Relative Difficulty of Understanding Foreign Accents as a Marker of Proficiency

Lev‐Ari, Shiri; Heugten, Marieke van; Peperkamp, Sharon

doi:10.1111/cogs.12394

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…This matches findings that have been observed for native listeners (e.g., Grey & Van Hell, 2017) and fits with other evidence that foreign-accented speech tends to produce comprehension difficulty (e.g., Munro & Derwing, 1995a). Considering the high L2 proficiency of the participants (see Table 1), the finding is also in line with recent research showing that, perhaps counter-intuitively, greater relative difficulty in understanding foreign-accented speech may be an indicator of higher L2 proficiency, at least for L2 listeners who are processing a foreign accent different from their own (Lev‐Ari et al, 2017; note that they tested lexical identification).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Such work has mainly focused on L2 listeners who are processing speech in native-accented and L1-congruent foreign-accented conditions. Few studies (e.g., Lev‐Ari, Heugten & Peperkamp, 2017; Weber, Di Betta & McQueen, 2014) have explicitly examined how L2 listeners process foreign-accented speech that is different from (incongruent with) their own L1 background, for example, Dutch L1–English L2 listeners processing Chinese-English accented speech. With increasing globalization and international communication many L2 speaker-listeners process a variety of foreign accents in their daily conversations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Processing foreign-accented speech in a second language: Evidence from ERPs during sentence comprehension in bilinguals

Grey

Schubel

McQueen³

et al. 2018

Bilingualism

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This study examined electrophysiological correlates of sentence comprehension of native-accented and foreign-accented speech in a second language (L2), for sentences produced in a foreign accent different from that associated with the listeners' L1. Bilingual speaker-listeners process different accents in their L2 conversations, but the effects on real-time L2 sentence comprehension are unknown. Dutch–English bilinguals listened to native American-English accented sentences and foreign (and for them unfamiliarly-accented) Chinese-English accented sentences while EEG was recorded. Behavioral sentence comprehension was highly accurate for both native-accented and foreign-accented sentences. ERPs showed different patterns for L2 grammar and semantic processing of native- and foreign-accented speech. For grammar, only native-accented speech elicited an Nref. For semantics, both native- and foreign-accented speech elicited an N400 effect, but with a delayed onset across both accent conditions. These findings suggest that the way listeners comprehend native- and foreign-accented sentences in their L2 depends on their familiarity with the accent.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing foreign-accented speech in a second language: Evidence from ERPs during sentence comprehension in bilinguals

Grey

Schubel

McQueen³

et al. 2018

Bilingualism

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“…Some support for this hypothesis exists, as age of acquisition is a good predictor of L2 consonant and vowel perception (Flege, 2007) such that early (childhood) bilinguals are more accurate than late (adolescent and adult) bilinguals. Furthermore, subtle differences in L1 (e.g., Flege 1987; Kang & Guion, 2006) and L2 speech perception and production (e.g., Lev‐Ari, van Heugten, & Peperkamp, 2017; Mayo, Florentine, & Buus, 1997; Sebastián-Gallés, Echeverría, & Bosch, 2005) have been observed between early and late bilinguals. For example, Sebastián-Gallés and collegues (2005) tested both sequential Catalan-Spanish and Spanish-Catalan bilinguals as well as simultaneous bilinguals of the same two languages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing and Comprehension of Accented Speech by Monolingual and Bilingual Children

McDonald

Gross

Buac

et al. 2017

Language Learning and Development

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This study tested the effect of Spanish-accented speech on sentence comprehension in children with different degrees of Spanish experience. The hypothesis was that earlier acquisition of Spanish would be associated with enhanced comprehension of Spanish-accented speech. Three groups of 5–6 year old children were tested: monolingual English-speaking children, simultaneous Spanish-English bilingual children and early English-Spanish bilingual children. The children completed a semantic judgment task in English on semantically meaningful and nonsensical sentences produced by a native English speaker and a native Spanish speaker characterized by a strong Spanish accent. All children were slower to respond to foreign accented speech, independent of language background. Monolingual and early bilingual children showed reduced comprehension accuracy of accented speech, but only for nonsensical sentences. Simultaneous bilingual children performed similarly to other groups for meaningful contexts, but were not as strongly affected by accent for nonsensical contexts. Together, the findings suggest that children’s language background has only a minor influence on processing of accented speech.

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“…Jenkins (2000) claims that native English language speakers' pronunciation is not the most intelligible. However, non-native English language speakers' deviations from the native standard form make non-native speech even more difficult (Lev-Ari, van Heugten & Peperkamp, 2016). This is especially true when the non-native listener is not familiar with another non-native speaker's accent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lingua Franca Core: A Plausible Option?

Olea

2019

HOW

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One important decision that English language teachers should make is to decide on a pronunciation model. This decision should be based not only on mere preference, but also on technical information. This paper seeks to review the Lingua Franca Core (LFC), a pronunciation model proposed by Jennifer Jenkins (1998, 2000) in an attempt to facilitate communication for L2 speakers. This paper also presents a set of reactions that her proposal has prompted in scholars in the area of teaching English language pronunciation. Such reactions are the manifestation of rejection of the LFC which is based on a number of arguments. First, there is no agreement as to the number of interactions that occur in English in L1 and L2 contexts. Thus, the predominant use of L2 speakers of English is questioned. Secondly, the advantage of the intelligibility of non-native speakers over native speakers in interaction with other non-native speakers is also subjected to scrutiny. Finally, a special focus on implications for the L1-Spanish-speaking learner of English is proposed, as well as for English language teachers who teach pronunciation. For instance, a series of issues which could facilitate the learner’s workload is discussed. One the other hand, the implementation of the LFC implies that the amount of work to be done by the teacher would be drastically increased. This necessarily entails a disadvantage in terms of both time and teaching materials to be allocated by the English Language Teaching (ELT) professional.

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Relative Difficulty of Understanding Foreign Accents as a Marker of Proficiency

Cited by 8 publications

References 25 publications

Processing foreign-accented speech in a second language: Evidence from ERPs during sentence comprehension in bilinguals

Processing foreign-accented speech in a second language: Evidence from ERPs during sentence comprehension in bilinguals

Processing and Comprehension of Accented Speech by Monolingual and Bilingual Children

Lingua Franca Core: A Plausible Option?

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