The Impact of Accented Input on Spanish-English Bilingual Children’s Word Learning

Background: Bilingual children are frequently exposed to accented speech, yet it remains unclear how accent familiarity affects their ability to learn new words. This study examined Spanish–English bilingual children’s (n = 46) novel word learning from speakers with familiar and unfamiliar accents and investigated individual differences related to learning from accented input. Methods: Children completed an experimental word-learning task in which they learned novel word–object pairings produced by three speakers: a speaker of General American English, a Spanish-accented English speaker (familiar accent), and a Korean-accented English speaker (unfamiliar accent). Individual-differences analyses examined associations between learning outcomes and children’s language skills, length of bilingualism, and characteristics of language input in the home environment. Results: Children showed more difficulty learning novel words from the unfamiliar Korean-accented speaker than from the familiar Spanish-accented speaker and the General American-English speaker. Language skills were associated with learning from the familiar accent but not the unfamiliar accent. Length of bilingualism was positively associated with learning from the unfamiliar accent, whereas greater strength of foreign-accented English in the environment was negatively associated with learning from the native speaker. Conclusions: These findings suggest that accent familiarity facilitates bilingual children’s word learning and that experience-related factors contribute to their ability to accommodate accent variability.