Abstract

Accent bullying is one of the forms of linguistic discrimination faced by the students of postcolonial regions like Pakistan, where English is considered a symbol of social prestige. This paper explores how accent bullying leads to anxiety and language avoidance among English learners. Using a cross-sectional quantitative design, this research surveyed 114 students from various institutions in Pakistan using a structured questionnaire, and the responses were analyzed with SPSS. The results revealed that peer ridicule was a stronger predictor of language avoidance than teacher correction in reducing language anxiety. Overall, the results correspond to Bourdieu's (1991) account of symbolic violence, whereas accent bias creates hierarchies of English's legitimacy. The present study enlightens the way to accent inclusive pedagogies that contribute to the establishment of supportive English as a Foreign Language learning spaces in Pakistan. This research contributes to a global work to tackle linguistic discrimination.p-ISSN: 2520-0348 e-ISSN: 2616-793xDOI(journal):10.31703/gssrVolume: X (2025)DOI (volume):10.31703/gssr.2025(X)Issue: IV Fall (December-2025)DOI(Issue):10.31703/gssr.2025(X-IV)www.gssrjournal.comVolume: X (2025)https://www.gssrjournal.com/Current-issueIssue: IV-Fall (December 2025)https://www.gssrjournal.com/issue/10/4/2025Scopehttps://www.gssrjournal.com/about-us/scopeSubmissionhttps://humaglobe.com/index.php/gssr/submissionsAbstract

Keywords

Accent Bullying, Linguistic Discrimination, Language Anxiety, Pakistani EFL Learners

Authors:

Tazanfal Tehseem: Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.

Alina Ahsan: MPhil Scholar, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.

Mahwish Fatima: MPhil Scholar, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.

Asad Nazar: (Corresponding Author)

PhD Scholar, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0009-0000-1019-9787

(Email: asad.awan033@gmail.com)

Pages: 124-141

DOI:10.31703/gssr.2025(X-IV).10

DOI link: https://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2025(X-IV).10

Article link: https://gssrjournal.com/article/accent-bullying-in-pakistani-classrooms-exploring-its-longterm-effects-on-english-language-retention-and-speaking-confidence

Full-text Link: https://gssrjournal.com/article/accent-bullying-in-pakistani-classrooms-exploring-its-longterm-effects-on-english-language-retention-and-speaking-confidence

Pdf link: https://www.gssrjournal.com/jadmin/Auther/31rvIolA2.pdf

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Introduction

In postcolonial multilingual societies such as Pakistan, the English language is more than a lingua franca; indeed, English becomes one of the symbols of power, prestige, and intellectual status (Bourdieu, 1991). In such contexts, the ability to speak English fluently, particularly with a 'native-like accent', becomes a marker of competence and social worth. The last decade has seen copious research into how English language teaching in South Asian classrooms perpetuates sociolinguistic inequalities in the region. However, only a few studies have drawn attention to the phenomenon of accent-based bullying, which is a subtle but widespread form of discrimination based on sound that targets students due to their pronunciation, intonation, or regional speech patterns.

Accent-based bullying, a refined form of linguistic discrimination, is an area of thriving research that has not been much explored in the case of Pakistani EFL classrooms. Existing literature is primarily based around measuring the impacts of specific curriculum designs, language policies, or other general forms of bullying; yet, the psychological effect of mocking students purely based on their English accent, an even more refined and highly effective form of 'linguistic' discrimination still largely ignored. Accent bullying can be seen in different ways, both overt and covert, and includes public mockery and ridicule as well as subtler forms of exclusion, social judgment, and humiliating correction (Dryden & Dovchin, 2021). This kind of bullying might have significant negative consequences on the mental health, speaking confidence, and long-term language retention of the students in Pakistani EFL classrooms. Little information is available to draw full conclusions regarding how such ridicule affects students' language confidence and retention, and their emotional well-being. Accent-based bullying may cause language anxiety and discouragement in classroom participation, inhibiting students' attempts to learn English altogether.

This particular research has made a significant contribution to the academic field as it examined the application of Bourdieu's (1991) theory of symbolic violence in Pakistan through micro-level interactions in classrooms. It tried to show how accent bullying, either carried out by classmates or teachers, and whether it is obvious or hidden, played a significant role in making the linguistic ranking stronger, and also in leading to the death of the language.

Home language learners' perception of the different types of bullying, including teacher correction, social judgment, public ridicule, and covert exclusion. This study hopes to find out which of the types is the most powerful predictor of language anxiety and avoidance behaviors among EFL learners in Pakistan.

By using a quantitative survey, this research not only survey forms and extent of bullying but also its psychological and pedagogical aspects. The research thus not only adds to the already existing literature on linguistic prejudice globally but also provides empirically backed suggestions for the development of accent-tolerant and emotionally secure learning atmospheres in Pakistan and other similar postcolonial EFL contexts.

Aims and Objectives

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of various forms of accent bullying on English language speaking anxiety, confidence, and retention among Pakistani EFL learners. The objectives of the study are as follows:

1. To assess the connection between different shades of accent bullying and the learners' self-reported confidence in speaking, as well as language retention.
2. To pinpoint the specific bullying behaviors (for instance, public ridicule, social judgment, and teacher correction) that are most powerful in predicting the development of language anxiety and the consequent avoidance.
3. To create a questionnaire that is suitable for the specific situation and can measure incidents of bullying based on accents, language anxiety, and the students' speaking confidence in the Pakistani EFL context

Hypotheses

Based on the theoretical frameworks of Bourdieu (1991) and MacIntyre & Gardner (1994), the

The following hypotheses are proposed:

H₁: There will be a significant poH₁: There will be a significant positive correlation between instances of accent bullying (overt and covert) and the language anxiety reported by the students.

