“I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxiety

Non-native English-speaking instructors often receive lower course evaluations and are criticized for their accents (Doubleday & Lee, 2016; Rubin, 1992; Sanchez & Khan, 2016; Subtirelu, 2015). This phenomenon has received much research attention in face-to-face classroom settings but less so...

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Main Authors: McClure Katelyn Lee, Chen Hung-Tao Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2024-01-01
Series:Psychology of Language and Communication
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2024-0010
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author McClure Katelyn Lee
Chen Hung-Tao Michael
author_facet McClure Katelyn Lee
Chen Hung-Tao Michael
author_sort McClure Katelyn Lee
collection DOAJ
description Non-native English-speaking instructors often receive lower course evaluations and are criticized for their accents (Doubleday & Lee, 2016; Rubin, 1992; Sanchez & Khan, 2016; Subtirelu, 2015). This phenomenon has received much research attention in face-to-face classroom settings but less so in a distance education setting. The current study sought to determine if a lecture video with a non-native English-speaking instructor would cause more learner anxiety compared to a lecture video where the instructor had a standard American accent. The study also divided participants into high and low accented-speech experience groups. Participants in the study watched four videos, two with a non-native Englishspeaking instructor and the other two with an instructor with a Southern American English accent. After each video, participants were asked to recall questions about the information that they had just received before moving on to the following video. Participants were also given an anxiety scale to measure the anxiety they felt while listening to the lecture videos. Our findings indicated that participants with low second language experience had higher anxiety and worse recall performance in the non-native English speaking instructor condition. We also found that participants with high second language experience could potentially benefit from the non-native English speaking instructor’s video as they exhibited higher recall performance. Results from the current study have implications for distance education and pedagogical practices.
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spelling doaj-art-c6c802c359e34b98bbf365a0e3b68d2c2025-02-02T15:49:16ZengSciendoPsychology of Language and Communication2083-85062024-01-0128123326010.58734/plc-2024-0010“I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxietyMcClure Katelyn Lee0Chen Hung-Tao Michael11Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, United States2Psychological Science, Kennesaw State University, United StatesNon-native English-speaking instructors often receive lower course evaluations and are criticized for their accents (Doubleday & Lee, 2016; Rubin, 1992; Sanchez & Khan, 2016; Subtirelu, 2015). This phenomenon has received much research attention in face-to-face classroom settings but less so in a distance education setting. The current study sought to determine if a lecture video with a non-native English-speaking instructor would cause more learner anxiety compared to a lecture video where the instructor had a standard American accent. The study also divided participants into high and low accented-speech experience groups. Participants in the study watched four videos, two with a non-native Englishspeaking instructor and the other two with an instructor with a Southern American English accent. After each video, participants were asked to recall questions about the information that they had just received before moving on to the following video. Participants were also given an anxiety scale to measure the anxiety they felt while listening to the lecture videos. Our findings indicated that participants with low second language experience had higher anxiety and worse recall performance in the non-native English speaking instructor condition. We also found that participants with high second language experience could potentially benefit from the non-native English speaking instructor’s video as they exhibited higher recall performance. Results from the current study have implications for distance education and pedagogical practices.https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2024-0010online learninglecture video designnon-native english speaking instructorlearning anxiety
spellingShingle McClure Katelyn Lee
Chen Hung-Tao Michael
“I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxiety
Psychology of Language and Communication
online learning
lecture video design
non-native english speaking instructor
learning anxiety
title “I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxiety
title_full “I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxiety
title_fullStr “I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxiety
title_full_unstemmed “I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxiety
title_short “I could not understand anything they said!”: Non-native English-speaking instructors, online learning, and student anxiety
title_sort i could not understand anything they said non native english speaking instructors online learning and student anxiety
topic online learning
lecture video design
non-native english speaking instructor
learning anxiety
url https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2024-0010
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AT chenhungtaomichael icouldnotunderstandanythingtheysaidnonnativeenglishspeakinginstructorsonlinelearningandstudentanxiety