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Key Concepts in the Neuroscience of Language Learning (Part 1)
by Curtis Kelly
After almost a century of wandering in the dark, neuroscience is finally shining a light on how the brain learns language. Every month is bringing new discoveries and many are utterly unexpected. To name just a few, we have now discovered: a) how in just a few thousand years we could grow a brain that can read; b) why that boy who “doesn’t get it” might be the smartest; how emotion is at the root of Everything (capital intended); and how a relatively new theory, Predictive Processing, is giving us a completely different picture of how the brain works. Language and learning are two key processes of the brain, so every language teacher needs to know how these work in order to be an effective teacher. Avoiding complicated jargon, we will examine key concepts in the neuroscience of language learning and try to connect them to good teaching practices. This event will have games, quizzes, discussion, tasks, or other surprises, so folks will have to participate actively.
Teaching During the Pandemic: Advice from the Brain
by Curtis Kelley & Amanda Gillis-Furutaka
Through fMRI research, Matthew Lieberman discovered a large network in our brain devoted to figuring out other people’s thoughts and intentions: the mentalizing network. The social brain is also important for learning and is active anytime the working memory network, which we use for analytical thinking, is not. Lieberman calls it our Superpower, but he also defines our Kryptonite: traditional education. Educators tend to see the social aspect of learning as a frivolity, or ignore it altogether. For designing rich online classes, synchronous or not, the social brain has much to teach us, including why we experience “Zoom fatigue.” This event will have games, quizzes, discussion, tasks, or other surprises, so folks will have to participate actively.
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