Musical Aptitude as a Predictor of Rhythm Production in Second Language Speech

This study examined the role of musical aptitude in predicting second language (L2) rhythm production at both word and sentence levels. To investigate the predictors of L2 English rhythmic performance, 60 Korean learners of English (age range: 18–31 years; M  = 24.87, SD  = 3.34) were recruited from South Korea. All participants completed a background questionnaire, a linguistic task, and a musical task. In the linguistic task, participants listened to recordings of 10 nonce words and 20 English sentences spoken by a native speaker and imitated them immediately after hearing them. Musical aptitude was measured using the Profile of Music Perception Skills–Short test. Participants’ rhythmic performance on both words and sentences was evaluated by four native expert raters. Linear mixed-effects model analyses revealed that musical aptitude accounted for 14.5% of the variance in word rhythm production and 23.1% in sentence rhythm production. Although English proficiency was also a significant predictor, musical aptitude contributed a larger proportion of the variance in the present models. These findings demonstrate a clear connection between musical aptitude and L2 rhythmic performance. This study highlights the benefits of musical ability in L2 speech production, providing implications for educators and insights for future research on the interplay between music and language.