Lawrence University Psychologist Shares Research Findings on Connection between Music Training and Speech Tones Identification

APPLETON, WIS. -- Think you'd like to learn to speak Chinese? You might want to start by taking music lessons according to a Lawrence University psychologist.

Terry Rew-Gottfried, professor of psychology at Lawrence, will discuss his research on the connection between musical training and language learning in a Lawrence Science Hall Colloquium. Rew-Gottfried presents, "Mandarin and Music: Relation of Musical Ear Training and Mandarin Tone Identification," Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 11:15 a.m. in Science Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

In his study, Rew-Gottfried has been comparing music and non-music students' ability to identify different Mandarin tones. He is using Mandarin Chinese because it is a language that differentiates words not only by vowels and consonants, but also by the pitch of the speaker's voice.

Rew-Gottfried's preliminary findings suggest that music students do have "an ear" for learning new accents and languages and are more adept at identifying unfamiliar speech contrasts. He also is examining additional variables, such as type of musical instrument played and other foreign language study, to determine the relevant factors that lead to more successful learning of unfamiliar speech differences.