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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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 Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| Teresa seems to be saying that she has no accent but the people on BBC do ! Something strange there. |
Well, you got me on that one. I think most people think THEY don't have an accent, haha, and of course, we are all wrong. Just to clarify, I tailor my classes to the needs to my students. If they deal with only, or mostly American and Canadian clients, I spend more time on American English. I have one student whose company does a lot of business with different Australian companies, and he used to find it difficult to understand that (demonized) accent, simply because it was not what he was accustomed to. After listening to tapes/newscasts, etc. he became much more familiar and comfortable with that particular accent. Now we are working on accents from the southern part of the US, by his request. And I know Scotsmen don't have an accent, no, not at all. To me, that is easily the most beautiful of all accents. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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| the decision to go against the student's expressed test choice, IELTS, simply because it doesn't use North American accents throughout also implies a less than positive view of the way Australians and others speak. |
I asked my student why she wanted to take the IELTS, and she answered that a friend of hers (not an English teacher) told her it was the "best" one to take, though she didn't know exactly why this was so. Since I knew nothing about the IELTS and not a hell of a lot about the TOEFL, I started this thread. Now I have more information to go on, and during our next class will discuss the options presented in what has turned out to be quite a lively discussion!
Like Teresa, I have had only good experiences with the few Australians I've met in my life but sometimes have had trouble understanding what they were saying. You can put this down to my less than wonderful ear, if you like, rather than to any negative feelings I may have about the Australian accent. If my student told me that she was thinking of moving to Australia, then I'd be more than happy to find the appropriate listening material for her to work with. |
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Perilla
Joined: 09 Jul 2010
Posts: 792
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:52 am Post subject: |
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| For someone going to the US, TOEFL makes sense; for someone heading to the UK and Commonwealth countries, IELTS. |
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J.M.A.
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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| All of this focus on teaching accents for an English proficiency exam is somewhat misplaced. The IELTS Listening exam will have a range of Englishes and none of the accents presented are supposed to fail students. You'd be better off developing students' basic skills, knowledge of the exam format and strategies. |
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J.M.A.
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Perilla wrote: |
| For someone going to the US, TOEFL makes sense; for someone heading to the UK and Commonwealth countries or studying in an English medium university worldwide, IELTS. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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| I still come across Dinosaurs who really believe that everyone should be taught RP and that all other forms of English are "non-standard". |
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