Accent Listening Training for Partners in Oral Communication

In today’s linguistically diverse classrooms, effective communication is a two-way street—and strong listening skills are just as critical as clear speaking. This engaging webinar empowers educators and students to become better oral communication partners through focused listener training. Discover how training listeners to understand a wider range of accents and speech patterns can lead to faster cognitive processing, deeper comprehension, and more inclusive attitudes toward different varieties of English.

Drawing from cutting-edge research in applied linguistics, communications, and social psychology, this session will explore:

How the brain processes unfamiliar speech
Why we might struggle to understand speakers with different accents
Practical strategies to build more adaptable, flexible listeners

We'll wrap up with actionable tools and teaching resources you can use immediately to help your learners—and yourself—become more effective, empathetic communicators in diverse ESL settings.

Key Takeaways

✔️ Understand the cognitive and social foundations of listener training
✔️ Gain insight into the role of accent familiarity in communication breakdowns
✔️ Learn evidence-based techniques to improve students’ listening flexibility
✔️ Access practical classroom strategies and resources to apply listener training right away

Presenter

Katherine Yaw Katherine (Kate) Yaw is an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of South Florida (Tampa, FL, USA). She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University. She has worked in language education since 2007, with experience in English language teaching, teacher training, and program administration. Her research interests include perception and production of speech, language attitudes, cognitive processing of L2-accented speech, and the role of listeners in successful communication, along with quantitative research ethics.