How the Tomatis Method accelerates the learning of foreign languages
On 25 March 1957, the French Academy of Sciences heard a very particular report. The academicians heard tell of the discoveries of a young ENT specialist named Alfred Tomatis. He had discovered laws that correlated hearing and speaking. His discoveries would have a great impact in many areas, among them the learning of foreign languages. He had discovered why, for some people, it is so difficult to learn to speak a foreign language, while for others the thing proves to be very easy. More important still, he had perfected a method and an apparatus for overcoming this difficulty.
Professor Tomatis was repeatedly awarded for his research. Among the various distinctions received, the Gold Medal for Scientific Research (Brussels, 1958) and the appointment as Chevalier de la Santé Publique of France (1951).
At present there exist in the world many Centres founded by pupils of Professor Tomatis, so that an ever-growing number of people can benefit from his discoveries.
The function of the Tomatis method is to train the ear of the student to perceive with greater clarity the sounds of the new language. As a result, he will be able to understand it and to speak it with greater ease and speed.
This article will give you a view of the theories upon which the Tomatis method is based, and will also show you how it works in practice.
Tomatis's discovery
Professor Tomatis's original experiment had nothing to do with the learning of languages. Nor was it one of those complicated tests of which you have often read. It was, in effect, an experiment amusing in certain respects. Professor Tomatis asked a very famous opera singer to sing an aria. While he was singing, Tomatis placed upon his ears a headset connected with an electronic machine that made it possible to eliminate certain frequencies from his listening. It was an acoustic filter. Suddenly the singer's voice began to deteriorate. It happened that the voice began to lose the sounds that had been blocked by the filter. This experiment, and many others, laid the foundations of Tomatis's First Law:
We cannot reproduce a sound that we do not hear
You may ask yourself what connection exists between this law and the learning of foreign languages. To understand this, we must first explore some of the fundamental differences between the various languages.
The charm of a language
Have you ever wondered why a piano sounds different from a violin, even when you are playing the same note? Have you ever noticed that Italian spoken by a foreigner often does not sound like Italian? In both cases, the reason is the same. We shall first take a look at the difference between piano and violin, and then return to languages.
When we strike the key of a piano, we generate a tone, a frequency. At the same time, however, many other tones are generated, called harmonics. The harmonics are less intense than the base tone, so that we hear the base tone more. When we play the same base note on the violin, different harmonics are formed. This explains why a violin sounds completely different from a piano.
One of the reasons why the piano produces harmonics different from those of the violin is that their sounding boxes are very different. The piano has a large and heavy sounding box, while the sounding box of the violin is small and light.
Returning to the differences between languages, like musical instruments, all languages use the same base tones. These range from about 125 to 250 Hz. The harmonics, however, differ from one language to another. English uses many high-frequency sounds, ranging from 2000 to 12,000 Hertz. If we listen attentively, we distinguish these high frequencies. Listening to all the S's (as in SeSSionS) and the "TH" sound (as in THanks). French, on the other hand, rarely uses these high sounds. The S, for example, is rarely pronounced at the end of a word.
You will ask why English and French have different harmonics. Here the analogy with the sounding box fits to perfection. The fundamental tones are generated by the vocal cords. These tones travel through the oral cavity, where the harmonics come to be formed. The mouth acts as a sounding box. In reality we have two sounding boxes, because the oral cavity is divided into two parts by the tongue. As we know, we must position the tongue differently when we speak a foreign language.
Thus we use different "harmonic boxes" when we speak foreign languages, generating different harmonics. It is the position of the tongue that makes the difference! That is why we call our language our "mother tongue". That is also why we say that to speak a foreign language is an "exercise in lingual contortion".
Beyond this, a factor of primary importance acting upon the type of frequencies emitted are the bodily postures and the tensions of the skeletal muscles, which differ from one language to another and which lead the whole body to act as a sounding box, each time in a different manner.
It is the language itself that imposes the best posture in order to be better spoken and pronounced, through a subtle play of influences of the cochlea — which transforms sounds into nervous impulses — upon the vestibule, the organ of balance, which manages the tension and the movement of all the muscles of the body.
The sounds received by the cochlea programme, in some way, the vestibule, so that it gives the best bodily posture for speaking that particular language.
The concept to be deduced from what has been said above is that most languages use different sets of harmonics.
Our ears, by dint of listening to ourselves and to the people who surround us, are tuned more to the frequencies of our mother tongue.
