When it comes to teaching, I generally try to adhere to the “lazy teacher, busy student” concept as much as possible.  In my education classes in college, I was taught that this is an ideal to strive towards.  Less “teacher talk” and more student work, allowing them to assist and teach eachother.  However, sometimes, lecturing is unavoidable, especially in a language classroom.

I have noticed here in Korea that my students often have a good deal of difficulty understanding English when it is spoken by anyone with anything other than a “American broadcast” accent.  They also have no concept of the number of different accents in English – most of them think that everyone in the world who speaks English speaks with either an American or a British accent.  So, I decided that it was high time that they be exposed to other accents in English, with a little side education about the stereotypes and conversation styles that can often come with them.

I found a great series of clips on youtube from an old documentary called American Tongues, which is primarily what I used in this lesson, with a couple exceptions.  So, here’s the lesson, approximately:

I started off by teaching the kids “Mary Had A Little Lamb”.  Once they could say it with relative confidence, I showed them this clip, from 0:35 to 1:10:

After showing this clip to give them an idea of the variety of accents one finds in the US, I talked a little bit about the relative size of the US compared to Korea.  I asked the students if Korea had regional accents, knowing full well that this island is considered to have one of the strongest in this province, which already is considered to have the strongest provincial accent in the country.  The kids gave the Jindo accent as an example, and so I talked about that if Korea is as small as it is and can still have separate accents, then they should think about how big the US is and how different some of our accents must be!

At this point, I drew an approximate outline of the US on the board (I really, really wish I had a map in the classroom).  Once that was done, I drew a line around the area that is considered to have a Midwest accent, and wrote Midwestern in it.  I told the kids that this is the accent I have, and that it’s the accent that you most often hear on the news and in movies, because it is considered to be the easiest to understand.  Then I underlined the Mid in Midwestern and asked the kids what they thought that might stand for.  Usually a couple kids correctly guessed “middle”, and so then I drew a line around the Western accent area and asked “If that was the *Middle* west, then what do you think this area is called?” and the same kids said “Western!”, and so I wrote that in the area.  I drew the location of Los Angeles, since most of the kids know about it, and mentioned Hollywood.  I told them that the Western accent is similar to the Midwestern one.  Then, I drew a line around New England.  Then another around the general New York City area, then another for the NY/PA/DE/MD area.  Then another for the South, and another for Texas.  I then went on to explain that the two most famous accents in the US are the New York accent and the Southern accent.  I then explained some of the stereotypes about people with New England accents and people with Southern accents.  I explained that many people assume that if you have a Southern accent then you are uneducated, and that if you have a New England accent that you are educated, even if neither is the case.  I said that even if you had gone to Harvard (the kids all know Harvard), but had a strong Southern accent, that many people might immediately assume that you aren’t smart.  Likewise, that even if you hadn’t graduated from high school, that if you had a posh New England accent, that people might assume that you’re very well educated.  I know that in Korea, Jeollanamdo (this province) accents are seen in much the same light as Southern accents are in the US, so I knew it was a concept that they would understand pretty well.

From that discussion, I transitioned into showing them this clip, which gives examples of Kentucky, Ohio, and Texas accents:

This video kills four birds with one stone.  Not only does it cover the Southern, Midwestern, and Texan accents, but it also allows me to go into a bit of a side discussion about conversation styles.  At the point where the video mentions that where we live not only influences the sound of our speech, but also the manner in which we hold a conversation, I pause the video.  I write the phrases “beat around the bush” and “get straight to the point” on the board, since they are used in the video.  I draw a little cartoon of a bush and a person, and draw a line going around the bush.  I ask the kids that if the bush is what the person really means to say, then what do they think “beating around the bush” means?  Usually one of the kids gets it (albeit in Korean, so you need a co-teacher to translate and make sure the kid’s answer is correct) , and I explain that it means that they sometimes are indirect in the way they talk.  I then write “indirect” on the board.  Then I erase the line and draw a direct line between the man and the bush, and ask them again what they think that “getting straight to the point” means.  I explain that this means that they are very direct in the way they talk, that they “say what they mean”, and write “direct” on the board.  I explain that Southerners tend to be more indirect, and northerners tend to be more direct.  I ask the kids if they think Koreans are more direct or indirect, and remind them to think about the concept of saving face.  The kids usually answer that they think Koreans are indirect, and I tell them that I agree.  Then I un-pause the video and let it progress.  In order to save time, I usually skip around a little bit in the video, so the kids get the best examples of each accent.  After each segment, I reiterate points I have gone over before, and ask the kids how easy or difficult the accent was to understand.  The kids usually find the Southern and Texan accents really funny, and I love it when my students laugh (so long as it’s not at me).  When the video gets to the Ohio section, I ask the students if they think I sound like the people from Ohio, and they usually agree.

