国外媒体:研究:学音乐能增强语言能力

Music can boost language skills

Learning to play a musical instrument can change your brain, with a US review finding music training can lead to improved speech and foreign language skills.

Although it has been suggested in the past that listening to Mozart or other classical music could make you smarter, there has been little evidence to show that music boosts brain power.

But a data-driven review by Northwestern University has pulled together research that links musical training to learning that spills over into skills including language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal¹ emotion.

Researcher Nina Kraus said the data strongly suggested that the neural² connections made during musical training also primed the brain for other aspects of human communication.

"The effect of music training suggests that, akin³ to physical exercise and its impact on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain for auditory fitness and thus requires society to re-examine the role of music in shaping individual development," the researchers said in their study.

Kraus said learning musical sounds could enhance the brain's ability to adapt and change and also enable the nervous system to provide a scaffolding of patterns that are important to learning.

The study, published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, looked at the explosion of research in recent years focused on the effects of music training on the nervous system which could have strong implications for education.

The study found that playing an instrument primes the brain to choose what is relevant in a complex process that may involve reading or remembering a score, timing⁴ issues and coordination⁵ with other musicians.

"A musician's brain selectively enhances information-bearing elements in sound," Kraus said in a statement. "In a beautiful interrelationship between sensory⁶ and cognitive⁷ processes, the nervous system makes associations between complex sounds and what they mean."

The study reviewed literature showing, for example, that musicians are more successful than non-musicians in learning to incorporate sound patterns for a new language into words.

美国一项研究发现，学习乐器能够使大脑发生变化，音乐训练能够提高演讲和外语水平。

尽管过去有人认为听莫扎特或其他古典音乐可以让人变得更聪明，但是并没有足够的证据证明音乐能提高智力。

如今，美国西北大学的一项研究以数据为支持，对探讨音乐训练对语言、演讲、记忆力、注意力甚至情感抒发等能力的影响的相关研究进行了分析。

研究人员妮娜?克劳斯说，这些数据充分表明，音乐训练过程中所产生的神经元连接能增强大脑在人际交流其它方面的能力。

研究人员在研究报告中说：“音乐训练所产生的这种影响表明，与体育锻炼对身体健康的影响一样，音乐能够增强大脑活力，使听觉更加敏锐。所以我们的社会有必要重视音乐在个人发展中所起的作用。”

克劳斯说，学习声乐能够提高大脑的应变能力，也可以让神经系统建立起一个有利于学习的结构。

这一在《神经系统科学自然评论》上发表的研究对近几年来该领域新增的大量研究进行了回顾和分析，这些研究主要关注的是音乐训练对神经系统的影响及其可能会对教育产生的重要影响。

研究发现，演奏乐器能增强大脑在复杂的过程中分辨有价值信息的能力，这一复杂的过程可能包括看谱、记谱，计时或与其他乐师配合等。

克劳斯在一项声明中说：“一个音乐家的大脑能够有选择性地分辨出声音中含有信息的元素。在感觉和认知过程的相互作用下，神经系统能把复杂的声音和它们所表达的意思联系起来。”

研究人员对以往的研究资料进行分析后发现，懂音乐的人将一种新的语言的发音拼写成单词的能力强于未接受过音乐训练的人。

1 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

2 neural   

adj.神经的，神经系统的

参考例句：

• The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
• The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。

3 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

6 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

7 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。