How to learn a new language faster: simple advice from scientists
Learning a new language is not an easy task that requires care, focus, and concentration. Most people strive to have the same pronunciation as native speakers in order not to stand out and sound native.
Unfortunately, not everyone can achieve such a high level. The Daily Mail has published a study by scientists on this issue, which will help you learn a new language faster.
Scientists have found that expressive gestures during a conversation can help emphasize the correct parts of words, and this will make it much easier to learn, pronounce, and sound like a local.
Some languages, such as English, Italian, and Russian, have "prominent" accents. This is when certain syllables in words are pronounced with more emphasis than others.
Researchers at New York University in Shanghai conducted an experiment involving 124 native Chinese speakers aged 18 to 28.
Participants watched videos of people moving their hands up and down to indicate the correct stress in English words.
The words consisted of three syllables but had different accents: on the first, last, or middle syllables.
The participants were divided into four groups, one of which watched a video that did not use any gestures at all. The other three watched a video that used gestures over each syllable of the word, but only one of these groups saw an expressive hand movement over the stressed syllable.
The study showed that the use of expressive gestures over the correct part of the word helped participants identify the accent 10-15% more accurately than those who did not see any gestures.
The scientists noted that this result emphasized the importance of active movements in language learning.
Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that scientists had discovered the existence of a universal "language" among people of different nationalities.
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