As complex our brain is, our brain is divided into two hemispheres with each having its dominant role. For most right-handed people and some left-handed people, the left hemisphere is dominant for language. In addition, different areas of the cortex correlates to different kinds of linguistic abilities. For example, Broca's area affects the ability to speak and Wernicke's area affects the ability to comprehend speech. We process meaning by having sentences to enable us to make sense of the words that we speak. The interaction between sentence structures and words conveys "sense of sense" which helps us find the meaning of the words.
The readings provided some good strategies to advance in my new language. In order to improve my vocabulary, simply memorizing words and definitions will not work. I have to know how the native speakers use those words and how the words fit in my sentences. Comprehending how a word works within different contexts would be a key point in improving my vocabulary. On top of that, many words have so many meanings. To fully understand how one word could be used in various ways, cultural aspect is incredibly important in learning a new language.
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