Diversidad de acentos del inglés y comprensión auditiva en lengua extranjera: revisión de alcance

Resumen

Accent diversity characterizes contemporary communication in English; however, many English as foreign language courses still concentrate listening practice on a narrow range of prestige varieties. This scoping review examined recent evidence on the relationship between English accent diversity and learners’ listening comprehension. Following Joanna Briggs Institute methodological guidance and PRISMA-ScR reporting recommendations, ERIC, DOAJ, and OpenAlex were searched for studies published from 2020 onward; the final search was conducted on 3 August 2026. Of 137 records, 24 studies involving approximately 1,437 participants met the inclusion criteria. Familiarity frequently influenced performance and perceived difficulty, although no accent was consistently more comprehensible across contexts. Speaker intelligibility, listener proficiency, and task design explained part of the variation. Nine interventions indicated that exposure to diverse accents can support comprehension and phonological awareness when combined with explicit guidance, repeated practice, and reflection; retention of gains and changes in attitudes associated with accent prestige were less consistent. Listening instruction should therefore incorporate accent diversity gradually, while assessments should carefully calibrate speakers and tasks.