Viewpoint: What Brain Research Can Tell Us About Accent Modification
The field of brain research has made numerous advances in the past few decades into how we learn new motor skills, from the value of sleep to the discovery of “mirror neurons,” which fire when we watch others performing movements we are attempting to learn. Accent modification may be conceptualized as a form of sensorimotor skill learning – learning to produce a set of movement components and performing them as a whole automatically in spontaneous speech. Motor skill learning occurs in stages and motor habits are formed after acquisition of the new behavior, consolidation of the new brain patterns, and automatic production in appropriate settings. New neural pathways are formed and both cortical and subcortical brain regions participate. The author of this article reviews concepts from the neuroscience literature in the field of motor skill acquisition, work which has primarily focused on the learning of arm and finger movements, and attempts to apply them in a practical manner for the clinician working with non-native English speakers. Discussed are the neurophysiology of motor skill learning, stages of habit formation, intermittent practice, sleep, feedback, mirror neurons and motor imagery. Practical suggestions are given to optimize the accent modification process for the clinician and client.