Music and foreign language pronunciation

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between musical training and success in foreign language pronunciation. I present the results of two studies, one involving native speakers of English learning German, and one involving native speakers of Russian learning English. The hypothesis that those participants with musical training would perform better than those with none was not supported. In conclusion I discuss possible reasons for why the hypothesis was not confirmed, pointing out shortcomings of the studies, and how to improve on them for future research. In particular, I suggest that learner level and aptitude may be relevant confounding factors.