Focus on Sounds Helps Foreign-Language Learning, Study Suggests

The study compared the auditory precision of 67 Japanese learners of English by measuring their ability to detect slight changes in pitch, length and tone in non-speech sounds. Using functional MRI scans, researchers measured participants' brain activity as they tried to distinguish between English vowel sounds that do not occur in Japanese.

Learners with higher auditory precision mastered the pronunciation of new languages faster and more accurately than other learners, the researchers found. They relied less on the brain's left sensorimotor system, which is involved in language processing, when processing foreign-language sounds. Their brain activity patterns were similar to those that occur when the brain processes non-speech sounds. With less interference from pre-existing patterns of their native language, it was simpler for these learners to process new sounds accurately.

In contrast, learners with lower auditory precision relied more on the left sensorimotor network when listening to foreign-language sounds. They used the pronunciation patterns of their native language when processing unfamiliar sounds. Normally, when people learn a language, they try to understand it through the sounds of their native tongue, and the more different the foreign language's sounds and pronunciation are from the native language, the harder the new language will probably be to learn.

Prof Kazuya Saito-van Poeteren, lead author and professor of second language education at the UCL Institute of Education, said the findings challenge stereotypes that Britons are less adept 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: "If you only hear and use the language for a small number of hours each week, having a good ear may make a much bigger difference. 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."

Saito-van Poeteren said schools should focus on sounds much more than just grammar and vocabulary when teaching modern languages. "Foreign 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," he said.

Prof Padraic Monaghan, professor of cognition at Lancaster University, responded to the findings. "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."