Can Alcohol Improve Language Fluency?

After two and a half beers, I feel borderline fluent in Chinese.

My tones improve. My words flow. I even gesture like a native. It’s like someone unlocked the language settings in my brain.

One sip more… and it all collapses. Slurred grammar. Rogue tones. A conversational car crash.

I’ve always joked about this effect. Turns out, someone’s studied it - and the findings are fascinating (and a bit dangerous).

What the research says

Fifty German students, all learning Dutch, were split into two groups....