The effect of prompt accent on elicited imitation assessments in English as a second language

Abstract

Elicited imitation (EI) assessments have been shown to discriminate well between speakers across proficiency levels, but little has been reported on the effect L2 accent has on test-takers’ ability to understand and process the test items they hear. Furthermore, no study has investigated the effect of accent on test-taker perceptions of EI tests. This study examined the relationships among accent, accent familiarity, EI test item difficulty and test scores. To investigate, self-reports of students’ exposure to different varieties of English were obtained from a pre-assessment survey. An EI test (63 items) was then administered in which English language learners (n = 213) in the United States listened to test items in three varieties of English: American English, Australian English, and British English. A Rasch analysis found that the test had high reliability (person separation = .94), with intended item level and accent both having a significant effect on test item difficulty. Survey results indicated a moderate relationship between an examinee’s familiarity with a particular accent and their person ability estimate measures. These findings suggest that prompt accent should be considered in EI test development.