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Embodied cognition and SLA | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Philological Room |  | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5131 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes  Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 1 of 4 05 October 2012 at 7:24pm | IP Logged |
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I’ve just finished listening to the lastest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (brainsciencepodcast.com) on a book
from the Embodied Cognition movement in Philosophy and Neuroscience; a great podcast, by the way, go and check it out. From the summary at the website of the Brain Science Podcast: “Embodied Cognition is a movement within cognitive science that argues that the mind is inseparable from the fact that the brain is embedded in a physical body. This means that everything that the brain does, from the simplest perception to complex decision- making, relies on the interaction of the body with its environment.” Embodied Cognition in particular rejects the idea that the brain is simply a computational device (input – computation – output). Now I have to admit that I sympathise with that idea, but I’m in no position to argue for or against Embodied Cognition or any other Theory of Mind. The podcast got me wondering what the consequences for Second Language Acquisition (SLA) would be if Embodied Cognition were true. Communication and language as cognitive processes would need to be regarded as embodied processes, inseparable from the body we have and the actions we perform. A possible consequence of this would be the idea that (first or second) language acquisition relies on bodily involvement in the acquisition process (or is at least way more efficient). What immediately comes to mind in this regard is first language acquisition of toddlers and children whose language learning is to a large extent accompanied by bodily action (play, experimentation, imitiation, role play, acting stuff out, songs and counting games, touch, smell, object manipulation), and, in the field of SLA, TRP, which hasn’t really taken off, and Language Hunting, which needs some more development in my opinion. When I think of my own language learning process, I realize that I use rarely, if ever, my body in the acquisition process. Even though my language learning relies nowadays on a few key principles like input before output, native material only, no translation, learning by observation and imitation, an extended silent phase in the beginning etc., which is a very different approach than sitting down and studying a grammar book, cramming vocab or doing wordlists, all of this is essentially passive in the sense that the body is not involved (– as are those other study approaches). I wonder if I could benefit from bringing my body into the learning process, but I’m struggling to see how this can be achieved when studying/learning/acquiring on my own. With a tutor, what I can think of right now are TRP, acting something out or role play, working with physical objects, doing activities together like cooking, playing sports or other daily activities, or activities involving music and rhythm. All of this is fine, but find a tutor who’s willing and able to try that out and doesn’t cost a fortune! But more importantly, what’s possible for the self-learner? Self-talk when doing something like cooking, cleaning the flat, playing sports? Buying dolls or lego and acting things out in a playful manner? The issue I have with those ideas is that they lack native speaker input. The only way I can get native speaker input without engaging a tutor are media like TV, radio, podcast, and books, and those are designed for the passive consumer. Any thoughts or suggestions? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6910 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 4 06 October 2012 at 12:29am | IP Logged |
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You haven't by any chance watched Professor Arguelles' videos on "shadowing"?
Shadowing a foreign language (Chinese) Shadowing discussed Shadowing step by step 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5131 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 3 of 4 06 October 2012 at 8:58am | IP Logged |
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Sure I have. That's not what I am thinking of. In shadowing you walk swiftly, which is a bodily action but unrelated
to the content of what you're listening to. When kids play with dolls or robots or what-have-you, they reenact situations they've encountered or they act out their phantasies. The bodily actions involved are quite different (and tied to the content), and the language they use is just one element of a larger whole. I was thinking along those lines. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6910 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 4 06 October 2012 at 12:51pm | IP Logged |
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Alright, I was thinking of your "Self-talk when doing something like cooking, cleaning the flat, playing sports?", and then shadowing an audiobook could be an option. Some years ago, I never went outside the house without my mp3-player. I maybe didn't shadow all the time, but there was always some kind of physical exercise involved.
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