Cover not available

Article published In: 25 years of Intelligibility, Comprehensibility and Accentedness
Edited by John M. Levis, Tracey M. Derwing and Murray J. Munro
[Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 6:3] 2020
► pp. 283–309

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility, redux

ORCiD logo with link | Simon Fraser University
ORCiD logo with link | Simon Fraser University | University of Alberta
Published online: 31 August 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.20038.mun
Abstract
We revisit Munro, M. J. & Derwing, T. M. (1995a). Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 451, 73–97. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, providing retrospective commentary on our original methods and findings. Using what are now well-established assessment techniques, the study examined the interrelationships among accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second-language learners. The key finding was that the dimensions at issue are related, but partially independent. Of particular note was our observation that speech can be heavily accented but highly intelligible. To provide a fresh perspective on the original data we report a few new analyses, including more up-to-date statistical modeling. Throughout the original text we intersperse insights we have gained over the past 25 years. We conclude with retrospective interpretations, including thoughts on the relevance of the study to contemporary second language teaching and especially pronunciation instruction.
Article outline
  • Intelligibility, comprehensibility and pronunciation
    • Method
      • Speech materials
        • Speakers
        • Recording
        • Listeners
    • Procedure
    • Results
      • Coding
    • Analyses
      • Judgment tasks
      • Orthographic transcription task
      • Cross-task comparisons
    • Discussion
  • Implications for second language teaching and research
    • Retrospective interpretations
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (42)
References
Abercrombie, D. (1949). Teaching pronunciation. English Language Teaching, 31, 113–122. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Anderson-Hsieh, J., Johnson, R., & Koehler, K. (1992). The relationship between native speaker judgments of nonnative pronunciation and deviance in segmentals, prosody, and syllable structure. Language Learning, 421, 529–555. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B., and Walker, S. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brennan, E. M., & Brennan, J. S. (1981). Accent scaling and language attitudes: Reactions to Mexican American English speech. Language & Speech, 241, 207–221. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Catford, J. C. (1987). Phonetics and the teaching of pronunciation: A systemic description of English phonology. In J. Morley (Ed.), Current perspectives on pronunciation: Practices anchored in theory (pp. 83–100). Washington, DC: TESOL.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M. (2016). The 3 P’s of ESL in the workplace: Proficiency, pronunciation and pragmatics. In H. McGarrell & D. Wood (Eds.) Contact, Refereed Proceedings of the TESL Ontario Research Symposium, 42 (2), 10–20.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (1997). Accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility: Evidence from four L1s. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 191, 1–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M. & Munro, M. J. (2009). Comprehensibility as a factor in listener interaction preferences: Implications for the workplace. Canadian Modern Language Review, 66 (2) 181–202. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). The development of L2 oral language skills in two L1 groups: A seven-year study. Language Learning, 631, 163–185. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., Foote, J. A., Waugh, E. & Fleming, J. (2014). Opening the window on comprehensible pronunciation after 19 years: A workplace training study. Language Learning, 641, 526–548. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J. & Thomson, R. I. (2008). A longitudinal study of ESL learners’ fluency and comprehensibility development. Applied Linguistics, 291, 359–380. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J. & Wiebe, G. E. (1998). Evidence in favor of a broad framework for pronunciation instruction. Language Learning, 481, 393–410. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech. Journal of Multilingualism and Multicultural Development, 231, 245–259. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., Munro, M. J. & Thomson, R. I. (2004). L2 fluency: Judgments on different tasks. Language Learning, 541, 655–679. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Derwing, T. M., Waugh, E., Munro, M. J. (in press). Pragmatically speaking: Preparing adult ESL students for the workplace. Applied Pragmatics.
De Weers, N. (2020). A critical (re)assessment of the effect of speaker ethnicity on speech processing and evaluation. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Department of Linguistics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fayer, J. M., & Krasinski, E. (1987). Native and nonnative judgments of intelligibility and irritation. Language Learning, 371, 313–326. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gass, S. M., & Varonis, E. M. (1984). The effect of familiarity on the comprehensibility of nonnative speech. Language Learning, 34(1), 65–89. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gordon, J. (to appear). Pronunciation and task-based instruction: Effects of a classroom intervention. RELC Journal Special Issue, 52(1).
