The relationship among accent familiarity, shared L1, and comprehensibility
A path analysis perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19380702 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yongzhi Miao (0000-0002-1467-5688, Northern Arizona University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 723-747 |
| Publication date | 2023-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language Testing (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0265-5322 • E-ISSN: 1477-0946 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/02655322231156105 |
| OpenAlex | W4324046939 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 39 |
Scholars have argued for the inclusion of different spoken varieties of English in high-stakes listening tests to better represent the global use of English. However, doing so may introduce additional construct-irrelevant variance due to accent familiarity and the shared first language (L1) advantage, which could threaten test fairness. However, it is unclear to what extent accent familiarity and a shared L1 are related to or conflated with each other. The present study investigates the relationship between accent familiarity, a shared L1, and comprehensibility. Results from descriptive statistics and Mann–Whitney U test based on 302 second language (L2) English listeners’ responses to an online questionnaire suggested that a shared L1 meant high accent familiarity, but not vice versa. A path analysis revealed a complex relationship between accent familiarity, a shared L1, and comprehensibility. While a shared L1 had a direct effect on accent familiarity, and accent familiarity had a direct effect on comprehensibility, a shared L1 did not predict comprehensibility when accent familiarity was controlled for. These results disentangle accent familiarity from a shared L1. Researchers should consider both constructs when investigating fairness in relation to World Englishes for listening assessment
Active listening · Cognitive psychology · Linguistics · Communication · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology · Social Psychology
Assessing Phonology in Applied Linguistics
Accent and topic familiarity in L2 listening comprehension
Segmentals weigh much more in comprehensibility than nuclear stress in read speech
Japanese EFL learners’ comprehension and perceptions of three different accents in listening assessment
The Relationship Between Listeners’ Cultural Preferences and L2 Speech Perception
An empirical approach to measuring accent familiarity
Assessing intelligibility as conceptualised within the Cefr-companion volume (CV) framework using Adaptive Comparative Judgement
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Revisiting raters’ accent familiarity in speaking tests
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The Mutual Intelligibility of L2 Speech
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Examining the effects of different English speech varieties on an L2 academic listening comprehension test at the item level
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Responses to Dutch‐accented English
The effects of accent familiarity and language teaching experience on raters' judgments of non-native speech
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Exploring measures and perceptions of fluency in the speech of second language learners
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The Effects of Nonnative Accents on Listening Comprehension
What Characterizes Comprehensible and Native‐like Pronunciation Among English‐as‐a‐Second‐Language Speakers? Meta‐Analyses of Phonological, Rater, and Instructional Factors
The Effects of International Accents and Shared First Language on Listening Comprehension Tests
Do Native Speakers of North American and Singapore English Differentially Perceive Comprehensibility in Second Language Speech
Processing Time, Accent, and Comprehensibility in the Perception of Native and Foreign-Accented Speech
Intelligibility and the Listener
Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling
The Effect of Familiarity on the Comprehensibility of Nonnative Speech
Empirical Approaches to Measuring the Intelligibility of Different Varieties of English in Predicting Listener Comprehension
Intelligibility and Comprehensibility of American andIrish Englishes in Japan
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |