Perception of English Speech and Musical Ability by Japanese Learners and Native Speakers of English

Abstract

Is there a relationship between the perception of English speech and musical ability? Among forty-one native speakers of English, the correlation coefficient between the ability to perceive pitch variations in English speech and musical ability (pitch discrimination) was 0.08, while length perception of English speech and pitch discrimination in music was -0.17, indicating no significant correlations (Sasaki, 2023). This study aims to examine whether a similar tendency is observed among Japanese learners of English. Among seventy-seven Japanese learners of English, a weak correlation was found (correlation coefficient of 0.37) between the ability to perceive pitch variations in English speech and pitch discrimination in music, at a significance level of 0.05. A moderate correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.45) was observed between length perception in English speech and pitch discrimination in music. The results suggest that Japanese learners of English with greater abilities to distinguish musical pitch levels tend to be better at distinguishing pitch and length variations in English speech.