This paper explores the skill of second-language learners of English in Spain (N = 71) to distinguish Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GenAm) speech and their perceptions of linguistic variation between these speech varieties. It supplies an insight into the strategies, conceptual frameworks, and linguistic features which inform the accent identification process as executed by English-language learners in Spain. The results point out the usefulness of variety recognition items in interpreting attitudinal evaluations, in particular concerning misidentification patterns.