SECOND-LANGUAGE TEACHING: A VIEW FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN

Extract

SECOND-LANGUAGE TEACHING: A VIEW FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN. Marcel Danesi. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2003. Pp. xi + 172. $89.95 cloth, $49.95 paper.

Danesi proposes an understanding of second language (L2) teaching based on the characteristic differences between right hemisphere and left hemisphere processing. He argues that certain language teaching techniques are more compatible with one hemisphere or the other and suggests that successful L2 teaching involves techniques that engage initially the right hemisphere, then the left hemisphere, and finally both together. Based on the neurobiological literature, he argues that left hemisphere (L-Mode) functions are such things as pronunciation, grammar, literal meaning, sequential relations, verbal memory, and logical thinking. Right hemisphere (R-Mode) functions include prosodic systems, metaphorical and emotional meaning, spatial relations, nonverbal memory, intuitive reasoning, and associations and synthesis (see Table 1, p. 35).