Hadar Shemesh argues that English learning platforms rely too heavily on standard American and British accents, leaving learners unprepared for the diverse voices they'll actually encounter. She calls for more non-native speakers and varied accents in educational content to reflect how English is really spoken.
In the English learning industry, especially on YouTube, you are mainly exposed to one voice of English and usually one accent, whether it's the standard American or received pronunciation or standard Australian. The reason why it is so incredibly important to listen to different voices is because English is so incredibly versatile and diverse. And when we consume content from different teachers and different speakers who have the same accent and have the same voice, it doesn't reflect English as it is. And sometimes when you look at your feed or your subscription list, you may see that it doesn't have the diversity that English really does have. And as a non native speaker who has been struggling with stereotypes and biases, I really think that we should bring more of these voices to the front.
Read Out Loud with me! Dare to Lead by Brené Brown | Pronunciation & Vocabulary practice
