What do students in human resource management know about accent bias?

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARYSpeaking a second (or additional) language with an accent typically involves speakers producing pronunciation features from their mother tongue(s) in their second language. Prior research shows that individuals who speak a second language with an accent are subject to negative biases in professional settings. Because university students enrolled in human resource (HR) management programs are future HR professionals, it is important to uncover what they know about accent and accent bias (i.e., negative judgments based on a speaker's pronunciation). To that end, we interviewed 14 undergraduate HR students in two Canadian universities, in Calgary and Montreal, to determine how they understand accent and accent bias. Students were asked about their own understanding of accent bias, their previous experiences with it, and the importance of accent bias awareness among the HR community. Overall, the students demonstrated a nuanced understanding of accent and suggested that accent-based discrimination may be an unconscious phenomenon. They also showed flexibility and tolerance toward accents, emphasizing that establishing successful communication is a shared responsibility among speakers and listeners. We discuss how negative attitudes toward second language accents may contribute to detrimental, real-life consequences for those who speak a second language with an accent. Finally, we provide suggestions for how HR students' awareness about accent bias may be honed, including through activities that require them to take the perspective of a second language speaker, through diversity training and awareness-raising about different personal characteristics that may influence professional evaluations, and finally through informal contact activities with second language speakers.