Abstract:
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Learning a new language requires four language skills (Listening, speaking, reading, and
writing). Listening is considered as a core skill in the process of acquiring a language, be it a
native language, a second language or a foreign one. The present study sought to investigate
the effect of using native-accent and non-native accent on EFL students’ listening
comprehension. A mixed method was employed to achieve the aims of this study. As for the
methodological tools, a questionnaire was used to collect the relevant data from a random
sample of 71 freshmen students out of 298 at the department of English. On top of that, an
observation was carried out for five sessions with five different freshmen teachers. The results
revealed that freshmen students face a number of issues, namely in relation to their teachers’
pronunciation and accent, which go along with what has been introduced in previous studies,
as they have highlighted the importance of NEST in improving students’ listening
comprehension. Our findings also showed that students’ exposure to NNEST pose a variety of
difficulties, which revolve around their listening comprehension and their overall understanding
of Native English speakers’ accents. This confirms our hypothesis and underlines the key points
that teachers need to focus on, namely improving their pronunciations and accents.
