Second Language Learners Listening to their Peers: Is There a Shared L1 Effect for L2 Comprehensibility and Accentedness?

Abstract Previous research on the perception of second-language speech has suggested that non-native listeners may benefit from sharing the speakers’ first language, e.g. speakers of Spanish find Spanish-accented English easy to understand. In the present study, L2 English speech samples elicited from L1 Finnish and L1 Finland-Swedish speakers were rated for comprehensibility and accentedness by English-speaking listeners and the speakers’ peers, seeking to explore whether there is a difference between the listener groups. In addition, the speakers’ overall spoken proficiency (A2, B1, B2 on the CEFR scale) was considered in the analysis to find out if the possible shared L1 effect is connected to the speakers’ proficiency. The results were mixed, finding that L1 Finland-Swedish listeners were more lenient towards their peers’ English than the English-speaking listeners were, whereas L1 Finnish listeners gave comprehensibility ratings equal to those given by English-speaking listeners, and accentedness ratings that were stricter. The finding supports earlier suggestions on the effects of sharing the speakers’ L1 for L2 speech perception being L1 dependent. As for the influence of the speakers’ proficiency, the results demonstrate a greater difference between English-speaking listeners and listeners who share the speakers’ L1 regarding low-proficiency speakers.