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.
Comments
Excellent post, Taiyaba. Language is most definitely closely related to physiology. The D. Crystal text highlights the relationships between different parts of the brain and language. The Broca's and Wernicke's areas are especially important. Different parts of the brain exhibit connections to bodily functions and the two hemispheres of the brain. Have you ever noticed that when you can't think of a word, your eyes tend to look up to the left? Alternatively, if you are attempting to make calculations related to Accounting or other quantitative fields, have you found that your eyes gravitate to the upper right? The optic nerves that connect the eyes to the brain crisscross, and intersect to different hemispheres of the brain. Neurologists hypothesize that these kinds of activities reflect the predominating tendencies of each hemisphere.
There has been some debate regarding the division of skills and proclivities ascribed to each hemisphere. Stroke victims, for instance, often regain skills temporarily lost during states of hypoxia (lack of oxygen delivered to vital organs) in other unaffected regions of the brain. The synaptic connections between nerve cells, moreover, demonstrate some ability to re-organize and even to regenerate to a certain extent, promoting the survival and growth of the individual. It's interesting that the scientific community has gleaned more information about the brain by studying damage to this vital organ, as opposed to understanding its positivistic composition and associated functions. Scientists employ apophatic methods, or studies by purposeful negation or destruction of our most complex physiological structure to understand how it affects the rest of the body. See the prominent psychological studies on the curious case of Phineas Gage, as well as how Broca and Wernicke arrived at their conclusions regarding cognitive areas of the brain responsible for the comprehension and production of speech.
There is undoubtedly special emphasis given to certain words, such as 'emocionado,' but do you think you could have guessed or inferred its meaning and significance without knowing its shared root with other words in English? Could this have influenced your intuitive sense of the meaning? Do you think different prosodies associated with the articulatory phonetics of the Spanish language contribute to the special sense you describe? How are these prosodies different from or similar to those suprasegmentals used in English?
In a new language, it's important to learn new words with a trusty dictionary close at hand, but you should resist the temptation to look every new word. This will likely become a crutch that will prevent from internalizing the meanings of words from situational contexts. I would recommend looking for patterns between words, and to focus on items that you can repeat and manipulate in interpersonal interactions. To help you with vocabulary, I would recommend label items around your house as they would be referred to in Korean. Learning the vocabulary of a new language is a bit like a paint by numbers kind of activity, where you are the artist. The more words that you know, the more detail and vividness you can use to describe the world around you. These labels also contribute to a faster cognitive processing time. Instead of looking at a 'telephone', and translating mentally from "telephone" to "전화" or 'jeonhwa', your brain will begin to associate the meaning of the Korean word to its physical manifestation. You will start to perceive and experience the world in a new way, as both a Korean speaker, and more importantly, a Korean thinker.