Dear Fellow Language Learner:
In establishing the rationale for why I propose studying language the way I do, I would like to begin by quoting extensively from the latest neural science available concerning language learning. Having initially majored in Neuroscience in college at New York University as an undergraduate before moving on to finish my B.A. and M.A. in the study of languages and linguistics, I am highly aware of the location and functions of all the brain regions discussed in the following quote. Therefor, I plan my language learning activities and blogs with these brain regions and their functions explicitly in mind. It is crucial to our ultimate success as highly professional masters of new languages that we understand the difference between the declarative memory system in the brain and the procedural memory system. Please read the following two paragraphs closely in which I quote from an important article written about these systems by Michael T. Ullman of the Departments of Neuroscience, Linguistics, Psychology and Neurology at Georgetown University, published in Nature Reviews (October, 2001) under the title "A Neurocognitive Perspective on Language: the Declarative / Procedural Model." The highlighting and emphases below are mine:
"The declarative memory system has been implicated in the learning, representation and use of knowledge about facts (semantic knowledge) and events (episodic knowledge). This memory system seems to be closely related to the ventral visual stream. It might be particularly important for learning arbitrarily related items — that is, for the associative/contextual binding of information. The knowledge might be explicitly (consciously) recollected, and might not be informationally encapsulated, but accessible to multiple mental systems. Declarative memory is subserved by regions of the medial temporal lobe — in particular, the hippocampus — which are largely connected with temporal and temporoparietal neocortical regions. The medial temporal lobe is required to consolidate (and possibly to retrieve) new memories, although they eventually become independent of the medial temporal lobe and depend on neocortical regions, particularly those in the temporal lobe. Other brain structures are also part of this system. Anterior prefrontal cortex might underlie the selection or retrieval of declarative memories, whereas portions of the right cerebellum might be involved in searching for this knowledge."
"The procedural memory system has been implicate in learning new, and controlling well-established, motor and cognitive skills. Learning and remembering these procedures is largely implicit. It has been argued that the procedural system is informationally encapsulated, having relatively little access to other mental systems. (Note that I use the term ‘procedural memory’ to refer to only one particular brain memory system and not to all non-declarative or implicit memory systems.) The system is rooted in portions of the frontal cortex (including Broca’s area and the supplementary motor area), the basal ganglia, parietal cortex and the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum. This system might be related to the dorsal visual stream and is important for learning or processing skills that involve action sequences. The execution of these skills seems to be guided in real time by the posterior parietal cortex, which is densely connected to frontal regions. Inferior parietal regions might serve as a repository for knowledge of skills, including information about stored sequences. Similarly, the basal ganglia are also densely connected to the frontal cortex. Basal ganglia circuits seem to be arranged in parallel and are functionally segregated; each of them projects through the thalamus to a particular cortical region, largely in the frontal cortex."
Unfortunately, most foreign language teaching methodologies being used in practice at this time do not work on these too systems distinctly in the most efficient and effective way possible--instead the emphasis is mostly just on "practicing speaking" a language with a language teacher where you force yourself to use the "target language" 95% of the time or more in class together, not worrying that much about whether or not your accent or grammar are good or even if you are really using the right words. The mantra now is just "practice, practice, practice" for the assumed sake of "practice makes perfect." But will a massive quantity of "sweet equity" in any kind of practice whatsoever really guarantee the "quality" of true success? I argue that this is mantra of incessant practice from beginning to end is "unfortunate" because declarative memory is the foundation of good procedural memory. Therefor, the early acquisition of declarative memory actually speeds up the later acquisition of procedural memory. Furthermore, it makes those habits of procedure good, correct habits as opposed to weak, flawed, error-ridden bad habits.
In the future, neuroscience will eventually bring about massive change in the field of language study as more and more people finally understand it's implications. However, I don't want to be one of the last people to adapt to reality and benefit. I want to be one of the first. There are already some other language teaching companies who agree. One example is "Transparent Language" which has been brought into The Defense Language Institute to implement computerized "flash card" like training through a system the military calls "Rapid Rote." If you would like to learn more about this company or read out their methodology which reiterates the neuroscience I quoted above, please visit their website:
http://www.transparent.com/about/methodology.html
Nevertheless, as good as it is that companies like Transparent Language are getting on board with aiding students in the acquisition of Declarative Language knowledge, they still don't go far enough in adding the construction of this kind of learning. Most people don't have the kind of discipline needed for long boring drills outside of the military. That is where the art of creating mnemonics comes in, and that is why we will be doing a lot of that on this blog and my other blogs. Work smarter, not harder. That's my mantra always.
Sincerely,
S. Thoth Coon
