Synaesthesia, a neurological condition where stimulation of one sense triggers experiences in another, is increasingly recognized for its potential to enhance learning, particularly in languages. Recent research highlights how individuals with synaesthesia, who might “see” foreign languages or associate colors with letters and numbers, possess cognitive advantages that facilitate language acquisition. This unique perceptual ability can transform language learning from a challenging task into a more intuitive and efficient process. By exploring the ways in which synaesthesia intertwines with language, educators and learners alike can gain new insights into optimizing learning strategies.

One specific type of synaesthesia, grapheme-color synaesthesia, where letters and numbers evoke specific colors, has been shown to significantly aid in statistical learning, a crucial element in language acquisition. A study conducted at the University of Toronto exposed participants to artificial languages composed of nonsensical words. The grapheme-color synaesthetes demonstrated a greater ability to differentiate between these artificial languages compared to non-synaesthetes. This suggests that synaesthesia facilitates the segmentation of language, enabling individuals to discern patterns and structures more effortlessly. The colors associated with letters enhance memorability and can create a “bridge” between languages, making words in a second language more memorable.

Julia Simner, who heads the Multisense Synaesthesia Research Laboratory at the University of Sussex, and her team conducted tests on approximately 6,000 children aged six to ten. The findings revealed that children with synaesthesia exhibited superior abilities in receptive vocabulary (understanding words), productive vocabulary (expressing words), short-term memory, attention to detail, and creativity compared to their peers without the condition. These synesthetic skills suggest that second-language learning may be more manageable for individuals with synaesthesia. The study provides new evidence that children with grapheme-color synaesthesia show vocabulary and literacy differences. Synaesthetes performed better than both average performing and high performing controls in expressive vocabulary, receptive vocabulary, and in academic self-concept for reading.

Moreover, the benefits of synaesthesia extend beyond memory enhancement. Post-hoc tests revealed that superior performers were not only synaesthetes with colored letters and numbers but even those with colored numbers only. This suggests that the advantages go beyond improved memory from dual-coding alone. Some have suggested that synaesthesia may emerge in response to some type of early learning challenge. If they are correct, this ‘challenge’ could include new linguistic learning (e.g. reading and writing) at the start of schooling. If so, this could trigger synaesthesia (in those genetically predisposed) and perhaps especially in those who have had the greatest engagement in their learning.