You know, that may be so. On the other hand, this book is quoting actual studies and providing details they do know. It also discusses what we don't know. We do know a lot from stroke victims as well as those suffering from epileptic seizures effecting both hemispheres who then undergo surgery to separate the hemispheres.
Look, here's a reply I posted on BestPractices a few minutes ago:
***
[this part was posted by another listmember, JP]
>>This question brings to mind a show or video I saw some time ago, in which a specialist on autism was showing people what it is like to process information as some autistic people do. Participants were asked to tell a simple story, with each person adding a sentence or two, but they could not use the letter S. All of a sudden, people were processing language with the analytical part of their brain, and everything slowed down to a crawl. Shows how inefficient one part of our brain is at doing what is natural and almost instantaneous for another part.
[my comments:]
Interesting.
My son has atypical aspergers compounded with speech delay. His language patterns sound like someone who has learned a 2nd language well enough to function and be understood, but not with the kind of fluency and grace that a person should have when you speak.
When he plays online games w/audio connections, other kids will accuse him of having an accent or simply being a retard--both of which hurt his feelings (emotionally he's like a 7 year old, even though he's 13).
He does well in math, esp things that are NOT word problems. He loves music, though like a typical teenager he's into a heavy rock phase (had broader tastes, including classical, a few years ago).
Between my experiences with him and my students who are not typical I-can-memorize-anything Latin students, I'm beginning to think there's something regarding the hemispheres of the brain worth exploring.
I posted my initial note on my blogsite, and got a reply that said that most scientists in the field find the info on left/right brain overblown and exagerated with what is truly known. That may be, but the book, _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ is quoting actual scientific studies not to mention has sidebars filled with interesting quotes and anecdotes.
Frankly, I can't wait for science to provide proof for something that seems right to me. Science cannot tell me why my son is the way he is, science cannot provide medication that will make him normal enough to blend in with the world, science cannot predict what he will make of himself in the world. So I need to wait for science to prove there's something more to right vs left brain?
There's something here... I truly feel it. And I bet I'm not the first. I just thought that this list, of all the lists I'm on, might have seen something in the literature that's out there in Rassias or Krashen or whatever.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-19 04:43 pm (UTC)Look, here's a reply I posted on BestPractices a few minutes ago:
***
[this part was posted by another listmember, JP]
>>This question brings to mind a show or video I saw some time ago, in which a specialist on autism was showing people what it is like to process information as some autistic people do. Participants were asked to tell a simple story, with each person adding a sentence or two, but they could not use the letter S. All of a sudden, people were processing language with the analytical part of their brain, and everything slowed down to a crawl. Shows how inefficient one part of our brain is at doing what is natural and almost instantaneous for another part.
[my comments:]
Interesting.
My son has atypical aspergers compounded with speech delay. His language patterns sound like someone who has learned a 2nd language well enough to function and be understood, but not with the kind of fluency and grace that a person should have when you speak.
When he plays online games w/audio connections, other kids will accuse him of having an accent or simply being a retard--both of which hurt his feelings (emotionally he's like a 7 year old, even though he's 13).
He does well in math, esp things that are NOT word problems. He loves music, though like a typical teenager he's into a heavy rock phase (had broader tastes, including classical, a few years ago).
Between my experiences with him and my students who are not typical I-can-memorize-anything Latin students, I'm beginning to think there's something regarding the hemispheres of the brain worth exploring.
I posted my initial note on my blogsite, and got a reply that said that most scientists in the field find the info on left/right brain overblown and exagerated with what is truly known. That may be, but the book, _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ is quoting actual scientific studies not to mention has sidebars filled with interesting quotes and anecdotes.
Frankly, I can't wait for science to provide proof for something that seems right to me. Science cannot tell me why my son is the way he is, science cannot provide medication that will make him normal enough to blend in with the world, science cannot predict what he will make of himself in the world. So I need to wait for science to prove there's something more to right vs left brain?
There's something here... I truly feel it. And I bet I'm not the first. I just thought that this list, of all the lists I'm on, might have seen something in the literature that's out there in Rassias or Krashen or whatever.