Learning a language is not just about memorizing words, studying grammar, and repeating phrases. It is also important to know how to listen. A recent study published in The Guardian suggests that the ability to distinguish small changes in sounds can help learn a foreign language more easily, especially when its pronunciation is very different from that of the native language.
The research, conducted by scientists from University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom, and Tohoku University, in Japan, analyzes how the brain processes unknown sounds and why some people manage to reproduce them better than others. Its results raise the need to give more importance to listening and pronunciation in language teaching.
The ability to distinguish sounds can facilitate language learning
The researchers studied 67 Japanese people who were learning English. To do this, they analyzed their ability to recognize small differences in the pitch, duration, and frequency of sounds that were not part of speech. Then, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging tests to observe how their brain reacted to hearing English vowels that do not exist in Japanese.
The results showed that people with greater auditory precision were able to learn the pronunciation of new sounds more quickly and accurately. Their brain seemed to process these sounds as unknown acoustic signals, instead of trying to relate them directly to the patterns of their native language.
On the contrary, those who had more difficulty distinguishing these nuances resorted more to the brain mechanisms related to the language they already knew. This could make it difficult to identify new sounds and cause them to reproduce them in a way closer to their native language.
Listening to a foreign language helps improve pronunciation
One of the main obstacles when learning a language is that we tend to interpret new sounds based on those we already know. For this reason, some pronunciations can be especially difficult: the ear is accustomed to recognizing the sounds of the native language and can confuse those that are different.
The study suggests that developing greater auditory attention can help overcome that barrier. Carefully listening to how words are pronounced, distinguishing similar sounds, and familiarizing oneself with the rhythms and tones of another language can lead to more precise pronunciation. Furthermore, the results challenge the idea that some people or nationalities have a naturally lower capacity for learning languages. Kazuya Saito-van Poeteren, lead researcher of the study and professor of second language education at UCL, argues that difficulties may be more related to a lack of exposure to the language and teaching methods than to a biological inability.
Language classes could give more importance to listening
The researchers believe that these results may have consequences for foreign language teaching. Instead of focusing primarily on grammar exercises, vocabulary lists, and repetition, classes could incorporate more activities aimed at training the ear and recognizing sounds that do not exist in the native language.
Saito-van Poeteren argues that learning a language requires more than accumulating hours of practice: how contact with that language is utilized also matters. According to the researcher, those with greater auditory precision may benefit more from limited exposure, while others need to listen to the language for longer to familiarize themselves with its sounds.
Padraic Monaghan, professor of cognition at Lancaster University, also highlights the importance of listening in learning. However, the study does not demonstrate that grammar and vocabulary are no longer necessary, nor that all people can improve their auditory capacity in the same way. Its conclusions suggest that combining traditional study with greater attention to sounds could help learn languages more effectively.