H₂: The fear of social judgment will be a greater predictor of language avoidance than public ridicule or teacher correction.

H₃: Students exposed to accent bullying will tend to avoid the language more, including their shifting to Urdu and distance from English-speaking.

Research Questions

This study is guided by the following research questions:

1. What are the main forms and sources of accent bullying that EFL learners in Pakistani classrooms experience, and which are brought out by a context-specific questionnaire?
2. In what way is the exposure to different types of accent bullying related to learners' anxiety in speaking English and their long-term retention of the language?
3. How can we design teaching practices and educational environments that are accent-inclusive or accent-friendly in Pakistan?

Literature Review

In the field of EFL (English as a Foreign Language), linguistic competence is often viewed in terms of their ability to emulate 'standard' British or American accents (Dovchin, 2020b), marginalizing learners whose speech reflects their sociolinguistic histories. Consequently, the practice of applying specific phonological standards to learners based on their background is due to colonialism and disparities in global power, which turn educational institutions into arenas of symbolic violence (Bourdieu, 1991), thus subjecting students to mockery, ostracism, or mute suffering for not adopting the "correct" accent. Such discrimination actually illustrates Olweus's (1999) definition of bullying, which is characterized by "recurrent unkind acts directed at one or more persons who are not able to protect themselves," and moves a little further into the notion of "linguistic racism"(Piller, 2016). The term "bullying" first appeared in the English language in the 17^th century, but its new definition of aggressive behavior goes back to the early 20^th century, when it was mostly used in regard to the school setting. Where the accents become markers of inferiority. In EFL classrooms, accent bullying is a form of "linguistic discrimination" because it influences the manner of speaking of non-native speakers, which causes a psychological effect on the students and may also generate latter's learning decline from the language, resulting in the paradox of diminishing proficiency due to withdrawal or disengagement from the bullying reactions about speaking the language (Dovchin, 2020b; Syifa, 2023). According to Chastain (1975), some cognitive psychologists argue that learning is only considered a cognitive process, while, on the other hand, the affective factor deals with "the emotional side of human behavior in the process of language learning" (Brown, 1994). Communication, due to varied reasons, has been neglected, particularly in the less developed countries, especially Pakistan (Akhtar, 2019).

• Accent Bullying refers to a specific kind of bullying that causes students speaking English as a second language with accents to adapt their pronunciation in a particular manner to highlight their background and their accent connected with one's sociolinguistics history and biographies" (Dovchin, 2020b, p. 3). Unfortunately, this criterion fails to fulfill the minimum entry requirement in an English language test, and thus, discrimination occurs, which can lead to unequal opportunities and power across EFL. They face discrimination purely due to their ethnic, regional, and rural English accents. Accent bullying is an interdisciplinary issue, and it falls most appropriately within the various disciplines. Sociolinguistics involves the study of variation in languages, language attitudes, and social perceptions regarding accents of different people who belong to different areas. The discussion of Educational Psychology starts with language learning anxiety, self-esteem in learning, and academic performance. In the domain of Psychology (Emotional and Mental health), which deals with emotional and psychological related phenomena, bullying due to accent may lead to the development of social anxiety, the emergence of feelings of inferiority, a lowering of self-esteem, and isolation from verbal communication. In our Linguistic Discrimination, for authors like Ingrid Piller and Sender Dovchin, accent bullying is classified as linguistic racism or symbolic violence when an accent becomes the marker for discrimination.

Theoretical perspectives regarding accent bullying suggest that the issue is one of sociolinguistics and psychology, which are the respective fields where the concept can be discussed. This study is framed with three important theories. First of all, there is Bourdieu's (1991) idea of symbolic violence, which could explain the way the 'standard' accent hierarchy makes it harder for regional people to be accepted, and already mentioned why young people are not so eager to use their local dialects. The second one is the Language Anxiety Theory of MacIntyre & Gardner (1994), linking bullying to cognitive deficits. Thirdly, the Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) enables victimized students to dissociate from their mother tongue to adapt to and conform to the prestigious standards set by society. These theories are explained below in detail, thus making sense of accent bullying as systemic oppression with measurable psychological cost.

Symbolic Violence (Bourdieu, 1991) finds its best example in the concept of Accent, which denotes the manner in which people take dominant linguistic hierarchies to be natural and, hence, justifiable. In the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), a 'standard' accent, like British or American, has always been preferred to regional variations such as Pashto-accented English. This dynamic perpetuates the power structures established during the colonial era (Dovchin, 2020b; Norman, 2017). By grasping this framework, it becomes clear why people who are subjected to accent bullying generally hold themselves responsible, and this may lead to an increase in the likelihood of such people quitting their studies.

Language Anxiety Theory (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994): This theory also clarifies how accent bullying obstructs acquisition. If learners view using English as a source of humiliation, their anxiety will also disrupt cognitive activity (e.g., memory retrieval, vocabulary recall), creating a feedback effect from avoidance to attrition. This is consistent with the idea that bullied Pakistani students learning English as a Foreign Language would still cut down on their participation even if they were proficient in English (Khan, 2021)."

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979): puts forward the shared aspect as it argues that the accent bullying endangers the in-group identity (e.g., speakers of Sindhi/Pashto) that the learners belong to, thus provoking them to either retreat or to be very close to the dominant group (e.g., 'accent purification'). Emotionally intelligent learners may reject this binary construction of stigma and overflow of identification, recognizing linguistic diversity as a resource and strength (Fredrickson, 2001), thus offering options for intervention."

• There exist two primary types of bullying that mostly cause psychological and emotional disturbances among students; the first one is through direct forms of accent bullying, and the second one is through indirect forms. Overt accent bullying is the direct and visible bullying. Examples of overt accent bullying include straightforward and visible forms, such as directly or indirectly targeting verbal and nonverbal acts. Such behaviors as mockery, laughter, teasing, and others mentioned above, and more specifically, criticism of speech (De Costa, 2020; Dryden & Dovchin, 2021; Dovchin & Dryden, 2022). Lipinski and Crothers (2013) mentioned that the intention of these behaviors is to distress people because they utter words with nonstandard or ethnic accents, mostly injuring their dignity and pride. Examples of open acts include mockery (Chun, 2009), satire (Lee & Katz, 1998), and inclusive labeling (Sue et al., 2007), which are acts that openly show contempt and shame. Covert accent bullying is the indirect form of bullying. Discrimination of this kind is not only a surface problem, but it goes deep inside; it is like an act of "symbolic violence" (Bourdieu, 1991), causing you to get bitter and isolated (Field, 2013). Exclusion is a choice whereby certain individuals are purposely deprived or ignored within institutional or informal settings based on the way they speak (Hogg, 2016). They face psychological aspects like depression, social isolation, and a sense of nonbelonging. (Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017; Leary, 2022).
• Overt and Covert bullying, types of bullying, are tied into imbalances of power and social hierarchies (Blommaert, 2010), causing linguistic inferiority in individuals who feel that their accent is not standardized and effective (Tankosić & Dovchin, 2021; Kenchappanavar, 2012). Victims are commonly observed to attempt to "purify and refine" their ethnic accents and speak in a "standardized" manner, thereby demonstrating their compliance with prevailing social acceptance, even if this covering up layers of their own linguistic identity (Blommaert, 2009). Overt as well as covert instances of accent bullying in EFL classrooms contribute to severe psychological trauma with far-ranging effects, such as social withdrawal, anxiety, and self-marginalization. Different authors refer mostly to conditions of social relevance where the issue arises, affecting, in varying degrees, members of a certain minority. The authors remark on the significance of accent discrimination and define an additional influence on the perception of accent by the power inflicted by the ruling majority, further magnifying accent discrimination in post-colonial countries. Victims often respond by attempting to "purify and refine" their ethnic accents to sound more "standardized" and socially accepted (Dovchin, 2020b), even if it means erasing parts of their linguistic identity (Blommaert, 2009).

Accent bullying exerts strong "emotional and psychological impacts" that may lead to withdrawal from social contact in some and a high degree of anxiety and even chronic traumatic experience in others, highlighting the grave consequences often of what appears to be a subtle linguistic prejudice. Accent bullying and language attrition lead to different attitudes of individuals toward language learning and have obvious negative effects, but this study looks at how individual differences in acquiring their Emotional Intelligence (EI) strategies may account for certain students' resistance to attrition.

Attention to accent-related bullying veered toward regions of multiculturalism in the Global North, namely Australia (Dobinson & Mercieca, 2020; Dovchin, 2020a), the United States (Chun, 2016), Spain (Corona & Block, 2020), and Canada (Creese & Kambere,2003) and the recent studies showed that bullying victims will not simply confine themselves to these social contexts. Sultana and Dovchin (2021) discovered that accent bullying is prevalent in areas where people speak the same language, and that they may ridicule and discriminate against regional, rural, or ethnic dialects. In countries like Pakistan, which are multilingual and post-colonial, English not only serves as a channel for communication but also as a social status symbol. Within this scenario, accent bullying, which is usually targeted at learners of English as a second language, becomes a form of linguistic discrimination that destroys confidence, participation, and identity development among the learners.

Most current research on accent bullying is being done in places like Australia, Mongolia, and Scandinavia, so the sociolinguistic hierarchies described are strikingly similar to those in Pakistan. In Pakistan, English-medium schools generally want native-like (British or American) accents, therefore putting pressure on students to conform and marginalizing students speaking English with an Urdu or regional-language accent. Norman's (2017) findings can be cited in this case: That students with non-native accents are looked down upon and, in fact, lose confidence and perceived communicative competence, even if their language proficiency is strong. Such dynamics in a Pakistani environment greatly affect students' participation and retention of language skills.

In Pakistan, accent bullying is a significant issue because, in English classrooms, the students coming from different areas, like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, and South Punjab, would carry their own unique accents and dialectal characteristics. Students with non-standard accents face mockery or isolation in English-medium schools. This dynamic tells that accent bullying in Pakistan is a systemic issue, not an import from Western multicultural societies. Pakistan is a multicultural and multilingual society in which English language learning students(L1) are standardized, affecting the progress of L2 learners. There is a great impact of regional languages on the English language learning, which affect there learning outcomes. Studies reveal that Sindhi-speaking subjects phonologically discriminate and are distinct in their English pronunciation. A study on English consonants and Sindhi students of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University found significant differences in the way these groups pronounced vowels, diphthongs, and syllabic patterns as compared to Standard British English. These deviations from Standard British English stemming from Sindhi phonological structure might result in misinterpretation and miscommunication in a cross-cultural setting (Noor et al., 2024). The Balochi-speaking students have similar difficulties as far as the pronunciation of English sounds is concerned, especially since some sounds do not exist in their languages. In some instances, the Baloch cannot articulate the English phonemes because these phonemes do not exist in Balochi. Other factors, such as social grooming, including less exposure to the English language and a lack of educational materials, have aggravated the situation (Ansari et al., 2016). Phonologically, Pashto-speaking learners face challenges in English; however, Pashto Speakers: Phonological Problems of English Acquisition for Pashto-Speaking Learners: An intensive study of the phonological aspect of Pakistani English under the influence of Pashto captured its ago readings from the pronunciation patterns and emphatically drawn consideration to that pedagogic approach as about specific learning due to such linguistic transferences (Mahmood, 2019). The databases do not present any exact individualizations of studies regarding Punjabi speakers. The assertion, nevertheless, is to the effect that such Punjabi learners, like their other regional counterparts, are not devoid of unique phonetic and phonological features and traits while learning English, which may complicate their articulation and comprehension and will require awareness and adaptive techniques in teaching from the educators.

Linguistically diverse classrooms in Pakistan are quite lively and full of code-switching and translanguaging, where the teachers switch languages for a particular lesson by using English and native languages for better communication. Very few studies have focused on transitional practices in Pakistani higher education; however, one such study revealed that a major chunk of the teachers use translanguaging strategies to mitigate this language gap, while policies have been formed favoring English instruction only (Khan, 2021). If students' cultures and languages are shaped into teachers' perceptions. Such views of students with regard to their cultural and linguistic backgrounds become a decisive factor in the development of the teaching approach. However, an investigation of teachers' perceptions in Baluchistan revealed that even if many teachers recognize students' diverse needs, there are no adequate support strategies to effectively meet those needs. It emphasizes the need for culturally responsive teaching practices that recognize and incorporate into the teaching and learning methodologies of students' linguistic backgrounds (Gul et al., 2020).

Gaps and contributions of the current study are that the establishment of the psychological and pedagogical implications of accent bullying is getting acknowledged more and more (Dovchin, 2020b; Syifa, 2023); however, there still lie some grievous gaps, particularly within the context of EFL in Pakistan. This study fills the gaps by gathering survey data from 114 Pakistani students, by suggesting solutions to replace absent institutional policies, and by examining teacher corrective styles to guide future training. Firstly, while investigators around the globe have used different tools like FLCAS to measure anxiety (Horwitz et al., 1986), large-scale empirical data on Pakistani learners remain limited, thus glossing over the other important side of attrition among regional accent speakers. Secondly, the institutional policies of elite English-medium schools in Pakistan prioritize 'neutral' accents (Norman, 2017) without addressing linguistic discrimination, demonstrating Bourdieu's (1991) definition of symbolic violence but offering no compensatory framework. Thirdly, by lacking in module contents on 'identifying or mitigating accent-based bullying', teacher training programs fail to equip educators to stem the processes of marginalization (Khan, 2021). The present study will address these gaps by investigating the effect of accent bullying on Pakistani learners' motivation, classroom participation, and speaking confidence while proposing Emotional Intelligence-based interventions (Salovey & Mayer, 1990) as a scalable alternative to complement policy reform.

Methodology

This study followed a cross-sectional survey approach where the quantitative research design was employed in ascertaining the effects of accent-based bullying on the university students of Pakistan. The students were randomly selected from four regions of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan from several public and private universities, and data were collected simultaneously through a standardised questionnaire after finalizing 114 participants by convenience sampling. The sample included students from different educational levels, i.e. Undergraduates, Graduates and Post-graduates from different linguistic regions like Punjabi, Sindhi, and Pashto speaking, as well as belonging to different demographic regions, i.e., age and gender. The questionnaire is developed using fivepoint likert scale for measuring independent and dependent variables. To ensure the validity and reliability of questionaire pilot testing is conducted. Participants were selected on the recommendation of the instructor and through announcements while ensuring consent and anonymity. The analysis of data is done using SPSS for correlation among variables and finding the regression of variables. The analytical technique would undoubtedly guarantee a systematic investigation of the interrelationships between the speech activities of the student and the accent bullying.

Instrument development and validation of this research involved a structured questionnaire (see Appendix), which was particularly aimed at bringing out the situations of accent-based bullying, language anxiety, and avoidance behaviors of Pakistani English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. It was created through a tripartite process. The original items were taken from the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS; Horwitz et al., 1986) and were complemented by context-specific items that were generated from the literature on linguistic discrimination and accent bullying in the South Asian context (e.g., Dovehin, 2020b; Sultana & Dovehin, 2021). In consequence, changes were made, particularly in the clarification of the items dealing with hidden bullying and feelings. And then the pilot testing is done, which reveals that the pilot study involved 30 EFL students who did not belong to the main sample. The key aspects being evaluated in the research were clarity, reliability, and time-to-completion. The researchers surveyed with a structured questionnaire (refer to Appendix) aimed at recording the mentioned experiences, language anxiety, and avoidance behaviors in the area of learning English as a foreign language in Pakistan.

The study has taken responses from 114 participants with diverse educational and demographic backgrounds. The age of participants is as, majority of the sample had an age range of 21-25 years, which is 35% of the sample(n=41), followed by 16-20 years (n=18) and 26-30 years (n=11). And outliers up to 35 were represented in very small numbers. According to gender distribution, there are 23.9% (n=28) females and 76.1% (n=89) males, and no intersex or transgender individuals. These participants belong to different educational backgrounds, i.e., Graduates were 41% (n=48), postgraduates 15.4% (n=18), and undergraduates 37.6% (n=44), while the fewest were at the matric level (n=2) or at the intermediate level (n=5). The prior education medium, 65% (n=76) studied at English medium schools, 25.6% (n=30) were taught the combined way, and 9.4% (n=11) belong Urdu-medium schools. This selection from different backgrounds is done to ensure diversity. This representation helps in analysing the variables that impact the language learning of students based on accents. This diverse sample explains the causes of language attrition due to accent bullying.

The ethical approval was granted by the Departmental Research Committee of the University of Sargodha. Before the process of data collection started, the participants were told about the purpose of the study, their right to withdraw, and the guarantees of anonymity and confidentiality. Written informed consent was obtained from all those who participated. The data was secured and analyzed in a manner that the identity of the subjects was anonymous

Table 1 Operational definitions of key variables are as follows:

Variable Type	Variable Name	Operational Definition	Measurement
Independent	Peer ridicule	Frequency of being publicly mocked or mimicked by peers	Likert scale (1-5)
Independent	Teacher correction	Frequency of feeling embarrassed by the teacher's public correction	Likert scale (1-5)
Independent	Fear of social judgment	Perception of being judged negatively for an accent	Likert scale (1-5)
Dependent	Language avoidance	Tendency to use Urdu instead of English in class	Likert scale (1-5)
Dependent	Speaking anxiety	Self-reported physiological symptoms during English speaking	Likert scale (1-5)

Analysis and Results

The frequency analysis reveals important new evidence concerning the extent to which accent bullying can impact the speaking confidence and retention of English as a foreign language across some Pakistani EFL learners would experience publicly mocked (mean score 2.63) was a relatively moderate average and embarrassed, teacher corrected (mean 2.85) received a fractionally higher score meaning the students who go through some type of correction or humiliation, provide support for the argument bullying related to accents may be something real and has significance in the confines of a classroom. Amongst avoidance behaviors, use of Urdu for answers was seen to be highest with a mean of 3.09, indicating students relied on their native language as a means to avoid social traumatic response from their peers. The idea about accent bullying as a prevalent and significant part of the classroom engagement, avoidance behaviors were comparatively lower with Hate English (mean 2.32) being applied. An indicator of some pupils may develop a negative perspective towards English, but no explicit aggression was evident.

Similarly, the mean score of 2.64 for "Given up on using English" shows attrition, which leads to the premise that bullying will stop the use of language. On the other side, the highest mean score of "Control my anxiety" is 3.61, which indicates that students know about their language attrition due to bullying and could control their emotional responses. To maintain a safe language learning environment, there is a need for positive classroom interventions because the findings clearly shows about bullying, discrimination, avoidance, emotional insecurity, and language inhibition.

Theme 1: Bullying Experiences

The analysis of two major bullying items showed the frequency with which trends were in the process of being developed in the experiences of those who were involved. Referring to the statement, "my English accent is publicly ridiculed by students," the great majority (50.9%) of those surveyed said they were never ridiculed (40.4% disagreed, 10.5% strongly disagreed) while a minority (20.2%) confessed to being ridiculed in this way (15.8% agreed, 4.4% strongly agreed). A significant portion (28.9%) simply remained non-committal. On the contrary, there were 31.6% of respondents who agreed (26.3% agreed, 5.3% strongly agreed) to the statement that "I felt embarrassed when a teacher corrected my English in front of the class," while 39.5% expressed disagreement (27.2% disagreed, 12.3% strongly disagreed), thereby indicating less variability in the acknowledgment of this experience. It is possible that some people had different or rare experiences with teacher corrections, as indicated by the equally balanced neutral answer (28.9%) rate. The distribution of responses indicates that teacher corrections that carry a sense of shame might be more common than student ridicule in public, thus signifying a change in power dynamics among participants in classroom interactions. The variety of responses underlines the necessity to examine all the different kinds of casters related to accent to assess their influence on language learners.

Table 2 Frequency of being publicly mocked

Table 3

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	12	10.5	10.5	10.5
	disagree	46	40.4	40.4	50.9
	Neutral	33	28.9	28.9	79.8
	Agree	18	15.8	15.8	95.6

Frequency of feeling embarrassed by a teacher's correction

Valid	Strongly Disagree	14	12.3	12.3	12.3
	Disagree	31	27.2	27.2	39.5
	Neutral	33	28.9	28.9	68.4
	Agree	30	26.3	26.3	94.7
	Strongly Agree	6	5.3	5.3	100.0
	Total	114	100.0	100.0

Theme 2: Language Avoidance & Attrition

The frequency analysis done on the data gathered from the participants, as represented by the numbers in tables 4, 5, and 6 had revealed quite some significant trends in the participants' language avoidance behaviors. The majority of the participants (63.2%) did not hate the English language, while a sizeable minority of 15.8% did convey negative feelings towards English (12.3% agreed, 3.5% strongly agreed). Measures of behavioral avoidance, on the other hand, produced more significant and clearer findings. The avoidance measure "Use Urdu for answers" was agreed by only 33.3% of respondents, while 42.9% of the students declared it (33.3% agreed, 9.6% strongly agree).

