Many have expressed concerns regarding the replicability of scientific research. However, little of this ongoing discussion has focused on research examining the production of vowels and consonants or the many important choices that researchers must make in pre-analysis phases of speech production research. The literature reviewed here indicates that not all speech production studies have been replicated, and that how speech is elicited may affect the results that are obtained. Many different elicitation techniques are in current use, but none represents a gold standard. The new Characteristic Speech Production (CSP) technique presented here aims to augment replicability by obviating the need for participants to accommodate their speech to that of others or adopt a particular speaking style as they give meaningful answers to meaningful questions. Given the novelty of the CSP technique, the chapter provides a protocol that is designed to test its efficacy. If the CSP technique can be shown to yield speech samples that are more representative of individuals’ speech than a standard list-reading technique, a change in how speech is elicited for production research will be warranted.

This chapter presents the Talker–Listener–Language, or TL2, framework for analyzing variation in speech intelligibility in conversational interactions between interlocutors from different language backgrounds. The TL2 framework is based on three fundamental relations: (a) the relation between the talker and the language being spoken (Talker–LBS), which can vary from low proficiency L2 to L1; (b) the relation between the listener and the language being spoken (Listener–LBS), which also varies from low proficiency L2 to L1; and (c) the relation between the language repertoires of the interlocutors (Talker–Listener), which can either match or mismatch. The central claim of the TL2 framework is that each of the three language relations influences speech intelligibility both independently and through modulation of the others. Evidence from various independent strands of research on speech intelligibility for L1 and L2 talkers and listeners is reviewed to support this claim. The TL2 framework is thus presented as both a coherent perspective on prior research on bilingual speech intelligibility and a map for future research.