Then, I show them an example of a New York accent.  The documentary unfortunately doesn’t have an example of this, so I have to search around YouTube for a good example.  Be careful in what you choose and make sure to watch it through fully before you show it to the kids – lots of the Boston and New York accent examples contain cursing – this caught me off-guard the first time and was a little embarrassing.

After the New York accent, I show them this sample of a Boston Brahmin (upper class) accent:

The text before the video brings up the terms “blue collar” and “upper crust”, so I pause the video at that point to go over them.  I explain that “upper crust” means “upper class” or “rich”.  Depending on the level of the students, I sometimes discuss this in terms of bread.  I then explain that “blue collar” means the working class, or lower class.  In Europe, for quite a long time blue was a very common color among the poor because indigo is a very cheap dye.  Sometime in the 19th century, this evolved into what the French call “bleu de travail”, or “working blues”.  It is a set of pants and a jacket that are made out of a distinctive blue, hard-wearing cloth.  You can see Marc wearing a “bleu de travail” jacket here.  I explain that these clothes are where the term “blue collar” comes from.  I write both terms on the board and then un-pause the video.

After that video is done, I ask them if the accent sounds similar to any other accent they have heard.  Usually one or two students will say that the speakers sound British.  I say that this is correct, and that the Boston accent, and in fact the New England accent in general is heavily influenced by British English.  I use this to transition into the next video, which is about the Cajun accent.

I mention that the US has had people from many different cultures in colonies all over its land, from California to Maine.  I explain that the French used to own more than half of America, before they sold it to the Americans.  I mention that the French were most heavily concentrated in the area that is now Louisiana, and I draw that state on the board.  I explain that French had a huge impact on the language there, and that many people there speak a combination of English and French called “Creole”, and that the milder form that is just an accent is called “Cajun”.  I explain that even though I spent a lot of time in Louisiana as a kid, even though I grew up only 2 hours away from the Louisiana border, and even though I speak French, I still find both the Cajun accent and Creole very, very difficult to understand, despite the fact that we are, in theory, speaking the same language.  Here’s the video for Creole/Cajun:

After all that, I talk to them about the fact that people in every country speak English a little differently, with different accents.  Someone who learned English in France will have different sounding English than someone who learned it in Germany, Russia, or Korea.  Many of my students want to travel abroad, and I explain to them that in all likelihood, they will have to use English when they are abroad, as it is very, very unlikely that they will find people who speak Korean.  I explain that because of these global accents, the English of the people they interact with will likely sound very different from the English I speak, and that they should hear a little bit of what some of these accents may be like.  For this, I found a video of an accent coach doing 21 different accents, ranging from regional UK/US/AUS accents to Russian accents, Czech accents, French accents, etc.  The kids were all really fascinated by this video in particular, and since after all the discussion of American accents they may be a little worn out, this is a good note to end on, as it will bring their energy level back up.  Here’s the video:

I usually have about 5 minutes left in class at this point, so I use the time to review.  I erase the names from the regions on the US map and point to each and ask the kids to name the accents in those areas.  Then I ask them what “beating around the bush” means, and I ask them which region is known for that style of conversation.  Then I ask them what “getting straight to the point” means, and which region is known for that.  I ask them which region’s accent is often mistakenly thought to indicate a low or high level of education.  I ask them what “upper crust” means, and what “blue collar” means.  I ask them what language influenced the New England accent, and which one influenced the Cajun accent.  I ask them which accent is considered “neutral”, and I ask them what accent I have.  By the time I finish with all those review questions, the bell is usually about to ring, so I distribute my “right answer” stickers, and then the kids head out.

So, there you go!  Enjoy!  Please let me know your results if you use the lesson!