1. The Possible Effects of a Middle Eastern Accent on Employability
EILEEN fiNN
Concordia University

2. Problem of practice
Strong accents can hinder a person’s chance for high-status positions in certain fields.

3. Relevance
Stereotypes regarding ethnicity are enforced with strong accents.
Nonnative speakers with strong accents are not discriminated against when concerned with low-status jobs and manual labor. However, when it concerns high-status employment or jobs that require good communication skills, accents becomes a more prominent factor.
Some accents are actually preferred and can help rather than hinder in regards to employability.

4. Current actions
Many ESL teachers are teaching pronunciation towards the intelligibility model and not the inner-circle model.
The majority of immigrants have requested the inner-circle model but their requests are being ignored.
AUniversity has merged their ESL department with the Speech-Language Pathology department and the program has been quite successful.

5. Lit review Foreign accents, intelligibility and Comprehensibility
Strong accents rate high in intelligibility, but low in comprehensibility.
Some people are able to adjust to accents within a minute and it takes others a long time to adjust.
There are two hypotheses:
- The Perceptual Distance Hypothesis
- The Different Process Hypothesis
Middle Easterners have the mildest accents in regards to comprehensibility and intelligibility.

6. Glass Ceiling Effect
Nonnative speakers excel in certain fields. However, in regards to high-status positions, nonnative speakers do not fair well because there is a presumed lack of good communication and leadership skills in medical, higher education, science and engineering and business.
Stereotypes and Accents:
An accent is the most salient social marker and indicates a speaker’s origin, ethnicity and socio-economic status.
Accents can evoke strong stereotypes
There is a correlation between social cues and stereotypes rather than visual cues and stereotypes

7. A Question of Credibility
Strong accents affect credibility in a negative way.
Credibility could be affected by processing time of strong accents.
Credibility in Business:
Foreign accented speech could be viewed negatively in the field of business as it affects credibility, which have a negative outcome for relationships.

8. Employability and Accents:
Accents provoke stereotypes which could work for or against a nonnative applicant, which is position and field dependent.
Issue of Identity
Accents can be associated with assimilation.
Accents can be tied close to one’s identity and culture
Identities are fluid, not solid.
There are 6 stages to shifting culture and an accent towards the nonnative speakers L2.

9. Perceived Loyalty
Certain ethnic groups perceive a lack of loyalty if a person in their community does not have an accent conducive to their L2.
Some ethnic groups are not concerned about accents
Certain ethnic groups want to keep their accent to distinguish themselves from other ethnic groups.

10. On the Outside
The discrimination of accents is not a hierarchy, but more of a triangulation that runs along two axes.
Superior vs. inferior
Foreigner vs. insider
Stereotypes are influenced by
sociopolitical
and affective factors.
Different ethnic groups experience
discrimination differently which can
cause unfair treatment,
racial tensions between minority groups,
isolation and socio-affective factors.

11. Middle Eastern Stereotypes
They are seen as more competent than Hispanics but not as much as Asians and Europeans
They are seen as more foreign than Europeans and Asians, but not as much as Hispanics
They are seen as more financially wealthy than Europeans, Asians and Hispanics
They are seen as more violent than Asians and Europeans but not as much as Hispanics
Inner-Circle Model vs. Intelligibility Model
Teachers are currently not teaching to the inner-circle model.
23% of teachers don’t teach pronunciation
86% of teachers spend 6% of classroom time on pronunciation
Many teachers don’t feel competent in teaching pronunciation and lack training
Most students want the inner-circle model

12. Example of methods section following questions
This study is based on a prior study conducted by Carlson and McHenry (2006).
The study measures comprehensibility and employability in regards to the varying degrees of accents of Middle Easterners. However, this study will differ in that only Middle Eastern males will be looked at in a high-status position in the field of business
The methods used will be an experimental blind study using quantitative data collected by surveying 57 employees who work in various Human Resource departments in the states of Oregon, Washington and California.

13. Research Questions
Is the mild-accented Middle Eastern accent perceived as more comprehensible than a strong Middle Eastern-accented applicant?
Is the mild-accented Middle Eastern accent perceived as more employable than a strong Middle Eastern-accented applicant?

14. Study Design Experimental Component
Two men between the ages of 25 to 35 years of age were selected to create a 29 to 30- second speech samples in 2 degrees of accents (i.e. mild, strong) regarding why they should be chosen for a job. The voice samples were verified by an experienced sound engineer with more than ten years experience.
The subjects are native speakers from the Middle East. One had a mild accent, while the other one had a strong accent, which was verified by a certified speech pathologist with more than 10 years experience.

