Abuja parents pay for ‘British accent’

Recent news reports quoted some parents as saying that having their children speak in British accent gives them a feeling that they are receiving proper formal education, unlike what obtained at their own time. Some parents and teachers told Daily Trust that paying to have children taught British accent is not a waste but a […]

Recent news reports quoted some parents as saying that having their children speak in British accent gives them a feeling that they are receiving proper formal education, unlike what obtained at their own time.

Some parents and teachers told Daily Trust that paying to have children taught British accent is not a waste but a good step in preparing children for future challenges.

A parent and educationist, Mrs. Dhakiroh Oriyomi, said speaking in British accent gives the children confidence and brings joy to parents when such a child speaks in public.

She said, “It is really important to teach British accent and it is not a waste because when a child is taught in that way, when you bring him out to speak in public, he would do well because he is confident. It has a lot of advantages and it’s not just about accent.

“People may misunderstand it for just accent, it’s beyond that, for instance, when you conduct an interview, the way someone speak  determines how you would rate them. When someone talks to you in some accents, it would be difficult for them to blend with others and most times it is like that.”

She said education has gone beyond just Mathematics and English as people have begun to appreciate class, the kind of school children attend and the kind of people they interact with.

“The way you eat, talk, walk, all these things are very important and that is why parents go out of their way to ensure that their kids are taught to have that accent,” she added. Oriyomi said usually, it depends on different schools. 

“In schools where you have expatriates, there is the tendency that children would speak the way their teachers  speak,  but schools which go out of their way to teach accents, most times it doesn’t work but people still do that.”

Another parent, Mrs. Eucharia Azubuike, said learning to speak is very important and is part of what informed the choice of schools for her kids.

“You know when you see a child speak well, the first thing people would ask is the school he attends, and that way, if you are a parent of such child you would feel some kind of pride that you are not wasting money paying school fees,” she said.

She said learning good accent is very important, which is why some parents go the extra mile to pay for it.

The principal of Tophill Schools, Wuse, Julius Omang, said though the school does not run the British educational curriculum, they teach British accent at the nursery level, adding that it is important for children to learn it right from the start.

 “You can’t just go and start teaching them from somewhere and that is the only level British accent comes in the teaching of pupils,” he said.

Omang said parents want their children to speak well and in British accent.

“Some parents want their children to go the extra mile, some want their children to speak like someone from overseas,” he said.

He said usually, arrangements are made for extra lessons for children and the cost depends on the arrangement between parents and  teachers.

He said most times, such teachers are not employed by the school, but operate on part time basis.

“The amount depends on the contact hours, say once or thrice a week, so at times the teacher could say for one hour, he is taking N5, 000,” he added.

However, most schools contacted say they do not teach their students British accent but take them on phonics to ensure that they pronounce words in line with English standard.

The Proprietress of Capville School, Gwarimpa, Mrs. Peace Iheama, said though people ascribe different things to it, it is just about teaching students to speak right.

“It’s true that parents are paying for extra lessons but it is not that they are acquiring British accent, it is just for them to speak right

 “In our country, we have different dialects and often the mother tongue interferes with  the way of speaking, so there are people who are trained to speak properly, who know the proper diction to teach children,” she said. 

Mrs. Fumi Adeyemi, an English teacher with Capville, said, “English is not our language and we have to speak it the way the owners speak it.”

She said in order to do that, they had to learn the rudiments, adding, “In Nigeria, we have different dialects that we call our mother tongues and we have problems with that, it is what we call mother tongue interference. When you travel outside, you would understand that the way people speak is different from the way we do here. We don’t use the British curriculum in schools but it is so because students who travel outside the country need to speak well. So if you really want to do the English thing you have to do it right,” she added.

The Public Relations Officer of Premiere International Lugbe, Godwin Aondo, said teachers in the school do not teach British accent and he couldn’t say why parents should pay for their children to speak in British accent.

“We don’t do that in my school, we run a hybrid curriculum, we are a core Nigerian curriculum school but with some element of British and American blend to assist those who want to write international examinations,” he said.