While 52.6% disagreed, still, 27.2% reported that they "have just given up on speaking English" (21.9% agreed, 5.3% strongly agreed). The significant neutral answers (20.2-23.7%) for all measures suggest situational uncertainty, or ambivalence, in these cases. These patterns suggest that practical avoidance behavior (e.g., utilising Urdu and not English) is the preferable option as opposed to openly disliking English; this suggests a type of coping mechanism in which these interlocutors are attempting to limit their expressions of English while attempting to communicate effectively enough, but in the least anxious way possible. Given this troubling inconsistency between how they feel about English and how it is objectively accepted and confirmed that we avoid it for potentially valuable communication, further investigation into the nuances that underpin our figures from the attitudes and behaviours we undertook is required.

Table 4 Frequency of hating English

Table 5

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	12	10.5	10.5	10.5
	disagree	26	22.8	22.8	33.3
	neutral	27	23.7	23.7	57.0
	Agree	38	33.3	33.3	90.4
	Strongly Agree	11	9.6	9.6	100.0
	Total	114	100.0	100.0

Frequency of using Urdu for avoidance

Table 6

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	18	15.8	15.8	15.8
	disagree	42	36.8	36.8	52.6
	neutral	23	20.2	20.2	72.8
	Agree	25	21.9	21.9	94.7
	Strongly Agree	6	5.3	5.3	100.0
	Total	114	100.0	100.0

Given up on speaking English.

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent	Frequency
Valid	Strongly Disagree	27	23.7	23.7	23.7	27
	disagree	45	39.5	39.5	63.2	45
	Neutral	24	21.1	21.1	84.2	24
	Agree	14	12.3	12.3	96.5	14
	Strongly Agree	4	3.5	3.5	100.0	4
	Total	114	100.0	100.0		114

Theme 3: Self-regulation and anxiety control

Analyzing emotional intelligence skills provided evidence of positive tendencies in participants' ability to regulate their language-related anxiety. Although only 14% stated they had trouble regulating their anxiety (11.4% disagreed, and 2.6% strongly disagreed), the majority of participants (59.6%) believed they could regulate their anxiety when speaking English (42.1% agreed, and 17.5% strongly agreed). A notable 26.3% of participants were neutral, which indicates participants might not necessarily believe in their ability to regulate their anxiety, while sometimes expressing their belief that they can regulate. There is still work to be done in the area of emotional intelligence skills alongside English use; however, these findings suggest that generally, students possess at least a moderate level of emotional intelligence skills at regulating linguistic anxiety, even among the quarter of respondents who were only neutral in their attitudes and behaviors to regulate anxiety. The positive skew in responses suggests that emotional intelligence makes a buffering contribution to offset language loss, which may help mitigate the negative consequences from accent-related bullying as revealed in previous studies. Although most students demonstrated a similarity in their responses, it is evident that there are some students who have created their own methods of dealing with the situation and would still require a targeted intervention and further strategies for their benefit.

Table 7 control my anxiety

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Strongly Disagree	3	2.6	2.6	2.6
	disagree	13	11.4	11.4	14.0
	neutral	30	26.3	26.3	40.4
	Agree	48	42.1	42.1	82.5
	Strongly Agree	20	17.5	17.5	100.0
	Total	114	100.0	100.0

Instrument Validation: Reliability Testing

The reliability analysis for the 4-item avoidance behavior scale was robust, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .769, demonstrating strong internal consistency, and that the items are measuring a common underlying construct. While "shamelessly mimicked" had the lowest mean (M = 2.53, SD = 0.95), meaning there was less reported behavior, "Use Urdu for answers" had the highest mean score (M = 3.09, SD = 1.17), representing accepted avoidance activity. All items showed adequate adjusted item-total correlations ranging from .500 ("shamelessly mimicked") to .676 ("judging me"), to suggest each Item contributed to the scale. Deleting "judging me" would have had the largest impact on the reliability of this scale (α = .653), suggesting its strong connections to this construct, while deleting "shamelessly mimicked" would have the least impact on reliability (α = .751).

Table 8

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha	Cronbach's Alpha
.742	.742

All items were tested for normality, and the items had standard deviations that were between 0.952 and 1.196, which demonstrates that the reactions to the different avoidance behaviours were also similarly distributed. From physiological reactions ("bodily tension") to verbal avoidances ("Use Urdu for answers"), all items (and thus the full construct) were retained, as the consideration here is that existing results demonstrate value in a 4-item scale for reliably measuring accent-related avoidance behaviours. The scale is reliable and can be used in follow-up inquiries into accent bullying and future avoidance behaviours.

Table 8

Table 9

Item Statistics
	Mean	Std. Deviation	N
Publicly mocked.	2.63	1.015	114
Heart races.	3.38	1.017	114
Hands shake.	2.96	1.055	114

Item-Total Statistics
Publicly mocked.	Publicly mocked.	Publicly mocked.	Publicly mocked.	Publicly mocked.
Heart races.	Heart races.	Heart races.	Heart races.	Heart races.
Hands shake.	Hands shake.	Hands shake.	Hands shake.	Hands shake.

