Skilled linguists hear new languages as sound, not words

Researchers at University College London (UCL) and Tohoku University in Japan studied 67 Japanese learners of English to understand how people become proficient in foreign languages.

They discovered that people who learn languages most easily process unfamiliar sounds differently than others. Instead of interpreting new terms through the lens of their native language, these skilled linguists perceive them as neutral sounds, similar to music or noise.

The team measured participants’ ability to distinguish subtle changes in non-speech sounds and monitored their brain activity using functional MRI scans while they listened to English vowel sounds not found in Japanese. They found that learners with high auditory precision, those who could more accurately detect changes in pitch, length, and tone, relied less on the language-processing areas of their brains when hearing foreign sounds.

These learners’ brains behaved as if processing any sound, not a word attempting to fit an existing pattern. In contrast, learners with lower auditory precision used the pronunciation rules of their native language to understand new sounds, making the process more difficult. Professor Kazuya Saito-van Poeteren at UCL believes this research challenges the idea that some nationalities are naturally worse at languages, suggesting instead that Britons may benefit from more focused auditory training and increased exposure.

He advocates for a shift in language education, prioritizing the development of listening skills alongside grammar and vocabulary.