The pieces were recorded and divided into two-minute sections. Additionally, the participants filled out a questionnaire that measured empathetic abilities in 29 statements.

The study's second stage took 20 different native Hebrew speaking participants. They listened to the pieces that had been recorded in the first stage, and rated each piece according to accent 'heaviness.'

Subsequently, each participant from the first stage was given a score on the weight of his or her accent and another score for level of empathy.

The study revealed that the accent level of Russian immigrants and native Arabic speakers was similar. It also revealed that for the Russian immigrants, there was a direct link between the two measures: the higher the ability to exhibit empathy for the other, the weaker the accent.

The study was published in the International Journal of Bilingualism.