Hahn, L. D. (2004). Primary stress and intelligibility: Research to motivate the teaching of suprasegmentals. TESOL Quarterly, 38(2), 201–223. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kang, O. & Moran, M. (2014). Functional loads of pronunciation features in non-native speakers’ oral assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 481, 176–187. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kang, O., Rubin, D., & Lindemann, S. (2015). Mitigating U.S. undergraduates’ attitudes toward international teaching assistants. TESOL Quarterly, 491, 681–706. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lindemann, S., Campbell, M. -A., Litzenberg, J., & Subtirelu, N. C. (2016). Explicit and implicit training methods for improving native English speakers’ comprehension of nonnative speech. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 21, 93–107. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lindemann, S., & Subtirelu, N. (2013). Reliably biased: The role of listener expectation in the perception of second language speech. Language Learning, 63(3), 567–594. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Munro, M. J. (1995). Nonsegmental factors in foreign accent: Ratings of filtered speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 17 (1), 17–34. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2018). Dimensions of pronunciation. In O. Kang, R. Thomson, & J. Murphy. The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary English Pronunciation. pp. 413–431. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Munro, M. J. & Derwing, T. M. (1995a). Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 451, 73–97. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Munro , M. J. , & Derwing , T. M. ( 1995b ). Processing time for native and foreign accented speech . Language & Speech, 381, 289–306. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (1994). Evaluations of foreign accent in extemporaneous and read material. Language Testing, 111, 253–266. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Munro, M. J. & Derwing, T. M. (2001). Modelling perceptions of the comprehensibility and accentedness of L2 speech: The role of speaking rate. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 231, 451–468. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2006). The functional load principle in ESL pronunciation instruction: An exploratory study. System, 341, (520–531). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Munro, M. J., Derwing, T. M., & Holtby, A. K. (2012). Evaluating individual variability in foreign accent comprehension. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.). Proceedings of the 3rd Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, Sept. 2011, (pp. 233–239). Ames, IA: Iowa State University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Brien, M. G. (2016). Methodological choices in rating speech samples. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38(3), 587–605. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rondeau, G. (1972). Le français international, Livre 21. Montréal: Centre Educatif et Culturel.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schairer, K. (1992). Native speaker reaction to non-native speech. Modern Language Journal, 761, 309–319. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979). Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin, 861, 420–428. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thomson, R. I. & Derwing, T. M. (2015). The effectiveness of L2 pronunciation instruction: A narrative review. Applied Linguistics, 361, 326–344. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van Els, T. & De Bot, K. (1987). The role of intonation in foreign accent. Modern Language Journal, 711, 147–155. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Varonis, E. M., & Gass, S. M. (1982). The comprehensibility of nonnative speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41, 114–136. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, R. & Yuan, Z. (2020). Examining the effects of explicit pronunciation instruction on the development of L2 pronunciation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zielinski, B. (2008). The listener: No longer the silent partner in reduced intelligibility. System, 36(1), 69–84. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (59)

Cited by 59 other publications

Playsted, Skye & Damon P. Thomas
2026. Language teachers regaining a sense of praxis in pronunciation teaching and learning through Exploratory Practice as professional learning in Australia. System 136 ► pp. 103876 ff. DOI logo
Aalto, Eija M.A., Hana Ben Asker, Lucie Ménard, Walcir Cardoso & Catherine Laporte
2025. Ultrasound imaging in second language research: Systematic review and thematic analysis. Speech Communication 175 ► pp. 103324 ff. DOI logo
Azam, Summiya, Muhammad Habib Qazi & Tahir Saleem
2025. Analyzing Intonational Variation and Pragmatic Strategies in High-Imposition Requests and Refusals by L1 and L2 Speakers. Corpus Pragmatics 9:3 ► pp. 367 ff. DOI logo
Burton, J. Dylan
2025. The interplay of nonverbal behavior, affect, and language in perceptions of second language ability. The Modern Language Journal DOI logo
Chau, Tuc & Amanda Huensch
2025. The relationships among L2 fluency, intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 47:1 ► pp. 282 ff. DOI logo
Choi, Whyunyoung
2025. The role of changes in pronunciation ability and anxiety through Gen-AI on EFL learners’ self-directed speaking motivation and social interaction confidence - A CHAT perspective. System 133 ► pp. 103788 ff. DOI logo
