From the readings assigned for this week, I learned a lot about what areas of the brain are used in the process of communication, and in the process of comprehending that communication. In the first article, a largely anatomical approach was used, where it pretty much just stated the physical parts of the brain that were used in producing speech (Broca's area) and to understand or analyze it (Wernicke's area). It gave a detailed overview of how our physical brains worked during even the most natural, and seemingly effortless, conversations we might have.
The philosophical approach to the question of whether words have meanings attached to them, was an interesting question that I had honestly never considered before reading that article. I personally conceptualize or process meaning through context and depending on my situation. A word as simple as "interesting" could have several different meanings based on who I was talking to, or what I was talking about. My language learning process could go much deeper and I could become significantly more immersed in the process if I kept all of this information in mind. While one word having many different meanings could just be a natural interpretation in my native language, when learning a foreign language, this could be a difficult hurdle to overcome. However, with these articles in mind, and an understanding that it is possible for me to overcome hurdles like this, and even more difficult obstacles, I'll be able to approach learning Korean with more confidence and also more enthusiasm.
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