The Prevalence and Landscape of Accent Reduction Programs at US Institutions of Higher Education

Many institutions offering accent reduction programs claim they help international staff and students modify their accent, thereby helping them be more successful within the context of higher education. Despite accent reduction programs being labeled as predatorial, deficit-laden, and pathologizing of accents, programs continue to proliferate on college campuses while perpetuating English language dominance, linguistic racism, and the hierarchization of Englishes. Yet, there is limited research on the scope of these programs within higher education. This descriptive study, informed by QuantCrit, adds to the existing literature by highlighting the landscape and characteristics of the approximately 9% of institutions of higher education in the United States (N=124) that were identified as having accent reduction programs. The purpose of this study is to provide a foundation for understanding the prevalence and landscape of accent reduction programs in the United States. Findings reveal that accent reduction programs remain a common feature of U.S. higher education, particularly at urban, public, and research institutions, and are frequently embedded in medical contexts, such as speech and hearing centers, that reinforce deficit views of accents. Their structure, cost, and lack of transparency raise important equity concerns and underscore the need for institutional and professional reforms that challenge linguistic racism.