15. Study Design
Defined minimal accents as having phonetic markers that differ from SAE that range from 8% to 10%. Strong accents have phonetic markers that differ from 17% to 22%. Thus, the degree of accents will be referred to in these terms.
Listeners who work in the HR dept. filled out a 7-point Likert scales on surverymonkey.com. They were surveyed regarding the following iof each applicant:
Comprehensibility
Employability

16. District Demographics
The sample group is completely anonymous. Experience, gender, educational background, ethnicity and exposure to language was not controlled for authentic population is key in this study.

17. Treatment Sample
Fifty-seven volunteers who work in an HR department who generally employ people in sales.
These volunteers were approached via HR associations, university alumni associations, and societies via s, announcements and newsletters.

18. Treatment
Participants listened to the two recordings and were given an unlimited amount of time to rate on a 7-point Likert scale on comprehensibility
1 = very difficult to understand; 7 = very easy to understand
They will also be measuring for employability on a 7 -point Likert scale 1= most likely to employ; 7 = least likely to employ
Participants were told that both applicants were equally qualified for the positions and were between the ages of 25 to 35 to ensure there were no biases.

19. Predictor Variables
The independent variables were the following: degrees of accents and field of employment.
Gender, ethnicity, field of employment and age were controlled variables.

20. Dependent Measure
The dependent variables were employability and comprehensibility.

21. Statistical Analysis
A Pearson’s Chi-Square was used to assess whether the expected values of comprehensibility and employability within the varying degrees of accent differ from each other in regards to employability

22. Results
In regards to comprehensibility, the chi-square statistic was It had a p-value of < The result was significant at p < The null hypothesis was rejected. The mild accented speaker was understood far better than the strong accented speaker.
In regards to employability, the chi-square statistic is The p < value is The result is significant at p < The null hypothesis was rejected. Mild accented speaker was more employable than the strong accented speaker.
Frequencies 1 & 2 and 6 & 7 were grouped together to equal 5 groups. Thus the degrees of freedom is 4.
There is a significant correlation between comprehensibility and employability.

23. Graphs Comprehensibility Results 1/2 3 4 5 6/7 Row Totals Strong
0 (6.50) [6.50]
4  (4.50)  [0.06]
0  (4.00)  [4.00]
5  (9.50) [2.13]
48 (32.50) [7.39] 57
Mild
13  (6.50)  [6.50]
5  (4.50)  [0.06]
8  (4.00)  [4.00]
14  (9.50) [2.13]
17  (32.50)  [7.39]
Column Totals 13 9 8 19 65
114 (Grand Totals)

24. Graphs Employability Results 1/2 3 4 5 6/7 Row Totals Strong
0 (4.50) [4.50]
2  (6.00) [2.67]
9  (9.50) [0.03]
9  (8.00) [0.12]
37 (29.0) [2.21] 57
Mild
9 (4.50) [4.50]
10 (6.00) [2.67]
10 (9.50) [0.03]
7 (8.00)  [0.12]
21 (29.0) [2.21]
Total Columns 9 12 19 16 58
114 (Grand Total)

25. Results for Comprehensibility: Percentage Values
1/2 3 4 5
6/7
Row Totals
Mild 0% 7%
8.8%
84.2% 57
Strong
22.8%
14%
24.6%
29.8%
Column Totals 13 9 8 29 65
114 (Grand Totals

26. Results for Employability: Percentage Values
1/2 3 4 5
6/7
Row Totals
Mild 0%
3.5%
15.8%
65% 57
Strong
17.5%
12.3%
36.8%
Column Totals 9 12 19 16 58
114 (Grand Totals)

29. Study Limitations Gender may affect the outcomes. The Hawthorne Effect
Voice-guise technique runs being judged on other things other than accents

30. Discussion & Conclusion
The Strong-accented Middle Eastern applicant had mixed results
Prior exposure to the accent
Halo effect
Stereotypes
Most studies re: comprehensibility and employability have had similar results.
Social attractiveness re: accents have had mixed results but never questioned employability

31. The person’s ethnicity does not affect employability if the person has a mild accent
A Middle Eastern male with a mild accent has a higher chance of employability than one with a strong accent.
HR employees were specifically chosen to enhance real world applicability
The study was blind to also enhance real world applicability
Higher levels of employment were chosen as lower levels of employment have no bias in regards to accent.

32. Future Implications
More studies need to be done in regards to Middle Eastern accents specifically.
More studies need to be done in regards to varying degrees of Middle Eastern accent in regards to perceived loyalty in their group.
When comparing employability and comprehensibility, more ethnicities needed to be added.
More accent modification programs, such as PSU’s, could be possible at other schools and universities in the future as there is a high demand.

33. Questions and Answers

34. Thank You
Eileen Finn
Concordia University