New tongues spring
from original source Asahi Shimbun

　A French method of language learning which applies language and hearing specialist Alfred A Tomatis’principles to achieve better assimilation oflanguages，was incorporated here recently and may provide the answer for many frustrated Japanese trying to speak foreign languages．The method is based on modification of the auditory facilities to improve students ability to take in new languages.
“Any modification occurring in the auditory system leads to a modification of the verbal output．” according to the theory　of the Tomatis effect．
　Each language has its own peculiar frequency span（sounds）which the ear is accustomed．Tomatis’method aims to modify the ear to recognize sounds in the same way that fetuses begin to from four and a half months onward.

To do this，Tomatis has reproduced the acoustic environment of the womb which actually sounds in the headpbone like insects chirp in the flowing water but which the careful listener will notice changes in rhythm and frequency for each language．
The method has been practiced for more than 40 years and is now taught at training centers in 18 countries．In France some elementary schools apply the method．Professionals form an international
network and keep contact with Tomatis and his staff in Paris．
　The first training center here，Tomatis Japan Inc．，opened last April in Tokyo's Roppongi area．About 250 students are currently enrolled at five of its centers．
　According to its president,Kuniko Murase，Tomatis，theories are also applied
in the therapy of psychogenic disorders in some countries．
　Takayuki Takizawa，a linguistics professor at Nagoya University，says it is a commonly accepted fact that languages have their own frequency spans．The Tomatis metbod is quite popular in the West but its effectiveness on the Japanese remains unknown．

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