Its not what you say but how you say it.

I was able to make so many connections in this week's readings. I thought of my experiences abroad, of my parents and family members who are English learners, of my theatre friends who study accents, and of all the BBC shows I watch.
I love picking out, analyzing, and appreciating the diversity of accents found within English. I think it is important that students be aware of the variety in accents and are taught to appreciate their own by not idolizing one 'ideal' English. As we discussed before, there is no 'one standard English' and this outdated idea is still present which causes barriers in learning.
As an avid watcher of British television shows I thought of this clip:
http://youtu.be/3Y960PIOJtw?t=5m2s

Its a comedy show so everything is done for a laugh- understood- but what is being done? What accents are being portrayed? What is the punchline? Questions like these we should be asking because funny or not, these ideas perpetuate stereotypes that seep into the classroom and disrupt the learning process. We as teachers must be aware of it and not let it influence our students so much so that their investment and motivation is hindered.