Presentation

Foreign Accent Perception in L2 Spanish: The Role of Proficiency and L2 Experience

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Abstract

Previous research on the perception of foreign accent by nonnative listeners generally focused on the perception of very few highly proficient individuals and ESL learners, while fewer studies have reported on the perception of foreign accent by classroom language learners. The present study investigates the effects of grammatical proficiency, study abroad experience, and pronunciation instruction experience on the perception of degree of foreign accent by 160 nonnative listeners who were primarily classroom learners of Spanish. The results show that nonnative listeners’ ratings of foreign accent in Spanish varied as a result of proficiency, study abroad, and pronunciation instruction. This line of research is relevant to language teaching because it examines what nonnative listeners at different stages of development perceive as foreign-accented.

How to Cite:

Schoonmaker-Gates, E., (2011) “Foreign Accent Perception in L2 Spanish: The Role of Proficiency and L2 Experience”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 3(1).