2. The connections between authenticity and native-
speakerism: Students’ reactions to international
English varieties
CELC Symposium, Singapore
26th May 2016
11:40-12:10
Seminar Room 1
Richard Pinner

3. Overview
What I did
• Authenticity and Native-speakerism
Results
• Of the study
Implications
• Reactions to international speakers

4. No time for Definitions
• Please see Pinner, 2016; Lowe & Pinner, 2016
• We have all experienced Native-speakerism,
either as prejudice or privilege.

5. Lowe, R., & Pinner, R. (2016).
Finding the Connections
Between Native-speakerism and
Authenticity. Applied Linguistics
Review, 7(1), 27-52. doi:
10.1515/applirev-2016-0002

6. This Study

7. Frankenstein
• Data comes from a classroom activity
• Activity was not designed for research/data
collection
• Data comes from several collection points
with different groups (teachers and students)
in Japan

8. What did I do?
• Taught Global English and World
Englishes
• Empower the students (and teachers)
with ownership of the English
Language
• Stress the importance of celebrating
the varieties of English

9. What did I do?
• After learning about Global English
watched videos of people from around
the world speaking English
• Participants rate the speakers in these
videos out of 10 for ‘authenticity’
– Authenticity is purposefully left undefined
• Participants write a comment to explain
their choice

11. Name Nationality Average St. Dev.
Ban Ki-moon Korean 4.40 3.00
14th Dalai Lama China (Tibet) 4.74 1.81
Edwin Thumboo Singaporean 5.54 2.83
Shinzo Abe Japanese 5.75 1.33
Dynamo British (Northern) 6.30 1.65
Naomi Watts British/Australian 7.88 2.45
Arnold Schwarzenegger Austrian 8.51 1.49
Barack Obama North American 8.65 2.83
Queen Elizabeth II British (RP) 9.07 1.48
N= 41

12. 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Korean
Japanese
China (Tibet)
Singaporean
British (Northern)
British/Australian
North American
Austrian
British (RP)
Nationality

13. Overall average 4.40 (lowest)
(4) “He’s Korean” [Chinese student]
(8) “His English is formal and like native
speakers!”
(2) “He is not good at speaking English
natively.”
(4) “He speaks English fluently. But he
doesn't make eye contact with people.
Because his speech isn't persuasive.”
(5) “I don't think he is poor at speaking
English. However, he is a Korean.”
(5) “The way he pronounced "L" and
"R" / "B" and "V" seemed almost the
same, so it sounded unnatural.”

14. Overall average 4.74
• (4) “ He makes eye contact with
people and he try to convey his
thought to people. But his way of
talking is a fool.”
• (5) “His English is easy for me.”
• (10) “He is top of Japanese”
• (4) “He made too many pauses
between phrases, so it sounded
quite awkward.”

15. Overall average 5.54
• (3) “Chinglish” [Chinese student]
• (3) “He is a suspicious-looking
person.”
• (1) “I don't like him. I think he
isn't a gentleman.”
• (7) “I feel his English is not good.
His English is similar to mine.”

16. Overall average 5.75
• (5) “I can understand his English
fully. His English is easy to hear for
Japanese, but I think it's not
authentic.”
• (3) “I think his English isn't the same
as native English”
• (8) “His English is similar to Native
Speaker's, but different a bit.”
• (9) “I can understand his speech
easier than [Ban Ki Moon]”

17. Overall average 8.65
• (10) “I love Arnold Schwarzenegger
and He is native English speaker.”
• (9) “He is native and it is easy to
hear.”
• (10) “He is a native speaker.”
• (9) “He is very nice guy”
• (8) “The speed and rhythm of his
English was closer to native
speakers but I sometimes felt his
"ur" sound and "or" sound
unnatural.”

18. Overall average 9.07 (highest)
• (8) “I want like Queen Elizabeth II. I want to go to
England someday.”
• (10) “Hers is royal.
• (10) “Se [sic] is more 'authentic' because she must
speak collect [sic] English.”
• (10) “She is queen”
• (10) “She is the queen”
• (10) “She's a Queen”
• (10) “Because It is official British movie”
• (9) “Her native language is English, and her end of a
word is not clear”
• (5) “Because she spoke dispassionately, so I felt it is
difficult to understand what she wanted to say.”

19. 6.20
9.00
E L2 E L1
AVERAGE EL1 OR EL2

20. Non-linuistic
62%
Linguistic
38%
Authenticity Judgement
Non-linuistic Linguistic

21. TEACHER GROUPS

22. 9.3
9.7
6.4
6.0
7.0
5.2
6.6
7.1 7.2
6.6
5.6
3.5
British American Indian Singpore Korean Geordie
Japanese English Teacher's Ratings
2015 Avg 2014 Avg

23. Self-discrimination
Reves, T., & Medgyes, P. (1994).
The non-native English
speaking EFL/ESL teacher's
self-image: An international
survey. System, 22(3), 353-
367.

24. Conditioning through Market Forces
Holliday, A. (2005). The struggle to teach
English as an international language.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

25. Authenticity
Pinner, R. S. (2014). The authenticity
continuum: Towards a definition
incorporating international voices.
English Today, 30(4), 22-27.
Pinner, R. S. (2016). Reconceptualising
Authenticity for English as a
Global Language. Bristol:
Multilingual Matters.

26. Summary
• You can download the slides and
additional resources at
www.uniliterate.com
• Please email me!
rpinner@sophia.ac.jp
5/29/2016 26

27. Thanks for your attention!
5/29/2016 27
Pinner, R. S. (2014). The authenticity continuum: Towards a definition
incorporating international voices. English Today, 30(4), 22-27.
Pinner, R. S. (2016). Reconceptualising Authenticity for English as a
Global Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Lowe, R., & Pinner, R. (2016). Finding the Connections Between
Native-speakerism and Authenticity. Applied Linguistics Review,
7(1), 27-52. doi: 10.1515/applirev-2016-0002