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Essay / Application of Neuroscience in the English Learning Classroom
Table of ContentsIntroductionNeuroscienceBrain FunctionsCognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience in EducationIntroductionThe contributions of applied neuroscience to the English classroom suggest that the English teacher should be able to explore and using multisensory teaching in a social and emotional environment. Teaching English requires a mix of being current and being flexible and kind so that the teacher motivates and captures the students' attention. This is why we propose to implement the English course with more didactic games, interactional teamwork, to use more technological gadgets, images, music and objects to encourage attitudes more positive in the learning process in accordance with neuroscience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayNeuroscienceNeuroscience is the study of the brain and nervous system, in humans and animals, in health contexts and illness. This discipline was developed to revolutionize other disciplines like psychology, education, sports, mathematics, etc. Neuroscience is no longer a discipline that works alone but influences other disciplines to gain a greater overview. To start talking about neuroscience, we need to explain how the brain and nervous system are composed. The nervous system is made up of the spinal cord and the brain. The brain sends nerve signals to different parts of the body via the central and peripheral nervous systems. The peripheral nervous system is connected to the body's muscles and specialized sensory cells that respond to stimuli such as pain or touch. The brain is the most important organ of the nervous system and has a storage capacity greater than that of any supercomputer. This brain is divided into two hemispheres: left and right which are delimited by the corpus callosum of the brain and each lobe is subdivided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobe. The frontal lobe is known to be linked to emotions, control of voluntary movements or activities and cognitive functions. On the other hand, the parietal lobe is more related to sensory perception and processes such as processing information about temperature, taste, touch and movement. The lobe responsible for vision is the occipital lobe. The process of hearing and listening is a task of the temporal lobe which also processes memories and integrates them with taste and sound sensations. Anatomically, the brain is made up of neurons which constitute the basic unit of brain work. Neurons function to receive signals or information to the body, integrate these incoming signals, and communicate the signals to target cells. Brain Functions Another important function of the nervous system is processing sensory information such as seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching. When sensory receptors are stimulated, they generate electrical signals and travel through nerves. Sight is a complex sense because it connects a person to the outside world in a more meaningful way. Listening is the sense responsible for communication, perception of sounds and interpretation of speech. All of this happens in Wernicke's area which is located in the left hemisphere and is the key to understanding spoken language. Smell and taste are the senses that allow us to distinguish different flavors. The sense of touch works together with skin cells totransmit sensations such as temperature or pain. Language as a higher function of the brain is one of the remarkable skills of the human being and is a complex system that involves many elements. Language is an ability to codify ideas into signals and distinguish them from thoughts. Today, we know that the recognition of sounds and words takes place in the temporal lobe and that speech is controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain. Learning and memory are higher functions that work in concert because both can modify behavior that is the result of the interaction of environmental and genetic stimuli. Through the learning process we can acquire new information which will then be stored by the brain and memory will process the retention and retrieval of the new stored content. Perception is a sense that manifests itself in many ways such as visual, auditory, olfactory taste and touch. Through these channels, information is received and reconstructed to generate an internal representation of the object. Here we analyze the characteristics of objects like colors, smells, sounds or shapes. Perception and sensation have a close relationship with cognition because they provide a lot of information to the brain. The brain is considered an organ that changes structure over time through plasticity and is naturally oriented to learn. Brain functions located in the neocortex are functions that influence the learning process and release emotional sensations such as anger, fear, threat, etc. In the case of English students, these emotions can be fear, anxiety or rejection and can influence the learning process. English teachers must accept that learning and emotions are closely linked and that it is up to them to create an environment in which students feel safe to interact in a foreign language. Cognitive neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience seeks to understand how brain functions lead to mental activities such as perception, memory, language and even consciousness. Part of cognitive neuroscience also studies how the brain processes information. These are called cognitive processes. These higher functions are language, learning, memory, perception and attention. When it comes to learning a second language, methodologies involve implementing innovations that go against the traditional teaching process. Traditional teaching methods are characterized by repetition, memorization of grammatical structures usually within a context.Neuroscience in EducationThe field of education has always been linked to neuroscience investigation which provides education with discoveries about how the human brain works and processes new knowledge. For the educational field, there is the possibility of exploiting this information to stimulate the learning process and be able to transform teaching through multisensory pathways. The learning process begins with nerve cells called neurons. Neurons represent approximately 10% of the brain's composition and are responsible for information processing. 90% are composed of glial cells. Synapsis occurs when neurons connect to other neurons. A neuron can connect to thousands of other neurons. At the time, it was thought that neurons were once specialized in certain skills and could not participate in the development of other skills. Nowadays, neuroplasticity is a well-used term.