Few studies have explored the influence of a speaker’s accent and visual (facial and gestural) cues on second-language (L2) listening comprehension. The current mixed-methods between-groups design investigated: (1) the effects of accent and visual cues on Arab students’ comprehension of recorded lectures delivered by two speakers: first language (L1) American English and second language (L2) English (strong Vietnamese accent), (2) students’ assessments of the comprehensibility and English nativelikeness of the accents, and (3) students’ perceptions of and preferences for visual cues in communication. A total of 120 Arab university students were distributed across three stimulus conditions: auditory-visual (AV)-gesture-face, AV-face, and A-only within two accent conditions (L1, L2 English). Materials included: a listening comprehension task, 9-point rating scales for comprehensibility and nativelikeness of accent, and a speaker’s accent and visual cues (SAVC) questionnaire. ANCOVAs were conducted on listening comprehension scores and the ratings, with students’ listening proficiency as the covariate. Students with higher listening proficiency received higher comprehension scores and tended to recognize the L1 English accent as nativelike; however, proficiency was not significantly related to their comprehensibility ratings of either accent. The L1 English speaker’s gestures were associated with higher comprehensibility ratings; the L2 English speaker’s gestures were associated with a stronger nonnativelike accent, which students found frustrating to comprehend. Although SAVC responses revealed a general preference for facial cues and gestures in daily communication, the L2 English speaker’s gestures in the study were not considered helpful. Thematic analysis of interviews emphasized: (1) the variable effectiveness of visual cues, (2) the important role of topic and accent familiarity, (3) the relationship between listening proficiency and interlocutor/instructor preference, and (4) strategies to deal with unfamiliar accents. Pedagogical implications include increased awareness of variability in visual cues across speakers and the need to build familiarity with various accents and gesture patterns.

中文翻译：

---

说话者的视觉线索和口音对 L2 听力理解的不同影响：混合方法

很少有研究探讨说话者的口音和视觉（面部和手势）线索对第二语言（L2）听力理解的影响。目前的混合方法组间设计研究了：（1）口音和视觉线索对阿拉伯学生理解由两个演讲者录制的讲座的影响：第一语言（L1）美式英语和第二语言（L2）英语（强）越南口音），（2）学生对口音的可理解性和英语母语相似性的评估，以及（3）学生对交流中视觉线索的看法和偏好。总共 120 名阿拉伯大学生被分布在三种刺激条件下：听觉-视觉 (AV)-手势-面部、AV-面部和两种口音条件（L1、L2 英语）内的仅 A。材料包括：听力理解任务、口音可理解性和母语相似度的 9 分评分量表以及说话者的口音和视觉线索 (SAVC) 调查问卷。以学生的听力水平作为协变量，对听力理解分数和评分进行了ANCOVA。听力水平较高的学生理解能力得分较高，并且倾向于将 L1 英语口音视为母语；然而，熟练程度与这两种口音的可理解性评分并没有显着相关。说 L1 英语的人的手势与较高的可理解性评级相关；二级英语使用者的手势带有更浓重的非母语口音，学生们觉得难以理解这种口音。尽管 SAVC 的反应显示出在日常交流中普遍偏爱面部暗示和手势，但研究中说 L2 英语的人的手势被认为没有帮助。访谈的主题分析强调：（1）视觉线索的可变有效性，（2）主题和口音熟悉度的重要作用，（3）听力熟练程度和对话者/教师偏好之间的关系，以及（4）处理策略陌生的口音。教学意义包括提高对不同演讲者视觉线索可变性的认识，以及需要熟悉各种口音和手势模式。