Musical ability may not help you learn a second language

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-08-19 09:01

International

Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash

Musical skills may not be linked to a higher ability to pick up a second language, according to a small study testing a commonly held view that musical training can boost language skills. In two cohorts, researchers assessed the English-speaking proficiency of 146 native Portuguese speakers and 174 Polish speakers, and looked at their level of musical training, self-reported musical ability and their performance on tests of their melody and rhythm perception. In the Portuguese group, the researchers say there was no link between music and English skills, and in the Polish group, they say English skills were linked to better self-reported musical ability, but not the objective tests.

News release

From: The Royal Society

Revisiting the Association Between Musical Expertise and Second-Language Proficiency

Royal Society Open Science

A common view holds that music training causes widespread nonmusical benefits, including language abilities. Here we tested whether musical expertise is associated with the ability to use a second language in context. No associations were found, even though we recruited participants from Portugal and Poland, and defined language proficiency and musical expertise in multiple ways.

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research The Royal Society, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: ISCTE-Instituto Universitario de Lisboa, Portugal

Funder: This work was supported by the Eawag Discretionary Funds.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.