Skilled language learners appear to process unfamiliar foreign sounds in a way that resembles how the brain handles non-speech noise, according to a study by researchers at UCL and Tohoku University. The Guardian reports that the findings suggest auditory precision language learning ability may be more closely linked than conventional teaching methods assume.
The study tested 67 Japanese learners of English, measuring each participant’s ability to pick up fine acoustic differences (such as variations in pitch, length and tone) in sounds that were not speech. The researchers then used functional MRI scans to track brain activity as participants tried to distinguish between English vowel sounds that do not exist in Japanese.
What the scans showed
Those with higher auditory precision were more accurate at discriminating unfamiliar English vowels, and their brain activity during that task resembled the patterns seen when the brain processes non-speech rather than language. According to Phys.org, fMRI showed less reliance on the left sensorimotor network in these participants, consistent with reduced interference from native-language sound patterns.
Learners with lower auditory precision showed the opposite pattern. They drew more heavily on the brain’s left sensorimotor network, effectively filtering unfamiliar sounds through the pronunciation rules of their native tongue. The researchers say that makes accurate processing of new sounds harder.
What the lead researcher claims
Prof Kazuya Saito-van Poeteren, the study’s lead author, who holds a chair in second language education at the UCL Institute of Education, used the findings to push back on the idea that British people are inherently poor at languages. ‘I do not think British people are biologically bad at languages,’ he said. ‘The problem is more likely to be that many people receive too little meaningful exposure, combined with teaching methods that do not necessarily train the auditory skills needed to make the most of that limited exposure.’
He added that the advantage of a well-trained ear may be especially pronounced when exposure to a language is limited. ‘Learners with high auditory precision can make very effective use of relatively sparse input, whereas others may need much more exposure before unfamiliar sounds begin to become established,’ he said.
On the basis of these results, Saito-van Poeteren argued that language education ‘should move beyond an approach based on “more practice” and towards one that develops learners’ ear for language learning in line with their auditory characteristics.’
Prof Padraic Monaghan, professor of cognition at Lancaster University, offered a broadly supportive but qualified response. ‘Traditional language learning relies on structured practice, but our brains are naturally attuned to acquire languages through exposure,’ he said. ‘This study confirms how vital listening is to learning, though learners vary in their sound sensitivity at least in the early stages of hearing new language sounds.’
The researchers presented their conclusions as suggestions rather than settled guidance, and the paper represents one study rather than a body of replicated evidence.
