A real-life Bable Fish may change language learning.

We all know that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but what about an old human a new language?

Previous research suggests that it’s much easier for young children to pick up a new language than it may be for their parents or even older siblings. A new study offers a solution to jump that evolutionary hurdle.

Using small, imperceptible brain stimulation through the ear, scientists saw improvements in the abilities of adults to recognize foreign language tones compared to those without stimulation. This memory effect lasted even during trials where the stimulation was paused.

This science-fiction inspired brain-hack could help adults overcome their brains’ own limitations.

In the study, published Thursday in the journal Science of Learning, the authors explain that part of what has made language acquisition in later life difficult is that the adult brain no longer has the same plasticity — or ability to reshape its synaptic networks to accommodate new information — that it once did in childhood.

“Humans are excellent perceptual learners,” the study team writes. “Yet, a notable and well-documented exception is the acquisition of non-native speech categories in adulthood.”

However, recent research has found that stimulation to the nervous system paired with behavioral stimuli can result in improved plasticity and memory recall. To test this for language learning, the team designed a small, outer-ear device to non-invasively stimulate a participant’s transcutaneous vagus nerve (tVNS) through painless electric pulses.

To test how tVNS might affect the acquisition of language, the researchers recruited a group of 36, native English speaking adults and had them listen to and attempt to identify four different Mandarin tones — a task that can be especially hard for English speakers who are not used to speaking or hearing a tonal language.

Fernando Llanos, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s Sound Brain Lab and lead author on the study, says that demonstrating the effectiveness of tVNS in this area could prove beneficial for cognitive learning at large.

“Showing that non-invasive peripheral nerve stimulation can make language learning easier potentially opens the door to improving cognitive performance across a wide range of domains,” Llanos explains.

How does it work — Of their 36 participants, the team divided them into groups that received:

• Stimulation while listening to two more difficult Mandarin tones
• Stimulation while listening to two easier Mandarin tones
• Control groups that listened to the tones without stimulation.

All groups were asked to listen and identify which tones they were hearing.

Bharath Chandrasekaran, director of the University of Pittsburg’s Sound Lab and co-author of the study, tells Inverse that lessons learned from their test on Mandarian tones could be generalized to other languages as well.

“Mandarin is a great testbed for looking at how specific the stimulation effects are, but we believe that the stimulation effects should generalize to learning sound patterns of other languages,” Chandrasekaran says.

The researchers found that participants listening to the easier tones while receiving stimulation outperformed all other groups, being 13 percent better on average at identifying the tones than the other participants and peaked in their ability twice as quickly.

Interestingly, the group listening and identifying the harder tones with stimulation did not show very significant improvement compared to the controls.

“This approach may be leveling the playing field of natural variability in language learning ability.”

Matthew Leonard, an assistant professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco and co-author of the study, says that the results of this study could level the playing field between adult learners with different language abilities.

“This approach may be leveling the playing field of natural variability in language learning ability,” Leonard says. “In general, people tend to get discouraged by how hard language learning can be, but if you could give someone 13 percent to 15 percent better results after their first session, maybe they’d be more likely to want to continue.”

The researchers also found that the easy-tones and stimulation test group was able to identify new, easy-tone examples well even without stimulation, suggesting that this approach has a strong potential for being generalizable.

As for what is going on in the brain to make this happen, the researchers hypothesize that it might have something to do with temporarily boosting the attention span over large areas of the brain, making it easier for new stimuli to be processed. More experiments are needed to know for sure.

Following future research studies, Chandrasekaran tells Inverse that a product using this research would likely be available to customers, particularly those suffering from brain damage, within the next two to five years.

“Our next step is to understand the underlying neural mechanism and establish the ideal set of stimulation parameters that could maximize brain plasticity,” Chandrasekaran says. “We view tVNS as a potent tool that could enhance rehabilitation in individuals with brain damage.”

Abstract: Adults struggle to learn non-native speech contrasts even after years of exposure. While laboratory-based training approaches yield learning, the optimal training conditions for maximizing speech learning in adulthood are currently unknown. Vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to prime adult sensory-perceptual systems towards plasticity in animal models. Precise temporal pairing with auditory stimuli can enhance auditory cortical representations with a high degree of specificity. Here, we examined whether sub-perceptual threshold transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), paired with non-native speech sounds, enhances speech category learning in adults. Twenty-four native English-speakers were trained to identify non-native Mandarin tone categories. Across two groups, tVNS was paired with the tone categories that were easier- or harder-to-learn. A control group received no stimulation but followed an identical thresholding procedure as the intervention groups. We found that tVNS robustly enhanced speech category learning and retention of correct stimulus-response associations, but only when stimulation was paired with the easier-to-learn categories. This effect emerged rapidly, generalized to new exemplars, and was qualitatively different from the normal individual variability observed in hundreds of learners who have performed in the same task without stimulation. Electroencephalography recorded before and after training indicated no evidence of tVNS-induced changes in the sensory representation of auditory stimuli. These results suggest that paired-tVNS induces a temporally precise neuromodulatory signal that selectively enhances the perception and memory consolidation of perceptually salient categories.

