‘Created’ sample speech from somewhere in an inner-circle country (e.g. The UK, USA or Australia).

Doctor -“Thank you for coming zees morning; how can I help?”

Patient– “I have a sore throat.”

Doctor – “Okay. I will prescribe to you zees medicine. Please take zeees tablets, three times a day; is zees clear?”

Patient – “Yes thank you.”

Doctor – “Thank you for coming.”

• By reading the dialogue, did you fully understand what the doctor said without reservation?
• What if you were the listener, i.e. the patient?
• Looking at the sample of speech, should this person’s slight difference in pronunciation be ignored in the examination?
• Would you say that this person’s speech ‘communicates clearly the task at hand’?
• If so, then is that not the point of communication?
• Importantly, should some non-native speaker norms be deemed acceptable within international exams?

The underlying question here is whether International English Exams should recognise these slight differences in speaking as acceptable, the premise being that if the receiver understands what is being said, then the communication here is successful. What do you think?