Gao, Entong, Yun Liu, Yage Zhou, Jialu Guo & Zhe Chen
2025. How does comprehension affect user experience quality in multilanguage voice-activated intelligent education?. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 203 ► pp. 103551 ff. DOI logo
Gordon, Sidney & Natalia Meir
2025. Understanding accentedness in heritage language English speakers: Key predictors. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Hansen Edwards, Jette G. & Mary L. Zampini
2025. The impact of audio versus audiovisual stimuli with or without face masking on judgements about different varieties of Asian English. World Englishes DOI logo
Hu, Xueyan, Li-Jen Kuo & L. Quentin Dixon
2025. Effectiveness of interventions on improving English language learners’ intelligibility and comprehensibility: A meta-analytic review. Language Teaching Research 29:5 ► pp. 2046 ff. DOI logo
Jeong, Hyeseung & Stephanie Lindemann
2025. Beyond ideologies of nativeness in the intelligibility principle for L2 English pronunciation: A corpus-supported review. System 129 ► pp. 103599 ff. DOI logo
Kolesnichenko, Marina & Vitalii Kapitan
2025. Intelligent Approaches to Computer Testing of Perception and Production Skills of Russian EFL Speakers. Journal of Language and Education 11:2 ► pp. 75 ff. DOI logo
McCrocklin, Shannon & John Levis
2025. Automatic speech recognition and pronunciation learning. Language Teaching ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Munro, Murray J., Tracey M. Derwing & Kazuya Saito
2025. Aspiring to Aspirate: L2 Acquisition of English Word-Initial /p/ Over 10 Years. Language and Speech 68:2 ► pp. 247 ff. DOI logo
Simon, Ellen
2025. Second Language Phonology, DOI logo
Squizzero, Robert
2025. The Effects of Perceived Ethnicity and Prosodic Accuracy on Intelligibility, Comprehensibility, and Accentedness in L2 Mandarin Chinese. Language and Speech DOI logo
Sweeting, Arizio M. & Michael D. Carey
2025. Strengthening the nexus of research and practice in CELTA pronunciation instruction. System 130 ► pp. 103623 ff. DOI logo
Szymanski, Mike & Carlo Brighi
2025. “Do you understand me correctly?” The role of accents in communication in global virtual teams. Journal of International Management 31:2 ► pp. 101221 ff. DOI logo
Yanping, Deng
2025. Chinese university students' attitudes towards their own English accent in Global Englishes: A grounded theory literature review. Review of Education 13:2 DOI logo
Bashori, Muzakki, Roeland van Hout, Helmer Strik & Catia Cucchiarini
2024.  I Can Speak : improving English pronunciation through automatic speech recognition-based language learning systems . Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 18:5 ► pp. 443 ff. DOI logo
Bashori, Muzakki, Roeland van Hout, Helmer Strik & Catia Cucchiarini
2024. ‘Look, I can speak correctly’: learning vocabulary and pronunciation through websites equipped with automatic speech recognition technology. Computer Assisted Language Learning 37:5-6 ► pp. 1335 ff. DOI logo
Bradlow, Ann R.
2024. Bilingual Speech Intelligibility. In The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Phonetics and Phonology, ► pp. 746 ff. DOI logo
Chernyak, Bronya R., Ann R. Bradlow, Joseph Keshet & Matthew Goldrick
2024. A perceptual similarity space for speech based on self-supervised speech representations. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 155:6 ► pp. 3915 ff. DOI logo
Crowther, Dustin & Daniel R. Isbell
2024. Second language speech comprehensibility: A research agenda. Language Teaching 57:4 ► pp. 533 ff. DOI logo
Ghaffarvand-Mokari, Payam
2024. Effects of listeners’ dialectal variation on comprehensibility and accentedness judgements of second language speech. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 10:1 ► pp. 35 ff. DOI logo
Granget, Cyrille, Cecilia Gunnarsson, Inès Saddour, Clara Solier, Vera Serrau & Charlotte Alazard
2024. The Effects of Orthography on the Pronunciation of Nasal Vowels by L1 Japanese Learners of L3 French: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study of Speech in Interaction. Education Sciences 14:3 ► pp. 234 ff. DOI logo
Levis, John M.
2024. Key issues in L2 pronunciation research. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 10:3 ► pp. 293 ff. DOI logo
Levis, John M. & Charlie Nagle
2024. Bridging the Gap between Bilingual Phonetic Research and Pronunciation Teaching. In The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Phonetics and Phonology, ► pp. 791 ff. DOI logo
Matsui, Sanae
2024. The role of acoustic similarity in listening to foreign-accented speech: Recognition of Spanish-accented English words by Japanese native listeners. Acoustical Science and Technology 45:4 ► pp. 216 ff. DOI logo
Miao, Yongzhi, Heath Rose & Sepideh Hosseini
2024. The Interaction Effect of Pronunciation and Lexicogrammar on Comprehensibility: A Case of Mandarin-Accented English. Language and Speech 67:1 ► pp. 3 ff. DOI logo
Pérez-Ramón, Rubén
2024. Discrimination of Degrees of Foreign Accent across Different Speakers. Languages 9:3 ► pp. 72 ff. DOI logo
Sun, Hui, Kazuya Saito & Jean‐Marc Dewaele
2024. Cognitive and Sociopsychological Individual Differences, Experience, and Naturalistic Second Language Speech Learning: A Longitudinal Study. Language Learning 74:1 ► pp. 5 ff. DOI logo
Syam, Abdi Rahmat, Sheena Gardner & Michael Cribb
2024. Pronunciation Features of Indonesian-Accented English. Languages 9:6 ► pp. 222 ff. DOI logo
Tang, Jing & Jiayong He
2024. Segmentals weigh much more in comprehensibility than nuclear stress in read speech. Acta Psychologica 247 ► pp. 104313 ff. DOI logo
Ali, Mahmoud M.E.