To the foreign frequencies we are, in a certain sense, as if deaf — unless our mother tongue be, for example, Russian, Polish or Dutch. In these cases it happens that, these being languages that use a very wide range of acoustic frequencies, it is easy for those belonging to these linguistic groups to perceive clearly, and thus to learn with ease, a foreign language, on condition that it fall within the acoustic enclosure of their own language.
And here comes the connection with Professor Tomatis's discoveries: since we do not manage to perceive the foreign frequencies correctly, we cannot pronounce them correctly. And more still, we do not manage to memorise them with ease. A situation almost without hope, until Tomatis found a way of training the ear to perceive clearly different tonalities.
With a trained ear, we can significantly reduce the time required for the learning of a new language. Once our ear is trained, we manage to perceive the new idiom correctly, and we will also be able to memorise its words rapidly and to pronounce them well. In the section that follows, it is explained how the training of listening is carried out.
Ethno-linguistic training in theory
An analogy, once again, can help us to explain how our ear is trained. Before that, however, let us say why the ear cannot perceive certain tonalities clearly. This happens because the two very small muscles of the middle ear, the muscle of the hammer and the muscle of the stirrup, are not prepared to focus upon sounds rarely used in our mother tongue. They need to be exercised to do so. Professor Tomatis came to perfect a very ingenious system for making the ear do this exercise. Simplifying greatly, this may be explained as follows: by having the ear follow the same operation of accommodation to the listening of a native speaker, sounds in the language are alternated through two channels of amplification equalised in a different manner; one of the two sets the ear at rest, while the other stimulates the ear on the frequencies of the language one wishes to integrate. The muscles of the middle ear then accustom themselves to giving the eardrum the most adequate tension for focusing at best the frequencies of the new language.
Ethno-linguistic training in practice
How does the method work in practice? First of all, the Tomatis consultant will carry out a listening test, which serves to measure on which frequencies the subject is more able to discern sounds, and on which frequencies, instead, he is weaker in analysis.
Subsequently the person begins the Tomatis audio-vocal training for the language that he wishes to integrate from the point of view of comprehension and of pronunciation.
Generally the training consists of 2 or 3 cycles of sessions of audio-vocal exercises carried out through an apparatus called the Electronic Ear with Tomatis effect.
The first cycle lasts 30 hours and is attended for 2 hours or 2 and a half hours a day, until the conclusion of the 30 hours. In a first phase of the cycle, the subject receives passages in the language through a special headset connected to the Electronic Ear. The Electronic Ear makes it so that the information is perceived as if the subject had the same type of auditory accommodation as a native speaker.
This entails two positive effects:
1 – The subject's ear begins to accustom its musculature to tune itself more rapidly to the new sounds, with a gain on the learning time.
2 – The sounds reach the brain clearer than usual, being optimised on the frequencies of the new language to which the subject is not accustomed.
Moreover, the Electronic Ear is equipped with a system that makes it possible to regulate the time of passage from the channel of amplification that sets the subject's ear at rest to the channel that sets it in tune with the spectrum of frequencies characteristic of the language being studied. This makes it possible to train the ear to react with a determined time (latency time), which may be regulated, in the case of the integration of a foreign language, to the average latency time of that particular language. This perception time, Tomatis discovered, influences the time of syllabic emission. Hence the reason why certain languages are pronounced more quickly than others. For example, an Italian who must pronounce the French word "literature" must reproduce not only its sonority but also its rapidity, which is different from the Italian. The corresponding English word, which is written in the same way, we know well is almost exploded by the phonatory apparatus of a British speaker, reducing the pronunciation to a few sounds compared, for example, to French.
Italian, French, English, and likewise all the other languages, are distinguished, therefore, at the physical-acoustic level, by the use of different frequency bands (passbands) and by a particular time of syllabic emission, which is in close relation with the average latency time of that particular linguistic group.
After the passive phase of the training, the active phase begins, in which the pupil is invited to repeat words and phrases emitted by a tape recorder. The pupil's voice returns to his ear, through the headset connected with the Electronic Ear, transformed on the frequencies that characterise the language and returned with the latency time typical of it. The effects upon pronunciation are noticed almost instantly. After a certain number of sessions, the subject is trained at the neuromuscular level to perceive and to pronounce in an improved manner. At a certain point, reading exercises in the language are introduced.
After the first cycle of 30 hours, a period of time of a few weeks (about 6) is allowed to pass, which serves to consolidate the new linguistic "software", and one continues with the second cycle, which is shorter (20 hours), where the ear is trained with both passive and, above all, active exercises, to refine and consolidate further the fine perception and the pronunciation of the language. If necessary, a third cycle of 20 hours is carried out, to push further the capacity for fine listening and for the pronunciation of the language, or to exercise listening on sonorities of the language particularly difficult for the pupil.
The linguistic birth
There probably exist more languages than isolated words, Tomatis used to say jokingly. That is why we also need to learn in what order to put the words within the phrases, on which words to place the emphasis, with what rhythm to speak, and so on. This is called the structure of language. Tomatis developed within his method a way of learning the structure of language more easily.
A few lines above, we spoke of the "mother tongue", giving importance to the word "tongue". Now, instead, let us give attention to the word "mother".
It has been known for a long time now that the deep structure of our mother tongue was engrammed in us during our growth in the maternal womb. During the last five months of pregnancy, we were able to hear our mother's voice. Her voice, however, resounded for us in a manner different from her true voice. It had to pass through the amniotic fluid that surrounds the foetus and that filled the middle ear. This functioned as an acoustic filter and let pass only the very high frequencies, those above 6000-8000 Hertz. It was the exposure to our mother's voice, filtered in this manner, that gave our brain the deep structure of our "mother tongue".
In the same way, with the Tomatis method, this process is simulated. During the passive phase, indeed, a text recorded in the mother tongue is listened to, which is progressively filtered up to 8000 Hertz. This permits a better integration of the high harmonics of the language and of its fundamental rhythms. At a certain point, one begins to add progressively the frequencies that had been removed, bringing listening onto all the frequencies of the new language, just as had happened after birth, when our ear had had to adapt from the sonority given by a liquid environment to the new sonority given by the aerial acoustic environment. This is called, in technical terms, the "linguistic sonic birth".
Once born into the new language, we begin to speak; so, with the Tomatis method, one begins to repeat words and phrases through the Electronic Ear, and one learns to control pronunciation and intonation.
The directing ear
Few know that, just as we have a dominant hand or eye, we also have a dominant ear.
Some people listen more with the right ear, while others listen more with the left ear. Professor Tomatis discovered that it is more advantageous to listen more with the right ear, above all when one wishes to learn a new language. This is because the right ear is connected more directly with the left hemisphere of the brain, where the centre that controls linguistic abilities is found. If one listens more with the left ear, the information is sent to the right brain and must be redirected to the left hemisphere to be processed. This takes time. Not only that, but through this more tortuous path the sounds risk losing part of the high harmonics. Let us say that it is generally more advantageous to be right-eared.
During the training with the Electronic Ear, it is possible to train the right ear to become dominant, and this will further facilitate the linguistic integration.
The experimental proofs
The Coomen study
In 1976, the efficacy of the Tomatis method was tested in a school in the town of Coomen, in Belgium. A class of 30 students of a secondary school was divided into two groups, well balanced for their listening abilities, as determined by the listening test.
None of these students, of French mother tongue, had previously studied the English language. The first group followed the traditional English courses, as provided for by the school programme. The second group followed the Tomatis training for three months, followed by six months of regular school lessons. At the end of the school year, all the students were tested by an independent examiner, for comprehension and pronunciation. The Tomatis group far surpassed the control group. After the summer holidays the two groups were tested again, and the difference became more pronounced.
The Tomatis group maintained what it had learned, while the control group had forgotten a good part of what it had learned.
The result of this test proved, for the scholastic institutions, the validity of the method. Since then many students and professionals in the world have benefited from the Tomatis method for the learning of languages.
Many professionals of the Italian and international world of entertainment use the method not only to refine their verbal and singing performances, but also to learn in shorter times the use of a foreign language, surmounting what is often the greatest obstacle for Italian native speakers, namely the difficulties of pronunciation and of comprehension.
Linguistic training within a large industrial group
Since 1989, Eurocopter, one of the most important helicopter manufacturers in the world, uses the Tomatis method to facilitate for its employees the learning of the English language. The international nature of its activity requires that its employees be sent abroad and that they speak fluently the language of their counterpart.
To speak the language of the business partner facilitates communication, but also creates contacts that may lead to future contracts. Eurocopter dedicated a very significant budget to educating its personnel. Between 1989 and 1995, 580 employees followed the Tomatis Linguistic Training, and their progress was monitored.
While the European Council estimates that at least 700 hours are necessary to become fluent in a foreign language, Eurocopter had set itself the objective of obtaining fluency in 620 hours. The Eurocopter employees who followed the Tomatis Training, followed then by regular English lessons, reached this objective in only 520 hours. A substantial saving of 180 hours.
After having completed the training with the Tomatis method
- 92% of them noticed an improved perception of the language
- 88% of them obtained a better comprehension of the language
- 85% of them a more expressive intonation
- 86% of them began to perceive the sounds of the language more clearly
- 77% of them obtained an improved sense of the rhythm and of the language
An unexpected benefit was that 83% of the people noticed that they communicated better with others and were more motivated to take on responsibilities.
The European inter-university research Audio-Lingua
Research carried out (1993–1996) within the framework of the European programme Socrates at several European universities.
The research was conducted on: "the acceleration and the deepening — with the support of an electronic instrument — of the auditory comprehension and of the oral expression of a foreign language", the Audio-Lingua Project.
The material used was the "Tomatis System" of Training in Sonic Perception
This research was initiated by the University of Bologna - Italy.
Audio-Lingua Project:
begun in 1993 (no 92-09/0775/I-VB)
1994 (no 93-09/1289/I-VB)
1995 (no 94-09/1768/I-VB)
The official bodies and institutions that supervised, participated in and validated this programme of study and research are:
- Bureau Lingua (named, from 1996: Bureau d'assistance technique Socrates), Brussels - Belgium
- University of Bologna - Advanced School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators. (Sslimt) - Italy;
- Katholieke Vlaamse Hogeschool, Antwerpen - Belgium;
- Gerhard Mercator Universität, Duisburg - Germany;
- Università La Sapienza, Rome - Italy;
- Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore, Milan - Italy;
- Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza - Spain;
- CITO (National Institute for Educational Measurement), Arnhem - Netherlands;
Method
Each university constituted 3 groups:
1- "STAPS" Group: this group works with the Electronic Ear on a corpus that makes it possible to train in pronunciation, but without any assistance from teachers.
2- Control Group: this group works in a traditional language laboratory on a corpus that makes it possible to train in pronunciation with the permanent assistance of a teacher.
3- Group O: this group works without any specific exercise on pronunciation; it follows the language courses according to the normal practice in force in its university.
Each of the groups followed the language courses in force in its university.
Results
The results of this research validate the "Tomatis System of Training in Sonic Perception" as a reliable and complementary instrument to the teaching systems used in the universities that participated in the Audiolingua experience.
From these results it emerges that:
The S.T.A.P.S. method makes it possible to reduce very significantly the learning time and consequently the effort of concentration and the fatigue of the student; this results from the activation of a greater capacity for the analysis and the differentiation of sounds.
Its action upon the perceptual aspects of learning (the capacity for comprehension and oral expression) permits a gain of 50% on the integration time.
This "training" can be integrated, with the same success, with other pedagogical methods. In this way it can form part of the pedagogical programme of any training structure and can be used both individually and collectively.
The use of the STAPS is strongly recommended for the teaching of languages, in particular in the absence of a native-speaking language teacher.
The perceptual faculties identified and then reactivated by the use of the S.T.A.P.S. continue to evolve after the period of training.
Socrates is a programme of support for education and initial training. This programme, created by the European Community, brings support to and completes the action of the member States in the matter of education (higher education, school education, the educational system . . . . .). The Audio-Lingua research falls within the framework of the following objective:
To develop the European dimension in studies and to improve the knowledge of the languages of the European Union.
Downloadable articles relating to the Tomatis method and living languages:
Magazine SON, no. 31, October 1972 "Integration of living languages"
Magazine SON, no. 40, July-August 1973 "Sound modifies the structure of the body"
Tempo Medico, 1 April 1992 - "The world in the ear"
Gazzetta del Sud, 3 December 2002 - "In discovery of acoustic geography"
Gazzetta del Sud, 24 January 2004 - "We are all Polyglots"
Lettere Meridiane, September 2014 - "The acoustic geography of Alfred Tomatis"
For more information on how the Tomatis method manages to help the integration of a language, read the volume by Alfred Tomatis "Siamo tutti nati poliglotti" (We Are All Born Polyglots), published by Xenia Edizioni, or ask for information at the centres that apply the method.
The chapter "An acoustic geography" of Tomatis's autobiography "L'orecchio E la vita" (The Ear and Life), Xenia Edizioni, is also recommended.
It is possible to request structured applications for specific situations, such as the preparation of film and theatre scripts, singing or acting in a foreign language, and more.