and female participants took part. The participants came from various countries and levels of proficiency and were chosen randomly from four different language schools across Malta. The research data was collected by using techniques of mixed methodologies of qualitative and quantitative data collection that included classroom observations and questionnaires. The outcomes of this study indicate that running dictation is a technique that helps pinpoint several difficulties in all four language skills and draws students’ attention to these difficulties in a way that other activities probably would not.