Lesson Plan: Searching For The Perfect Accent In The U.S.? There’s No Such Thing!
II. While Reading Activities
Word Inference
- fetishize |ˈfedəˌSHīz| verb [with object] have an excessive and irrational commitment to or obsession with (something): an author who fetishizes privacy.
- disdain disˈdān| verb refuse or reject (something) out of feelings of pride or superiority: he disdained to discuss the matter further.
- discrimination |dəˌskriməˈnāSH(ə)n| noun-the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex: victims of racial discrimination | discrimination against homosexuals.
- immigrant |ˈiməɡrənt| noun -a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.
- immerse |iˈmərs| verb-(immerse oneself or be immersed) involve oneself deeply in a particular activity or interest: she immersed herself in her work | she was still immersed in her thoughts.
- premise |ˈpreməs| noun a previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion: if the premise is true, then the conclusion must be true.
- consequence |ˈkänsikwəns| noun-a result or effect of an action or condition: many have been laid off from work as a consequence of the administration’s policies.
- embrace |əmˈbrās| verb accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically: besides traditional methods, artists are embracing new technology.
- inaudible |ˌinˈôdəb(ə)l| adjective- unable to be heard: inaudible pulses of high-frequency sound.
- neutral |ˈn(y)o͞otrəl| adjective -having no strongly marked or positive characteristics or features: the tone was neutral, devoid of sentiment | a fairly neutral background will make any small splash of color stand out.
Source: New Oxford American Dictionary
Reading Comprehension
Fill-ins
If you look at the question from a sociolinguistic point of view, having no accent is plainly impossible. An accent is simply a way of speaking shaped by a combination of geography, social class, education, ethnicity and first language. I have one; you have one; everybody has one.
Grammar Focus: Word -Recognition
To say that someone does not have an accent is as believable as saying that someone does not have any facial features. We know this, but even so, at a time when the percentage of foreign-born residents in the United States is at its highest point in a century, the distinction between ‘native’ and ‘nonnative’ has grown vicious, and it is worth reminding ourselves of it again and again: No one speaks without an accent.
:
