Efficacy in Accent Modification Services: Quantitative and Qualitative Outcomes for Korean Speakers of American English

Instructors of accent modification programs find few long range efficacy studies that they can use to critically examine the effectiveness of their training programs. Fewer still limit the language background variables of the study participants that might yield interesting information about specific instructional strategies and targets. This long term study examines outcomes data from 167 Korean men and women who participated in the MU (University of Missouri) Accent Modification and Pronunciation Program (AMP) from 2006-present. Quantitative data will include pre- and post- measures using the Sentence Intelligibility Test (Yorkston, Beukelman, & Tice, 1996), the POEC Screen Online (Sikorski, 2009), and qualitative data will include information obtained through surveys of individuals who have completed the MU AMP program. The authors discuss multisensory methods used in this program to effect positive change in adult English as a Second Language (ESL) oral skills.