Accent bias and linguistic discrimination is a problem across society but there are some useful interventions and strategies that we can adopt in the classroom.
Is there a diversity of voices/accents represented in the types of classroom stimuli (e.g., videos, sound clips) given to students? Increasing the diversity of accents represented in the classroom exposes students to varieties of English they may not be familiar with.
Shut down any experiences of linguistic discrimination + classism. Simply put, accent bias and classism should be treated like any other forms of discrimination. If you hear someone mocking someone’s accent, feel empowered to deal with it as you would any other form of discrimination.
Tackle elitism. Our research argues that it is elitism that promotes accent bias and linguistic discrimination at UoE. Accept that all students are deserving of their place and that there are different ways of completing a degree – all are valid!
Encourage all students to contribute by valuing different voices in the room. Research has shown that when explicit comments are made about an individuals’ accent/language, they are less likely to contribute to classroom discussion. Avoid making comments about language/accent.
The most important takeaway is focus on what people say not how they say it.