Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Learning a Language with the Right Brain



I see it happen, a student naturally and full of enthusiasm responds in Italian or Spanish with a  spontaneity that makes the language easy and fun. Its the same spontaneity that you see with a little child learning their native language. You know the expression or words are learned by the ease and facility of their expression, it wasn't forced but motivated and prompt. It can be hard at times to get that right brain learning in the classroom, but that is the direction to go, that is where real language learning takes place. Students have to participate though for this to happen, if they don't let go and speak the language with naturality and meaning the right brain learning can be just as forced as the left brain learning. I think when the element of surprise is added the right brain comes to the for front. I changed up my classroom and asked the students to describe the changes in Italian, I could see their brain spontaneously reacting to the situation. Change and variety are good when it comes to learning a language.

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