Speech perception in noise by fluent, non-native listeners

Abstract

This experiment measured the ability of fluent, non-native listeners to understand American English in the presence of babble noise. The Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) test was administered at 75 dB SPL to 11 native and 14 non-native young, normal listeners. The non-native listeners were university students and teachers who had lived more than four years in the United States. Six noise levels were chosen in 2-dB steps to encompass the range from 20%–80% correct performance. At each noise level, 50 new sentences were presented and the percent correct for 25 low- and 25 high-predictability sentences was measured. After each sentence the listener wrote the last word in the sentence and repeated it to the experimenter, who also wrote it. Results show (1) the native listeners could obtain 50% correct performance at significantly higher noise levels (about 3 dB) than the non-native listeners, (2) both groups performed significantly better on the high-predictability sentences than on the low-predictability sentences, and (3) the difference in tolerable noise levels (levels yielding 50% correct) between the high- and low-predictability sentences was the same for the native and non-native groups. [Work supported by the Research and Scholarship Development Fund of Northeastern University.]