平等、多样和包容：Aptis英语听力测试中的不同口音

Date: October 2025 Author name and ORCID number: Okim Kang (0000-0002-7721-5283) and Maria Kostromitina (0000-0002-2505-7762) Grant reference: AR-G-2022-11 www.britishcouncil.org/english-assessment/english-language-research1This report is brought to you by English Language Research, British CouncilTo cite this report, please use: Kang, O. & Kostromitina, M. (2025). Equality, diversity, andinclusion: different varieties of accents in Aptis English Listening Tests. British Council. DOI:10.57884/QV3J-5H54 Contents Executive summary...........................................................................................................................................................................3Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................................41.1 Test-takers’ attitudes in assessment....................................................................................................................................61.2 Present study.........................................................................................................................................................................................6Method.......................................................................................................................................................................................................72.1 Speakers....................................................................................................................................................................................................72.2 Recordings...............................................................................................................................................................................................72.3 Listeners.....................................................................................................................................................................................................82.4 Instruments.............................................................................................................................................................................................9Listener background questionnaire....................................................................................................................................9Attitudes questionnaire..................................................................................................................................................................9Listening tasks.......................................................................................................................................................................................92.5 Data collection procedure..........................................................................................................................................................92.6 Analysis......................................................................................................................................................................................................9Results..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 113.1 Research Questions 1 and 2..................................................................................................................................................113.2 Research Question 3....................................................................................................................................................................143.3 Factor 1: Acceptability of all accents..............................................................................................................................153.4 Factor 2: Inclusivity vs preference for Standard English accents...........................................................173.5 Correlations between attitudes and test performance.....................................................................................18Discussion............................................................................................................................................................................................ 20Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Executive summary Overview As English becomes increasingly international, the inclusion of diverse accent varieties inlanguage proficiency tests raises important questions about test validity and fairness. Thecurrent study examined the impact of English accent varieties on test-takers’ performance inAptis l