Researchers from University College London and Japan's Tohoku University have allegedly demonstrated that individuals who are adept at hearing subtle differences in sounds can more accurately distinguish foreign language phonemes. This purported study suggests that auditory sensitivity plays a critical role in acquiring unfamiliar pronunciation.

The experiment reportedly involved 67 Japanese participants who were actively studying English. Initially, the researchers allegedly tested how well the subjects could perceive pitch, duration, and other subtle variations in non-speech related sounds.

Participants were then tasked with differentiating between the vowels /æ/ and /ʌ/, which appear in the English words 'cat' and 'cup'. It is noted that the Japanese language lacks direct equivalents for these specific sounds. Brain activity during the task was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

According to the reported findings, participants with higher auditory precision engaged the left sensorimotor region of the brain—associated with speech processing—to a lesser degree when listening to foreign sounds. Their brain activity allegedly resembled patterns observed during the analysis of non-speech audio.

The authors reportedly interpret this as an indication that such individuals do not immediately attempt to map unfamiliar sounds onto familiar native language phonemes. Instead, they purportedly focus more on the acoustic properties of the sound itself, which may reduce interference from native pronunciation habits.

Participants with lower auditory sensitivity reportedly relied more heavily on native phonetic templates when attempting to distinguish foreign sounds. The authors suggest that training the ear to catch minor sound differences could complement traditional vocabulary and grammar studies.

However, critics point out that the study focuses narrowly on sound differentiation and does not prove that all language-learning capabilities are innate, nor does it establish that auditory exercises can replace vocabulary and grammar instruction.

Source: kun.uz