Hand-y scaffolding:

Abstract Currently, it is unclear whether observing iconic gestures benefits comprehension of second language (L2) accented narratives, and whether it benefits it to a different degree than it does for first language (L1) accented narratives. In this study, L1 American English speakers watched videos of two narratives, one of which featured L1 accented American English, and the other of which featured L2 French-accented English. One narrative featured iconic gestures complementing speech, and the other did not contain gestures. Despite a marginally greater benefit of iconic gestures for L1 than L2 accented narratives, observing iconic gestures had no significant impact on comprehension, free recall, and event memory for L1 and L2 accented narratives. These findings suggest that observing iconic gestures may not enhance comprehension or memory for L2 accented spoken narratives. Implications for improving communication between L1 and L2 accented speakers are discussed.