What did they say?

For 3- to 13-year-olds who are able to understand and answer questions in English

Your child will hear people speaking in different speech styles - for example, using different pronunciations or ways of saying words that might sound familiar or unfamiliar. To test whether your child understood the speech, we will ask your child to repeat what the speaker said. Then, we will ask your child questions about the speaker, such as whether they want to learn more from the speaker and whether they like the speaker. We will also ask you to fill out a short survey about your child’s demographics and language exposure.

People speak in many different ways - they may use different languages, different words within a language, or have different accents. We are interested in how 3- to 13-year-old children understand language that sounds more familiar or less familiar. We are also curious about how children’s own experiences with language affect whether they understand different kinds of speech, and whom they like.

15 minutes

You will receive a $5 gift card for Amazon.com for your time. Gift cards are sent within one week of participation. We ask that each sibling participate separately and not watch each other’s session to avoid any interference. To be eligible for compensation: 1) your child must be in the age range for this study, 2) you must submit a valid consent statement, 3) your child must be present and visible during the experiment session, and 4) each child can only participate once.