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However, when the researchers compared learners' EEG brain wave patterns from before the program with the various measures taken during and after the 8-week course, they found some interesting links. For example, higher power in beta and gamma brain waves, and lower power in delta and theta waves, predicted faster second language learning. This, together with other brain wave measures, led study leader Chantel Prat, an associate professor of psychology, and colleagues to conclude: "We've found that a characteristic of a person's brain at rest predicted 60 percent of the variability in their ability to learn a second language in adulthood." The researchers say their study is the first to use EEG patterns of resting-state brain activity to predict the subsequent rate at which people can learn a second language. Earlier this year, a team from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, showed how preexisting differences in resting-state brain connectivity could predict how well a student learned a second language. However, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a more expensive technology. Neurofeedback training So, does the finding mean that people whose brain wave patterns predict they are likely to be less successful or slower at learning should not try to learn a second language? Prof. Prat says not at all, and she gives two reasons. First, the fact the brain wave patterns only predicted 60 percent of variability in learning means there is plenty of room for other important factors - such as motivation - to influence learning. Second, it is possible, Prof.
Prat explains, to alter one's resting-state brain wave patterns with neurofeedback training - an approach where you can strengthen brain activity patterns that are linked to better thinking and learning skills. She and her team are starting to investigate this angle. They are looking at aspects of brain function that are linked to being able to learn well, she says, and explains that their goal is to "use this research in combination with technologies such as neurofeedback training to help everyone perform at their best." The idea is that people keen to learn a second language but who do not have the desirable brain wave patterns could perhaps use neurofeedback training to alter the patterns and help themselves learn faster. Immersive virtual reality language training The immersive virtual reality language training program that the researchers used in the study is called the Operational Language and Cultural Training System (OLCTS). It was developed using funds provided by the United States Office of Naval Research, who also funded the study. The aim of OLCTS is to make service men and women proficient in a foreign language with 20 hours of training. The self-paced program guides the learner through scenes and stories where they communicate with different actors in the new language. A voice recognition component also allows them to check their pronunciation.