The Effect of Diverse Linguistic Experience on Second Language--Accented English Sentence Recognition Among Monolingual and Spanish--English Bilingual Children and Adults.
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| Title: | The Effect of Diverse Linguistic Experience on Second Language--Accented English Sentence Recognition Among Monolingual and Spanish--English Bilingual Children and Adults. |
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| Authors: | Cowan, Tiana M.1 Tiana.Cowan@boystown.org, Buss, Emily2, Leibold, Lori J.3, Olmstead, Anne J.4 |
| Source: | Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Feb2026, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p756-773. 18p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Dialects, *English as a foreign language, *Multilingualism, *Speech audiometry, *Speech perception, *Hearing, Research funding, Descriptive statistics, Linguistics, Spanish language, English language, Phonetics |
| Geographic Terms: | Nebraska |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This project evaluates whether diverse linguistic experience influences second language (L2)–accented English sentence recognition in Spanish–English bilingual and English monolingual school-age children and adults. Method: Four groups of participants completed the study: 22 Spanish–English bilingual school-age children, 21 English monolingual school-age children, 19 Spanish--English bilingual adults, and 19 English monolingual adults. Participants completed English sentence recognition and English language testing. Sentence recognition was assessed in speech-shaped noise at ascending target-to-masker ratios in three accent conditions: Korean (unfamiliar to all), Midland (familiar to all), and Spanish (familiar to the bilingual group). Speech recognition thresholds associated with 50% correct performance (SRT50) and asymptotic performance were extracted from psychometric function fits to behavioral data. Results: Adults had lower (better) SRT50s in the Spanish and Korean accent conditions compared to children. Estimates of recognition in quiet were better for bilingual children tested in the Spanish and Korean accent conditions compared to monolingual children. The effect size was larger in the Spanish accent condition. There were no language group differences in performance among adults. Conclusions: For children, prior experience with a specific L2 accent offers significant benefit in accurately recognizing sentences spoken by talkers of that accent. This effect is not observed in adults, potentially reflecting differences in language experience between Spanish--English bilingual child and adult participants. Although greater diversity in linguistic input is also positively associated with recognition of unfamiliar accented speech in children, its effect is smaller than that of accent-specific experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 191547613 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Effect of Diverse Linguistic Experience on Second Language--Accented English Sentence Recognition Among Monolingual and Spanish--English Bilingual Children and Adults. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cowan%2C+Tiana+M%2E%22">Cowan, Tiana M.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> Tiana.Cowan@boystown.org</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Buss%2C+Emily%22">Buss, Emily</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Leibold%2C+Lori+J%2E%22">Leibold, Lori J.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Olmstead%2C+Anne+J%2E%22">Olmstead, Anne J.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language+%26+Hearing+Research%22">Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p756-773. 18p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dialects%22">Dialects</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+as+a+foreign+language%22">English as a foreign language</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingualism%22">Multilingualism</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+audiometry%22">Speech audiometry</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+perception%22">Speech perception</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hearing%22">Hearing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Linguistics%22">Linguistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spanish+language%22">Spanish language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+language%22">English language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonetics%22">Phonetics</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nebraska%22">Nebraska</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Purpose: This project evaluates whether diverse linguistic experience influences second language (L2)–accented English sentence recognition in Spanish–English bilingual and English monolingual school-age children and adults. Method: Four groups of participants completed the study: 22 Spanish–English bilingual school-age children, 21 English monolingual school-age children, 19 Spanish--English bilingual adults, and 19 English monolingual adults. Participants completed English sentence recognition and English language testing. Sentence recognition was assessed in speech-shaped noise at ascending target-to-masker ratios in three accent conditions: Korean (unfamiliar to all), Midland (familiar to all), and Spanish (familiar to the bilingual group). Speech recognition thresholds associated with 50% correct performance (SRT50) and asymptotic performance were extracted from psychometric function fits to behavioral data. Results: Adults had lower (better) SRT50s in the Spanish and Korean accent conditions compared to children. Estimates of recognition in quiet were better for bilingual children tested in the Spanish and Korean accent conditions compared to monolingual children. The effect size was larger in the Spanish accent condition. There were no language group differences in performance among adults. Conclusions: For children, prior experience with a specific L2 accent offers significant benefit in accurately recognizing sentences spoken by talkers of that accent. This effect is not observed in adults, potentially reflecting differences in language experience between Spanish--English bilingual child and adult participants. Although greater diversity in linguistic input is also positively associated with recognition of unfamiliar accented speech in children, its effect is smaller than that of accent-specific experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00695 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 18 StartPage: 756 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Dialects Type: general – SubjectFull: English as a foreign language Type: general – SubjectFull: Multilingualism Type: general – SubjectFull: Speech audiometry Type: general – SubjectFull: Speech perception Type: general – SubjectFull: Hearing Type: general – SubjectFull: Research funding Type: general – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics Type: general – SubjectFull: Linguistics Type: general – SubjectFull: Spanish language Type: general – SubjectFull: English language Type: general – SubjectFull: Phonetics Type: general – SubjectFull: Nebraska Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Effect of Diverse Linguistic Experience on Second Language--Accented English Sentence Recognition Among Monolingual and Spanish--English Bilingual Children and Adults. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Cowan, Tiana M. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Buss, Emily – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Leibold, Lori J. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Olmstead, Anne J. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 02 Text: Feb2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10924388 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 69 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research Type: main |
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