Correlation between Accent Bullying, Speaking Anxiety, and Language Avoidance

The findings from the Pearson correlation analysis suggest that speaking anxiety, language avoidance behaviors, and experiences of accent bullying are highly positively correlated among Pakistani EFL learners. In particular, using Urdu rather than English between students and the teacher in classroom interactions (r =.513, p <.01) and perceived peer judgement (r =.571, p <.01) were found to have a relatively high correlation with bodily tension, which implies a role of social evaluation in both language attrition and increased anxiety. Similarly, being openly imitated was less correlated with anxiety symptoms (r =.387, p <.01) and willingness to avoid using English (r =.363, p <.01).

Importantly, we explored the possible positive association between the use of Urdu and body stress (r =.417, p <.01), providing evidence that students who were physically stressed because of anxiety were more likely to turn to their mother tongue the more physically stressed they were. These findings establish the physical and psychological impact of accent bullying on students' participation in the classroom and retention of English in the long term. Statistical Analysis of the Impact of Bullying on Language Avoidance.

Table 9 Correlations

Correlations		shamelessly mimicked	judging me	bodily tension	Use Urdu for answers
shamelessly mimicked	Pearson Correlation	1	.473**	.387**	.363**
	Sig. (2-tailed)		.000	.000	.000
	N	114	114	114	114
judging me	Pearson Correlation	.473**	1	.571**	.513**
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000		.000	.000
	N	114	114	114	114
bodily tension	Pearson Correlation	.387**	.571**	1	.417**
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000	.000		.000
	N	114	114	114	114
Use Urdu for answers	Pearson Correlation	.363**	.513**	.417**	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000	.000	.000
	N	114	114	114	114

"Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)."

Statistical Analysis of Bullying's Impact on Language Avoidance

The researchers performed a multiple linear regression analysis of 4 bullying-related predictors (publicly ridiculed, embarrassed by teacher correction, judged, and shamelessly imitated) with Use Urdu for answers as the dependent variable. One aimed to explore the relationship between bullying behaviours based on accent and avoidance behaviours. The model explained 26.4% of the variance of Urdu avoidance, which was statistically significant (F(4, 109) = 11.12, *p* <.001; adjusted R2 =.264). Judging me was the most significant predictor (β =.493, *p* <.001), providing evidence that language avoidance was primarily informed by fear of social judgment. There was only a slight possibility of a positive relationship while being shamelessly imitated (β =.185, *p* =.080). One found no significant effects on public ridicule or teacher corrections. Researchers confirmed there were no issues with multicollinearity by using collinearity diagnostics (all VIF < 2). This research acknowledged the significance of social appraisal as a major contributor to language attrition, yet the results showed that the influence of peer judgment was greater than that of instructor feedback when it came to the usage of Urdu instead of English.

Table 10 Statistical Analysis

Predictor	B (SE)	Β	*t*	*p*	95% CI	VIF
(Constant)	1.51 (0.33)	-	4.64	<.001	[0.86, 2.16]	-
Judging me	0.48 (0.10)	0.49	4.73	<.001	[0.28, 0.68]	1.67
Shamelessly mimicked	0.23 (0.13)	0.19	1.77	.080	[-0.03, 0.49]	1.68
Embarrassed by the teacher	-0.11 (0.10)	-0.11	-1.07	.286	[-0.31, 0.09]	1.49
Publicly mocked	-0.03 (0.12)	-0.02	-0.22	.830	[-0.26, 0.21]	1.75

Model Fit: R² = .29, Adjusted R² = .26, F(4, 109) = 11.12, *p* < .001

Discussion

The study has revealed the spread and complexity of accent-based bullying's impact on Pakistani EFL learners, proving its significant contribution to the rise of speaking anxiety and, what is even worse, to the complete extinction of the language skills that have been imparted to the learners. The quantitative data support the claim that various forms of bullying, ranging from the most extreme public humiliation to the most discreet social judgment, are closely associated with avoidance behaviors such as switching to Urdu or leaving English-speaking settings. One of the most striking points is that fear of social judgment was the leading factor in language avoidance (β = .493, p < .001), which means that the very act of avoidance is not only a struggle on the level of language but a socially mediated coping mechanism as well. This is in accordance with Bourdieu's (1991) idea of symbolic violence, according to which learners develop a feeling of being linguistically inferior and resort to avoidance in order to prevent the occurrence of any such humiliation.

These findings not only confirm the results of previous studies on linguistic discrimination (Dovchin, 2020b; Blommaert, 2010) but also add to that by distinguishing bullying into more specific behavioral types, and thus, being able to quantify the varying impact they have on the matter. The peer-initiated or, more particularly, social judgment and public ridicule, forms of bullying, had stronger effects on avoidance; however, teacher correction had also impacted the students' anxiety level, especially when the latter was done in a shame-inducing manner. Such a nuanced outcome shows the intricate power relations prevalent in Pakistani schools, where one's social status is directly proportional to his/her English proficiency level (Norman, 2017). Therefore, learners pronounced with a regional accent not only have to bear the burden of being marginalized but also that of being excluded from both the elite "standard" speech communities and, at the same time, from equitable participation in the classroom.

The study highlighted the importance of self-regulation of anxiety as a characteristic shared by most of the respondents, and a very large number of them acknowledged the ability to control fear and anxiety during English tasks. The researchers, however, did not relate this ability to "emotional intelligence" due to their limited time and resources, but it still points to the fact that coping and self-regulation strategies might help in not completely withdrawing from the language. This statement is in line with MacIntyre and Gardner's (1994) language anxiety theory, which argues that emotional regulation can lessen cognitive interference and thus be of help in language retention.

All these observations directly affect teaching and governing approaches. EFL teachers in Pakistan should no longer be considered solely as pronunciation correctors, but rather as trainers skilled in providing linguistically responsive and psychologically safe corrective feedback. In addition, institutional policies should support the development of accent-inclusive curricula that affirm the existence of different regional varieties of English and that do away with implicit hierarchies favoring "neutral" or native-like accents. Social interventions like structured speaking circles and anti-bullying programs could be some of the measures taken to lessen the impact of social evaluative threats driving avoidance.

Conclusion

In this research paper, the authors, among other things, stress the point that accent-based bullying, along with its negative effects on speaking confidence, participation in class, and language retention, is a widespread and a teacher's and students in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in Pakistan. The different forms of bullying, i.e., public ridicule, social judgment, covert exclusion, and teacher correction, were quantitatively analyzed, and the research revealed that fear of social appraisal was the strongest reason for language avoidance. This supports Bourdieu's (1991) claim that the decay of linguistic hierarchies through everyday symbolic violence is the process that learners frequently revert to their first language to skillfully avoid the situation.

Anxiety self-regulation has been considered as another possible factor in the context of the study, that the learners who can manage their emotions may become less susceptible to language loss. The results will contribute to the theoretical and practical discussions on linguistic equity, with the evidence being one of the ways leading to more inclusive EFL pedagogies in Pakistan and similar postcolonial settings. The current research does provide some significant signs of accent bullying in Pakistani EFL environments, but at the same time, there are still quite a few limitations that need to be considered. The cross-sectional design and the use of self-reported data from a sample that was skewed towards male, English-speaking, and educated students limit causal inference and generalization. Yet, the repercussions for pedagogy are still huge: the results emphasize the immediate requirement for teacher education in linguistically inclusive corrective feedback, the establishment of accent-awareness modules in the syllabus, and, above all, the creation of classroom atmospheres that minimize the social-evaluative threat. To explore the emotional and intellectual routes by which bullying causes language loss, long-term and mixed-methods studies with larger and more diverse samples are suggested.

Appendix

Questionnaire

Section 1: Demographic Information (Confidential & Anonymous)

Age: _____

Gender: ○ Male ○ Female ○ Other _____

Education Level: ○ School ○ College ○ University

Years of English Learning: _____

Medium of Previous Education: ○ Urdu ○ English ○ Both ○ Other _____

Section 2: Experiences with Accent Bullying

According to this survey, "accent bullying" occurs when someone consistently: makes fun of, imitates, or laughs at your English, ignores or excludes you due to your accent,
Humiliates you for mispronouncing words. Both direct (visible) and indirect (hidden) behaviors are included in this.

Instructions: How often do these things happen to you? (1=Never, 5=Very Often)

Overt Bullying (Obvious teasing or humiliation)

1. My English accent is publicly mocked or laughed at by students.

○ 1 ○ 2 ○ 3 ○ 4 ○ 5

2. My accent has been shamelessly mimicked by someone to make fun of me.

○ 1 ○ 2 ○ 3 ○ 4 ○ 5

3. I felt embarrassed when a teacher corrected my English in front of the entire class.

○ 1 ○ 2 ○ 3 ○ 4 ○ 5

Covert Bullying (Hidden or subtle disrespect)

1. Because of my accent, students ignore me during group projects.

○ 1 ○ 2 ○ 3 ○ 4 ○ 5

2. False compliments regarding my English are made.

○ 1 ○ 2 ○ 3 ○ 4 ○ 5

3. My accent leads people to ignore my thoughts.

○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

Avoidance & Confidence

1. I avoid talking in English class because I worry about others judging me for my accent.

○ 1 ○ 2 ○ 3 ○ 4 ○ 5

Section 3: Fear, Stress & Language Inhibition

Emotional Impact *(1=Never, 5=Always)*

2. When I'm called to speak in English in class, my heart races.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

3. When I speak in English in class, my hands shake.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

4. During English presentations, I experience bodily tension (sweating, shaking, etc.).

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

Avoidance Behaviors *(1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree)*

5. I avoid speaking in English by acting as though I don't know the answer.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

6. When I know there will be an oral exercise in English class, I skip it.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

7. I use Urdu instead of English even when I know the answer.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

Long-Term Effects

8. I think my accent will always be a hindrance to my success.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

9. Because of past bullying, I now hate English.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

10. I even use Urdu rather than English when I know the answer.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

11. I've given up trying to improve my spoken English.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

Section 4: Emotional Strength (NEW)

Understanding Feelings:

12. When I start to feel anxious about English, I can tell.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

13. I recognize when people are too shy about speaking.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

14. I recognize when people are too shy about speaking.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

15. I recognize when people are too shy about speaking.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

Staying Strong:

16. I can control my emotions in class

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

17. I continue practice speaking despite being bullied.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

Helping Others:

18. Those who face bullying, I help them overcome it.

• ○1 ○2 ○3 ○4 ○5

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