Last time, I introduced you to TPR (Total Physical Response) (see here) and how fast students can acquire vocabulary through actions. (See here a demonstration)
James J. Asher, the developer of TPR, calls the principle behind it brainswitching.
He makes a clear distinction between two ways the brain processes information: left-brain and right-brain.
Memorization takes place on the left-side of the brain, while internalization, on the right-side of the brain.
Here’s how he describes it in his book “Learning Another Language Through Actions”:
Traditional left brain instruction is verbal, either in spoken language or in print, and it is processed in serial order, word by word or sentence by sentence.
By contrast, right brain instruction is presented in patterns such as a story, a drama, or an experience.
Activities associated with the left brain are
– work
– study
– multiple exposures to information
– memorization
– short-term retention, and
– stress.
The classic example is the experience we have all had in school when we “studied (crammed) for the test.”
This means that we used repetition for short-term retention of information until it was called for on cue, as in an examination. After that, the left brain had permission to erase.
For comparison, activities associated with the right brain are
– play
– single exposure to information
– internalization
– long-term retention, and
– zero stress.
A classic illustration of this is learning a new card game.
Friends often want to introduce us to a new game by “explaining the rules.”
This is input to the left brain, which rejects the verbal messages as nonsensical.
We perceive the explanation as if we were looking at puzzling hieroglyphics.
Hence, we instinctively do a brainswitch to the right hemisphere by saying, “Let’s play a hand and we’ll catch on.”
Whenever you’re ready, here are 5 ways I can help you take your German to the next level.
Talk to you soon. Bis bald.
Gruß
Manuel