Page 8 - ELG2505 May Issue 494

RESEARCH NEWS .

T
Tuning the brain to language
uning the brain to language

Research reveals that musical rhythms matching a language’s natural beat

can significantly enhance how the brain processes speech, strengthening
the case for rhythm-based teaching. Gill Ragsdale explains.

usical rhythm may
boost the processing
of speech in the
Mbrain—but only when
the rhythm matches the language,
according to new research from
the Basque Center on Cognition,
San Sebastian, Spain, by Laura
Fernández-Merino and colleagues.
The positive impact of musical
training on language learning and
proficiency is well-documented but
the neural processes underpinning
this effect remain mysterious. Both
language and music are human
universals found in every culture
around the world and this study
focussed on something shared by
both: rhythm.
The researchers recruited 33
bilingual Spanish and Basque
speakers in their twenties
to see how different types of
musical rhythms influence how
the brain “tunes in” to speech.
Using electroencephalography associated with more accurate listened to a sentence in either This is quite different to syllable-
(EEG), they measured how comprehension of speech, Spanish or Basque. The musical timed languages like Spanish or
well participants’ brainwaves improved phonological awareness rhythms of the three sequences French. Songs originally written
synchronised with the rhythm and more efficient language were different: one matched the in a particular language tend to
of sentences in either Basque or learning, particularly in children syllable timing of the sentence, reflect that language’s rhythmic
Spanish, a phenomenon known and L2 learners. one had a regular rhythm that did structure and English songs tend
as cortical tracking of speech. Participants listened to three not match the sentence, and one to emphasise stressed syllables.
Previous studies have found short musical sequences played on was irregular. For EFL teachers, this research
stronger cortical tracking to be a piano then after each sequence, Brain recordings showed that strengthens the case for using
when the rhythm of the music music and other rhythm-based
aligned with the following spoken activities in the classroom. Jazz
sentence—especially in Spanish— chants, for example, repeat
participants’ brain activity aligned key grammatical structures or
more closely with the speech rhythm. vocabulary using the natural
This enhanced synchronisation rhythm and stress patterns of
occurred in the delta and theta English. Rhythm matching chants
frequency bands, which are known could be used as a scaffold before
to support the processing of syllables exposing learners to more fluent,
and phrases in natural language. faster speech.
A follow-up study suggested that If rhythm-based listening
this rhythmic boost also applies to activities are tailored to reflect
Basque when the music better fits English’s own syllable timing,
the language’s specific rhythm. they could help learners process
Together, the experiments suggest and understand speech more
that musical training or rhythm- effectively by engaging the brain’s
based activities could potentially natural rhythmic abilities.
support language learning—but
the rhythm must match the REFERENCE
language’s own natural tempo. n Fernández-Merino, L., Lizarazu,
Different languages have M., Molinaro, N. and Kalashnikova,
distinct rhythms. English, for M. (2025), Temporal Structure
instance, is stress-timed, meaning of Music Improves the Cortical
that stressed syllables occur at Encoding of Speech. Human Brain
regular intervals while unstressed Mapping, 46: e70199. https://doi.
syllables are squeezed in between. org/10.1002/hbm.70199
8 May 2025