How Age, Linguistic Status, and the Nature of the Auditory Scene Alter the Manner in Which Listening Comprehension Is Achieved in Multitalker Conversations

Purpose We investigated how age and linguistic status affected listeners' ability to follow and comprehend 3-talker conversations, and the extent to which individual differences in language proficiency predict speech comprehension under difficult listening conditions. Method Younger and older L1s as well as young L2s listened to 3-talker conversations, with or without spatial separation between talkers, in either quiet or against moderate or high 12-talker babble background, and were asked to answer questions regarding their contents. Results After compensating for individual differences in speech recognition, no significant differences in conversation comprehension were found among the groups. As expected, conversation comprehension decreased as babble level increased. Individual differences in reading comprehension skill contributed positively to performance in younger EL1s and in young EL2s to a lesser degree but not in older EL1s. Vocabulary knowledge was significantly and positively related to performance only at the intermediate babble level. Conclusion The results indicate that the manner in which spoken language comprehension is achieved is modulated by the listeners' age and linguistic status.