研究發現 學鋼琴有利於提升兒童語言能力

The smartest children don't read books -- they play piano, a new study has found.

一項新研究發現，最聰明的孩子不讀書--他們彈鋼琴。

Playing an instrument for just six months can noticeably improve a child's linguistic ability, according to the latest research.

這項最新研究顯示，僅僅彈奏一件樂器六個月的時間就能顯著提高孩子的語言能力。

Compared to children who read, those who have learnt to play the piano were far superior in their detection of various sounds.

與讀書的孩子相比，學過鋼琴的孩子在分辨各種聲音方面都要出色得多。

But while the instrument can help with children's understanding of pitch and conversation, tickling the ivories has no affect on IQ, attention span or memory.

不過，雖然樂器可以幫助孩子理解音調和對話，但敲擊琴鍵對智商、保持注意力集中的時間長短和記憶力沒有任何影響。

Seventy-four Mandarin-speaking children aged four to six years old were assigned to one of three groups: piano training, reading training, or a no-contact control group.

在這項研究中，74名母語爲漢語的4到6歲的幼童被分爲三組，包括鋼琴訓練組、閱讀訓練組以及不接受訓練的對照組。

One group received thrice-weekly 45-minute piano lessons for 6 months, one group received training in reading throughout the same period, and the third group, which acted as a control, received no training.

一組孩子每週上三次鋼琴課，每次45分鐘，爲期六個月；另一個小組在同一時期內接受閱讀訓練；作爲對照的第三組沒有安排訓練。

The study found that in just one month, children who were playing the piano outperformed the other two groups in a language test based on the sound of consonants.

這項研究發現，在短短一個月內，在基於聲母的語言測試中，彈奏鋼琴的孩子的成績超過了其他兩個小組。

The children in both the piano and reading groups performed better for vowel sounds than those in the control group.

鋼琴和閱讀組的孩子在韻母發音方面的表現都比對照組的孩子好。

'In contrast, all three groups improved equally on general cognitive measures, including tests of IQ, working memory, and attention,' the authors write in their paper, published today in PNAS.

作者們在今天發表於美國《國家科學院學報》月刊的論文中寫道：“與之相反，這三個小組在一般認知能力方面的提高程度都是一樣的，包括智商、工作記憶和注意力測試方面的表現。”

The researchers found children who played the piano and were better at distinguishing between different words also showed a stronger response to the detection of pitch.

研究人員發現，那些彈奏鋼琴並且更擅長區分不同詞語的孩子對辨別音調也表現出更強的反應。

To test this, the team conducted an electroencephalography (EEG) on every child and found general improvements in sound processing ability.

爲了測試這一點，研究小組對每個孩子進行了腦電圖檢查，發現他們的聲音處理能力得到普遍提升。

This was exemplified by the amplified detection of musical pitch and lexical tone.

這體現在分辨音調和詞彙語調的能力增強上。

Although playing an instrument is not a shortcut to improved intelligence, early music training could prove to be better for the development of brain regions implicated in processing pitch.

雖然彈奏樂器並不是提升智力的捷徑，但早期音樂訓練可能會被證明更有利於開發與處理音調有關聯的大腦區域。