Professors Yukari Hirata and Spencer Kelly of Colgate University have uncovered what could be the key to better learning when it comes to discriminating sounds of a new and unfamiliar language. One major challenge that occurs when individuals attempt to learn a new language after the "sensitive period," when language is most easily attained, is that the brain is not as open to hearing and understanding new sounds. This requires teachers to use additional methods to really help their language learners discriminate between the strange sounds and tones of a new language. This study, conducted by Hirata and Kelly, found that the lips and mouth may play a crucial role when it comes to picking up these new sounds. Whereas teachers often use their hands, big expressions and interactions to illustrate the meaning of new language, this could prove to be distracting for new language learners, at least in the beginning. "When it comes to learning speech sounds in a new language, it may be best to first focus attention just on the lips and mouth before taking in the entirety of a visually complex social interaction," says Hirata.
You can read more about this research here:
*Colgate Professors' Research Sheds Light on Foreign-Language Learning
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