In the context of pronunciation teaching, the relevance of a standard native accent as teaching model and norm needs to be reconsidered in view of the learners' attainment as well as their wishes and expectations. In order to test attitudes to native and non-native varieties of English in Austria, a language attitude study was undertaken with 132 university students of English. In response to the modified matched-guise test, the subjects evaluated three native accents RP (Received Pronunciation), near-RP and GA (General American) and two Austrian non-native accents of English. The results confirm the low status the non-native accents have amongst their users and the overall preference for the three native accents. Generally, the respondents rate the accent best with which they have become familiar at school and/or during stays in English-speaking countries. Reflecting historical and geopolitical circumstances, the majority of the subjects support RP as their favourite model of pronunciation. Furthermore, the study sheds light on the importance of personal exposure to English in its native environments. While the evaluations of the students with EFL experience reflect rather rigid stereotypes, those students who have spent some time in English-speaking countries reveal more individualized, situation-linked attitudes.

At a time of increasing internationalization in tertiary education, English-Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings (EMEMUS) has become a common practice. While there is already ample research describing this phenomenon at a local level (Smit and Dafouz 2012a), the theoretical side needs to be elaborated. This article thus aims to develop a conceptual framework that considers the dynamic nature of EMEMUS. Drawing on recent sociolinguistic orientations and discursive approaches (e.g. Scollon and Scollon 2004; Shohamy 2006; Blommaert 2010; Hult 2010), our framework regards EMEMUS as a social phenomenon and views discourse as the access point to six relevant dimensions. These dimensions are considered as inherently complex, contextually bound, and intersecting dynamically with one another. Focusing on an example from a higher education institution, the article argues for the utility of the proposed framework.

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