Processing an Unfamiliar Regional Accent of English by Dutch Second Language Learners of English

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2019-06-12
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en
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In this study it was investigated to what extent Dutch second language learners of English experience difficulties when they have to process an unfamiliar regional accent of their second language English. The Dutch second language learners of English had to transcribe British standard accented sentences and Scottish regional accented sentences. The British standard accent functioned as the familiar accent and the Scottish regional accent functioned as the unfamiliar accent. During this task accuracy scores and processing times were measured for both accents in a pre- and post-test (for both accents). In addition, the effect of more exposure was investigated, i.e. whether more exposure of the (previous) unfamiliar accent results in better performances on accuracy scores and reaction times in the post-test. More exposure was created with a 4-minute story in between the pre- and post-test. Another point of interest was the order in which the British and Scottish accent were presented to the Dutch second language learners of English, i.e. can a beneficial effect be gained on the processing of the unfamiliar (Scottish) accent, in terms of higher accuracy scores and faster reaction times, when the familiar British standard accent is heard before the Scottish unfamiliar regional accent (order: British-Scottish, or vice versa)? Results of this study showed that participants scored in general significantly higher accuracy scores and significantly faster reaction times on the British standard accent than on the Scottish regional accent. More exposure of the Scottish regional accent only had a positive outcome on the accuracy scores in the post-test when participants were exposed to the Scottish-British order. Additionally, Scottish regional accented sentences were processed significantly faster when participants were exposed to the Scottish-British order.
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