THE ACCENT PREFERENCES OF RESEARCH ASSISTANTS IN TURKISH CONTEXT

Abstract Research assistants (RAs) are generally criticized for having 'unintelligible' accents for professional communication. Therefore, the use of accent variety is a big matter for them because ELT departments prefer that students are exposed to a standard or widely understood variety of English such as General American or Received Pronunciation (RP). In this regard, this study aims to explore the role of accent preference and perception in English language teaching and learning by RAs in Türkiye. Through a self-developed questionnaire comprising multiple-choice items, this research investigates which accents are commonly used and preferred by 35 Turkish RAs, and how different accents impact perceptions of skillfulness and pronunciation difficulty. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Additionally, the questionnaire probes which accents are more challenging to pronounce for the respondents. The research aims to highlight trends in accent preference, such as the popularity of North American English (NAE) and British English (RP) accents along with three others, and the ways these preferences can influence language acquisition. Among the main findings of this article is that NAE is the number one while RP is the second preferred accent. The results expose a significant impact of accent on both learner comfort and RAs’ effectiveness, with varying levels of difficulty in pronunciation. Actually, accent preference of Turkish ELT RAs in English language education isn't about which accent is "better", but it's about intelligibility, consistency, and alignment with instructional goals. Consequently, this research aims to explore the role of accent preference and perception in English language teaching and learning by RAs in Türkiye. Keywords: Accent, dialect, language, neutral accent, natural accent, foreign accent