A study conducted by researchers collaborating between the University of Liverpool, Maastricht University and King's College London, and published in the
Journal of Psychopharmacology, shows that the ability of bilingual speakers to speak another language is improved after they drink a moderate amount of alcohol.
The study, entitled "Dutch courage? Effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-ratings and observer ratings of foreign language skills" seemed to confirm a number of anecdotal accounts of improved language skills while under the influence, yet it also contradicted the expectations of the scientists. It's already pretty well-known that alcohol can impair your cognitive motor and memory functions (i.e. make you stupid as hell) since depressives are capable of interfering with the brain's so-called "executive functions."
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In layman's terms, executive functions are a series of cognitive processes which govern behaviour, managing attentional control, cognitive inhibition, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. You'd think that drinking would, therefore, ruin our ability to communicate. But apparently, the increased self-confidence and reduction of social anxiety can play a vital role in our foreign language fluency.
Researchers gave the study's participants a low dose of alcohol, and then carefully observed their abilities to converse in Dutch. The 50 native German speakers studying at Maastricht and had only recently learned to read and write in Dutch, as well as speak the language. The German native speakers were given either a low dose of alcohol, or a glass which contained nothing. The participants were not told whether or not they had consumed the alcoholic beverage or not. The precise amount of alcohol varied depending on the body weight of the participant in question, but the published article claims that it would have been the equivalent of just under one pint (approximately 460ml) of five per cent lager measured for a 70kg male.
Conversations between the native German speakers and the native Dutch Speakers were then audio-recorded, and the foreign language skills of the study's participants then rated by two Dutch speakers. These people were kept in the dark as to whether or not the person they were assessing had consumed alcohol or not. The participants were also asked to rate their own language skills during the course of the conversation. The researchers learned that the people who were slightly tipsy boasted far superior observer-ratings for Dutch speaking. Specifically, they were rated much better for pronunciation, compared to those who had not consumed alcohol. However, alcohol had no effect on people's own ratings of their Dutch language skills.
Dr Inge Kersbergen, one of the study's lead authors, stated: "Our study shows that acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who recently learned that language. This provides some support for the lay belief (among bilingual speakers) that a low dose of alcohol can improve their ability to speak a second language."
However, her co-author Dr Jessica Werthmann was keen to point out that their results were not absolutely conclusive, stating: "We need to be cautious about the implications of these results until we know more about what causes the observed results. One possible mechanism could be the anxiety-reducing effect of alcohol. But more research is needed to test this."
Ultimately, it could be more to do with the fact that drinking can calm you and make you more relaxed, open and sociable, rather than any specific neurochemical benefit. So if you're trying to pick up a new language and want to make some headway, just remember to stay confident when conversing, and make sure you're not drinking yourself under the table.