Learning a new language comes with a range of benefits. However, it takes a lot of time to master a language, right? No! In fact, there are a few practices that you can engage in to learn a new language quickly. These practices or “language learning hacks” speed up the language learning process and can save you weeks, even months. Here are our top ten hacks you should implement to optimize the language learning process:

1) Concentrate on language vocabulary that appeals to you

Generally, interests go a long way in determining how effectively we learn. It would be easier for someone who likes computers to learn how to program or code than it would be for an artist. The impact of interests also applies to the language learning process. Focus on vocabulary that is relevant to you, such as corporate lingo for those running a business.

2) Apply the Lexical Approach

With the lexical approach, vocabulary words are handled as lexical chunks or units rather than being memorized in isolation. Lexical units are groups of words that are regularly found in collusion. This approach is very effective and was initially introduced by Michaels Lewis. An example of the lexical approach scenario is when nouns are identified with the right gender or plural words learned together with the relative singular word.

3) Get immersed into the language

A popular saying states “We become what we continually do”, and this fundamentally applies to all areas of life including language learning. Getting surrounded with resources that contribute to your knowledge of a foreign language will improve the learning process. Immersion can go a long way in enhancing your language learning skills, especially in the long run.

4) Micro-Learning

In our time-poor society, being able to learn and practice ‘on the go’ is key to our success! There are many great products on the market that can support learning anywhere, anytime, 24/7, with the latest in micro-learning technology – small bite-sized, easily digestible learning chucks. These options offer users enough material to learn any language of their choice, with complete learning freedom!

5) Apply the Diglot Weave Approach

The Diglot Weave Approach enables you to learn and get comfortable with foreign languages while still speaking your normal language. It involves incorporating foreign vocabulary or words into your normal language sentences. An example will be “I am semper hungry” – this involves the use of the Latin word semper, which means ‘always’ (in the middle of an English sentence) to stress the regularity of my hunger in the sentence.

6) The Word of the Day Method

Word of the day method involves memorizing a different word in a foreign language every single day. On average, an adult repeats a foreign word 150 times to learn it. At this rate, learning the whole language will take a very long time. However, if streamlined with your Word of the Day, words can be learned faster, relatively increasing your language learning speed.

7) Learn Words with Some Authentic Phrases

This is more or less like the lexical approach discussed earlier. It involves not just learning words as they stand alone, but also applying them in phrases. Try to learn likely phrases that can be used with the word and apply them to the learning process.

8) Increase your General Exposure to the Language

Without a doubt, a foreign language can be learned outside the regular book reading process; especially if your daily activities are exposed to the culture and ideas of that language. Somewhat similar to the immersion process, this process involves eating, dressing and living generally in the wake of the foreign language’s culture.

According to scientists, infants have to be exposed to their language for 2/3 of their daily lives to quickly learn that language. This fact can easily relate to the language learning process as well since they are both similar. In essence, getting more exposure to a foreign language, and being full immersed, will speed up the language learning process.

9) Being Entertained with Languages

Try to focus on being entertained in the language you are willing to learn. This focus, if achieved, can lead to enthusiasm and interest, thereby speeding up the language learning process. Being entertained in a foreign language can easily be achieved at home with movies, songs and radio presentations in that language. However, you might also one to consider going for shows and exhibits exclusively in that language.

10) Make Your Own Flash Cards

If you are having trouble with memorization (which is an important aspect of language learning), using flash cards will be a good idea. This old-fashioned memorization aid involves writing the word and its meaning on both sides of the card. From time to time, one can go over the flash cards to remember or easily memorize words they’ve lost track on.

Your own Hack-a-thon!

There are many ways by which you can learn new languages; however, the hacks mentioned above will make the process faster and more effective. Simply pick a language you wish to begin learning, apply the hacks to your own personal learning journey, follow the tips and keep your process consistent. In no time at all, you will be speaking your desired language proficiently!

Apply these hacks and become fluent in your choice of foreign language in no time at all! Start learning now.

You can now use technology to help you learn almost any language from Spanish to Swahili to High Valyrian

The Internet has made it easier for us to connect with people around the world. However, not all of us speak the same language. This makes it difficult to communicate. You could learn the language you need to by paying for a class, giving tests over a period of months or you can use tech
to hack the speed at which you can learn.

TripLingo

TripLingo is a language app focussed on travel. The languages are divided according to the place you wish to visit. Once selected, it will teach you everything you need to know about the culture, language, phrases and safety tips. The app also has a voice translator that you can use to change your voice to the target language, and an image translator that will convert text from a picture.