An Introduction to Common Regional Accents in the UK
Level:
Pre-Intermediate to Upper Intermediate
Timing: 60 mins to 3 hours+; you may adapt the material to fit the time you have:
Shorter lesson:
Longer lesson:
Focus on the key points of the lesson
Study everything that the lesson presents
Miss out optional warmer activities
Include optional warmer activities
Focus on only 2 accents
Focus on all 4 accents & others from the list, if time
Miss out or shorten free practice activities, e.g. role plays
Include free practice activities
SS have little time for research
SS have time for research, e.g. in the library or online
And so on...
Lesson Aims:
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Learn about the different parts of the UK
Be introduced to different regional accents in the UK, with a special focus on four: Glaswegian, Liverpool (Scouse),
Welsh, and South Yorkshire
Learn about Standard Pronunciation and how it differs from regional accents – the same language, the same
country, but different accents cause problems for learners of English
Identify some of the problems for language learners when listening to British native speakers who have nonstandard English accents
Main Teaching Points:
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The main problem that SS have in understanding speakers of English who have non-standard pronunciation is that
the sound spine – the sequence of stressed vowel sounds in a sentence – is different from what they expect and
need to hear in order to understand the content
English speakers with regional accents use other features which can confuse SS, including: unusual contractions
(e.g. innit for “isn’t it”), glottal stops, non-standard stress patterns, dialect words, and slang
Native speakers of English don’t always understand each other! For example, a speaker from the Midlands may
have problems understanding a person with a strong Glaswegian accent
Native speakers sometimes change or “lose” their natural accent in order to fit in. Regional accents are markers of
origin, status, class, income, and even perceived intelligence. Speakers often look down on people who speak in a
different way from themselves, because they consider them to be inferior. To “get on” in life Standard
Pronunciation (SP) is generally preferred. Speakers can end up with two different ways of speaking: SP at work or
at a job interview, and their natural regional accent at home with family and friends. Like with spelling: we can
write messily for ourselves, e.g. a shopping list or text message, but we write correctly during an examination
[see Useful Resources, below]
Students may ask why there are so many different distinctive accents in such a small island! The answer concerns
the history and geography of the UK, but I wouldn’t get sucked into this complex point during this lesson. Instead
perhaps ask them to do some research for homework. A good starting-off point is here:
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100525044530AAwOkDC
Material:
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blank accents map (handout)
annotated map – answer sheet (handout)
videos on YouTube (Note: you could use different videos and focus on different accents, while still following the
same basic lesson plan]
Before the Lesson (Planning):
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Prepare the videos
Read all the notes in this pack
Print handouts for students