Cognitive Neuroscience of Foreign Language Education: Myths and Realities
الموضوعات : Research in English Language Pedagogy
Ali Nouri
1
(Malayer University, Iran)
الکلمات المفتاحية: Second Language Learning, Cognitive Neuroscience, Foreign Language Education, educational implications, Neuromyths,
ملخص المقالة :
This paper summarizes the educational implications of current research on cognitive neuroscience for foreign-language learning to provide an overview of myths and realities in this appealing area of research. Although the potential benefits of neuroscientific research into language acquisition are great, there are a number of popular myths that none of which are supported by scientific evidence. In this paper, three prominent examples of these myths are introduced and discussed how they are based on misinterpretation and misapplication from neuroscience research. The first pervasive example of such misconception is the prevalent belief of being the certain critical periods for learning a second language. It implies that the opportunity to acquire foreign languages is lost forever by missing these biological windows. In fact, however, extensive research shows that there are sensitive periods, but not critical periods, during which an individual can acquire certain aspects of language with greater ease than at other times. Another example of myths is a false conclusion implies that exposing children to a foreign language too early interrupts knowledge of their first language. The reality is that learning a second language not only improves language abilities in the first language, but also positively affects reading abilities and general literacy in school. Like the other myths, there is also a popular conception about ability to learn second language during sleep. It is demonstrated that previously acquired memories are consolidated and new association are learned during sleep, but learning a foreign language requires conscious effort and available data do not support this hypothesis that second language acquire during sleep. The main conclusion arising from this argument is that, while our understanding of the neural bases of language learning is continually evolving, our interpretation of the implications of these findings for foreign language teaching and learning should also continually evolve.
Antony, J.W., Gobel, E.W., O'Hare J.K., Reber, P.J., & Ken, A. (2012). Cued memory reactivation during sleep influences skill learning. Nature Neuroscience 15, 1114–1116.
Arzi, A., et al. (2012). Humans can learn new information during sleep. Nature Neuroscience, 15(10), 1460-1465.
Blakemore S-J. & Frith, U. (2005). The learning brain: Lessons for education: a précis. Developmental Science, 8(6), 459–471.
Bruer, J.T. (1999). The myth of the first three years: A new understanding of early brain development and lifelong learning. New York: The Free Press.
Bruer, J.T. (2002). Avoiding the pediatrician’s error: How neuroscientists can help educators (and themselves). Nature Neuroscience Supplement, 5, 1031-1033.
De Jong, T., et al. (2009). Explorations in learning and the brain: On the potential of cognitive neuroscience for educational science. New York: Springer.
Demont, E. (2001). Contribution of early 2nd-language learning to the development of linguistic awareness and learning to read. International Journal of Psychology, 36(4), 274-285.
Flege, J.E. (1993).Production and perception of a novel, second-language phonetic contrast. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 93, 1589-1608.
Frey, N. & Fisher, D. (2013). Reading and the young brain. In L H. Wasserman & D. Zambo (Eds). Early Childhood and Neuroscience: Links to Development and Learning(pp. 43-54). New York: Springer.
Geake, J. (2009). The brain at school: Educational neuroscience in the classroom. McGraw Hill: Open University Press.
Goswami, U. (2008). Neuroscience, education and special education. British Journal of Special Education, 31(4), 175- 183.
Goswami, U. (2008). Principles of learning, implications for teaching: A cognitive neuroscience perspective. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 42(3-4), 381-399.
Katzir, T., & Pare-Blagoev, J. (2006). Applying Cognitive Neuroscience Research to Education: The Case of Literacy. Educational Psychologist, 41(1), 53-74.
Kim, K.H.S., Relkin, N.R., Lee, K.M., & Hirsch, J. (1997). Distinct cortical areas associated with native and second languages. Nature, 388, 171-174.
Koizumi, H. (2011). Brain-science based cohort studies, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43(1), 48-55.
Norton, J.S., Baker, S., & Petitto, L.A. (2003). Bilingual infants’ perceptions of handshapes in American Sign Language. Poster presented at the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Research in Cognitive Science summer workshop, Philadelphia, PA.
Nouri, A., Mehrmohammadi, M., & Kharrazi,
K. (2014). The place of neuroscience in curriculum thought and practice. World Applied Sciences Journal 31 (4), 591-600.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2002). Understanding the brain: Towards a new learning science. OECD Publishing.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2007). Understanding the brain: The birth of a learning science. OECD Publishing.
Peigneux, P. Laureys, S. Delbeuck X. & Maquet, P. (2001). Sleeping brain, learning brain: The role of sleep for memory systems. NEUROREPORT, 12(18), A111- A124.
Petitto, L.A. (2009). New discoveries from the bilingual brain and mind across the life span: Implications for education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 3(4), 185–197.
UNESCO. (2003). Education in a multilingual world. UNESCO. Retrieved October 16, 2014 fromwww.unesco.org/education.
Wilson, M.A., & McNaughton, B.L. (1994). Reactivation of hippocampal ensemble memories during sleep. Science, 265, 676-679.
Worden, J.M., Hinton, C., & Fischer, K.W. (2011). What does the brain have to do with learning? Kappan 92(8), 8-13.
