Enjoying a beer or two – but not too many – can help you speak a foreign language more clearly, a prize winning scientific study claims.
It’s a study aid that many language learners have turned to over the years, but now it’s been confirmed by scientists – drinking a little booze can help you speak a foreign lingo more clearly.
This is the conclusion of a study by a Dutch-German-UK team who were announced this week as one of the winners of an Ig Noble peace prize, which celebrate the sillier side of science.
The scientists came up with the idea while drinking at a bar during an international conference, noticing that “drunken Germans usually pronounce Dutch better than sober Germans,” they said in a statement read at the ceremony.
They found that a small dose of alcohol – less than a pint of beer – can boost confidence. Although they warned that it only worked in moderation
The researchers did not recommend using alcohol as an actual language-learning tool.
The study, which was first published in 2017, was co-authored by Dr Inge Kersbergen from the University of Bath in the UK.
The experiment involved 50 native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch taking part in a short, standardised conversation in Dutch after consuming either a low dose of alcohol or a non-alcoholic beverage. Their conversations were recorded and rated by native Dutch speakers.
Advertisement
According to the University of Bath the findings revealed that participants who had drunk a small amount of alcohol were rated as having better Dutch pronunciation.
“The results suggest that modest alcohol consumption may reduce language anxiety, leading to improved fluency in a second language,” said the report on the University’s website.
“Given that executive functions are important when speaking a second (non-native) language, one might expect that alcohol would impair the ability to speak a second language,” said the researchers.
“On the other hand, alcohol increases self-confidence and reduces social anxiety, both of which might be expected to improve language ability when interacting with another person.”
The 35th edition of the annual Ig Nobel awards, which are organised by the science humour magazine Annals of Improbable Research, were held just a few weeks before the real Nobel prizes. Prizes were presented in Boston on September 18th.
Does drinking a little alcohol help improve your ability to speak a foreign language? Share your views in the comments section below.
With reporting by AFP
