[Source: Science Daily]

If elementary school children are accustomed to many regional and foreign accents because they hear them frequently in their linguistic environment, then it is easier for them to learn new words from other children who speak with unfamiliar accents. This is shown by the research results of Assistant Prof. Dr. Adriana Hanulíková and Helena Levy from the German Department at the University of Freiburg. “In contrast to previous studies, it is not bilingual children who necessarily perform better in vocabulary acquisition, but children who are exposed to diverse accents most frequently,” explains Hanulíková, assistant professor of language and cognition. For their study, the two linguists developed a novel virtual and game-based design. Their findings recently appeared in the journal Language Learning.

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