2023. The foreign-accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility of L2 Arabic speech. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Berns, Janine & Sanne van Vuuren
2023. The native speaker ideal in FL pronunciation teaching practice. Belgian Journal of Linguistics 37 ► pp. 118 ff. DOI logo
Crowther, Dustin, Daniel R. Isbell & Hitoshi Nishizawa
2023. Second language speech comprehensibility and acceptability in academic settings: Listener perceptions and speech stream influences. Applied Psycholinguistics 44:5 ► pp. 858 ff. DOI logo
Kondo, Mariko & Rubén Pérez-Ramón
2023. Perception of Japanese accented English segments in words. Journal of Second Language Studies 6:2 ► pp. 210 ff. DOI logo
Levis, John M. & Zoë Zawadzki
2023. Recent dissertations on L2 pronunciation. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 9:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Martin, Ines A. & Lieselotte Sippel
2023. Long-term effects of peer and teacher feedback on L2 pronunciation. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 9:1 ► pp. 20 ff. DOI logo
McLaughlin, Drew J. & Kristin J. Van Engen
2023. Exploring effects of social information on talker-independent accent adaptation. JASA Express Letters 3:12 DOI logo
Miao, Yongzhi
2023. The relationship among accent familiarity, shared L1, and comprehensibility: A path analysis perspective. Language Testing 40:3 ► pp. 723 ff. DOI logo
Nagle, Charlie, Pavel Trofimovich, Oguzhan Tekin & Kim McDonough
2023. Framing second language comprehensibility: Do interlocutors’ ratings predict their perceived communicative experience?. Applied Psycholinguistics 44:1 ► pp. 131 ff. DOI logo
Uchihara, Takumi, Stuart Webb, Kazuya Saito & Pavel Trofimovich
2023. Frequency of Exposure Influences Accentedness and Comprehensibility in Learners’ Pronunciation of Second Language Words. Language Learning 73:1 ► pp. 84 ff. DOI logo
Verbeke, Gil & Ellen Simon
2023. Listening to accents: Comprehensibility, accentedness and intelligibility of native and non-native English speech. Lingua 292 ► pp. 103572 ff. DOI logo
Zhu, Chuanbo, Takuya Kunihara, Daisuke Saito, Nobuaki Minematsu & Noriko Nakanishi
2023. 2022 IEEE Spoken Language Technology Workshop (SLT), ► pp. 1029 ff. DOI logo
Burda, Angela, Lindsey Squires, David Krupke, Andrew Arthur, Mariana Bahia, Kevin Bernard, Matt Easley, Maggie English, Joslyn Hicks, Valeria Johnson, Megan Lancaster, Elizabeth O'Loughlin & Samantha Skaar
2022. Effectiveness of Intense Accent Modification Training With Refugees From Burma. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 31:6 ► pp. 2688 ff. DOI logo
Crowther, Dustin, Daniel Holden & Kristen Urada
2022. Second language speech comprehensibility. Language Teaching 55:4 ► pp. 470 ff. DOI logo
Demir, Yusuf & Galip Kartal
2022. MAPPING RESEARCH ON L2 PRONUNCIATION. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 44:5 ► pp. 1211 ff. DOI logo
Gordon, Joshua & Isabelle Darcy
2022. Teaching segmentals and suprasegmentals. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 8:2 ► pp. 168 ff. DOI logo
Pérez-Ramón, Rubén, María Luisa García Lecumberri & Martin Cooke
2022. Foreign accent strength and intelligibility at the segmental level. Speech Communication 137 ► pp. 70 ff. DOI logo
Pérez-Ramón, Rubén, María Luisa García Lecumberri & Martin Cooke
2023. The role of lexical context and language experience in the perception of foreign-accented segments. Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 59:3 ► pp. 609 ff. DOI logo
Uchihara, Takumi
2022. Is it possible to measure word-level comprehensibility and accentedness as independent constructs of pronunciation knowledge?. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 1:2 ► pp. 100011 ff. DOI logo
Munro, Murray J.
2021. On the Difficulty of Defining “Difficult” in Second-Language Vowel Acquisition. Frontiers in Communication 6 DOI logo
O'Neal, George
2021. What is the effect of successive segmental repair on the mutual intelligibility of ELF users?. System 103 ► pp. 102683 ff. DOI logo
Tucker, Benjamin V., Catherine Ford & Stephanie Hedges
2021. Speech aging: Production and perception. WIREs Cognitive Science 12:5 DOI logo
Zhu, Chuanbo, Ryo Hakoda, Daisuke Saito, Nobuaki Minematsu, Noriko Nakanishi & Tazuko Nishimura
2021. 2021 IEEE Automatic Speech Recognition and Understanding Workshop (ASRU), ► pp. 1071 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2022. , DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2024. Pronunciation. In A Practical Guide to Second Language Teaching and Learning, ► pp. 142 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue