Alcohol and Language Learning
Is sobriety a language learning barrier? Why does it seem we learn language better when "under the influence"? Or is this the case?
Online recently, I posted this quote/image as a joke and in jest. However, after I did, I got to reflecting on the premise or premises behind it. As they say, every joke, however stupid, does have a kernel of truth in it.
Do we learn language better when we’ve “had a few”?
I remember my early days of teaching in the Czech Republic. I lived in the romantic town of poets and thinkers - Karlovy Vary. Actually though, I practically lived in the hospody (pub) - the “Smickhach”, with glorious Staropramen. After many years there, when I left, they even put a brass plaque where I’d sat evening upon evening, sometimes even mornings, drinking with the construction workers. Boy o boy has this place changed since my days there in the 90s!
And I did learn Czech without opening a book. A girlfriend or two helped but mostly I attribute it to the pub. After a few glorious beers, I’d “open up” and it seemed like the gates of language learning heaven opened up too.
While a few beers before I didn’t understand the guy across from me at all - all of a sudden I seemed to know exactly what he was muttering about (usually his wife or some high end philosophical issue - Czechs swing like that).
What’s going on here? Does alcohol, a few drinks, actually improve your ability to learn language. Or let’s go further, even your ability to understand a foreign language?
Let’s look at the issues here.
It might just all be the placebo effect. Subjective. You think you are better at the language and learning more because, well, you are drunk or half-drunk. You’re biased. Your gut feelings can’t be trusted given your blood alcohol level. Hell, I’ve even talked and understood dogs after a good number of drinks. I’ve sometimes even forgot the way home.
Maybe a few drinks relax you. Most people say this. Research supports a lower affective filter being beneficial to language learning. We care less about making errors, we get out of our cocoon and don’t try to be absolutely correct with every utterance. Writers are notorious for their alcoholic consumption - no need to mention examples, the list would be so, so long. But if it works for them, to get ideas, thoughts flowing, maybe it works for us pedantic language learners?
Maybe, just maybe, you are more tolerant. Ambiguity tolerance increases after a few drinks. You become less stressed by what you don’t understand. You just try to understand the general meaning and “go with the flow”. Wink. Nod. Repeat. Learners with higher ambiguity tolerance often do better than those on the lower end of the scale. It’s why kids are such great language learners. They don’t try to understand what they have no hope in understanding.
Conclusions.
One thing I think we can say with some certainty based on SLA research is that since language learning is largely an unconscious affair - alcohol may well play a role in removing more of the conscious awareness that governs our sober lives and allow us to learn more unconsciously, with less awareness. By unconscious - we mean, the ability to learn the complex and subtle regularities that underlie a language without even realising. We don’t mean drinking ‘til you are unconscious!
Too, language is above all else, a social affair. So it does make sense alcohol, that great social equalizer and primer, plays a role. We are much more social when having had a few drinks. This makes us practice our language skills more …
Another conclusion - if you take this approach, you might just pay more than you would for regular language lessons given the price of drinks in pubs and bars these days. Just saying. Sure, you can drink and learn at home but it’s not the same. Note to self - good research topic for graduate students. The effects of alcohol on self-directed or online language learning. A topic for another blog post, another time.
I’m thirsty!
