Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Laboratory training improves L2-accented speech recognition, but it is unclear whether everyday exposure produces similar benefits. Usage-based theories propose that lifetime exposure to diverse accents facilitates recognition, whereas resource-dependent models argue that recognition depends primarily on linguistic processing resources. To evaluate these competing hypotheses, we tested 78 young monolingual English adults on their word recognition of Italian-accented English in noise. A multidimensional questionnaire was developed to measure the frequency, duration, amount, and diversity of participants' real-world accent exposure. Receptive vocabulary strongly predicted recognition accuracy (p < .001), which remained significant after controlling for social exposure (p = .003) in a sample with low exposure to L2-accented speech. Composite measures of social interaction did not independently predict performance. Our findings suggest that receptive vocabulary is a primary predictor of accented speech recognition in noise among monolingual listeners with limited exposure to L2-accented speech, whereas direct effects of real-life interactions were not observed.