Reflect on the readings. How does this knowledge help you shape your language learning process?.
After reading the articles, I can see the deeper connection of the brain’s involvement in the language learning process, and how the learning process is made out of building blocks of association and meanings. In the first article, I read that the left hemisphere controls the movement of the right side of the body, and it is dominant in language for right handed people. The left hemisphere is also dominant in analytical tasks, categorization, calculation, logical calculation, information sequencing, complex motor functions and language. As a right handed person, I often use my hand to make gestures when I try to describe something, or a word. I can see the connections between using my right hand for language and using my left hemisphere for analytical tasks and calculations. I often fidget with my right fingers when I try to remember something or try to study for tests. I am also more of a left hemisphere person, as I am an Accounting major, and as an Accounting major I do many calculations and analytical work everyday. I see that I can use this knowledge to my advantage by trying to using my right side of my body to awaken my left hemisphere connections. I can make gestures when I say different words in Korean, for example say the word for ‘run’ in Korean and make a running gesture with the right side of my body-- hopefully this type of learning will help my remember words better.
I also have to say that I agree with both the naturalist view and conventionalist view. When I was learning Spanish, there were certain words that I learned and could guess the meaning from without knowing the definition. It would have to do with the way the word sounded, and the way the word was spoken. Take the word “emocionado.” Obviously from the context of the English word “emotional” you can tell it has something to do with emotion. I didn't know the word before I studied in Spain, but when people would use the word they would say it with such feeling, that I knew what it meant, without connecting the word to the English word. However, I also agree with the conventionalist view that words need to be put into sentences so we can gather the meaning of them. There are many English words that I need a dictionary for in order to transcribe the meanings of the word. I imagine that when I learn Korean I will have to draw from both disciplines. I will have to learn to associate some words with their natural meaning, and simply have to memorize the definitions of other words. I believe being open to a mix of the two disciplines will help me accelerate my Korean learning process.
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