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English Structures
The angular gyrus is a region of the brain in the parietal lobe, that lies near the superior edge of the temporal lobe, and immediately posterior to the supramarginal gyrus; it is involved in a number of processes related to language and cognition.
Language and the Brain
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Thought and Language
Although we can identify which parts of the brain are involved in language tasks through studies of the sort just described in the last section, we are still making guesses about how thought and language are interrelated, and this of course prompts the questions of how intelligence and language might be related. Here we will consider some of the broadest questions in regards to these issues.
Activity: The Case Study of Christopher
Watch the video of Christopher, linked below, then consider the questions that follow.
Christopher Video
Christopher's situation focuses our questions about language and its relationship to thought. In particular, we might ask:
- Is language separate/different from thought?
- Is language necessary for thought, but not sufficient to fully express thought?
- Does language simply reveal thought to others, or is it a personal system to understand one's own thoughts?
- Does language directly affect the thought process?
Discussion - Lesson 2, Page 5
Christopher's situation highlights some of the current theories:
1. Language is different from thought; it is a separate function from other brain-based skills (cognition, cognitive skills, thought)
2. While language is different from and even can be separate from thought, the two do intertwine.
3. To some extent,the choices available in a person's (native) language influence that person's thought just as a person's thoughts influence their language choices.
Vygotsky's Theory of Thought and Language
Lev Vygotsky, a prominent psychologist most famous for his interactionist theory of learning, discusses the possible relationship between thought and language. In keeping with evidence such as Christopher's case, Vygotsky suggests that thought and language begin as separate in-born abilities in humans. As a child matures, the two abilities develop and begin to interact or intertwine. Vygotsky suggests that the beginning of the interaction occurs at approximately age two. As both abilities continue to develop, they generally continue to intertwine more and more without ever becoming one and the same. Vygotsky claims that there is always some nonlinguistic thought and some noncognitive language, the area where both overlap is called verbal thought by Vygotsky, and Vygotsky himself suggests we visualize the interrelationship as a Venn diagram or as two parallel lines that bend towards each other and intertwine.
Vygotsky's View of the Development and Interaction of Thought and Language
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Edward Sapir & Benjamin Whorf developed a hypothesis that claimed that a person's language influences their thought as much as their thought influences their language. While the hypothesis makes sense on an intuitive level, it has been notoriously difficult to provide objective evidence to support the theory, and the theory has both supporters and detractors at this time. One piece of the hypothesis is not disputed: languages differ from each other. Chomsky has termed such differences the parameters of a language. What is disputed is how these differences can or might influence thought. To take an example, English grammatical gender follows real world gender extremely closely. Spanish only has two grammatical genders. Does that mean that native speakers of Spanish see all worldly objects as falling into only one of two categories where native speakers of English see the possibility that an object may fall into one of three categories? Or does the difference have only to do with language (i.e. words fall into one of two or one of three categories, not the objects themselves?)
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American Sign Language The sign language used by the deaf community in the United States.
Test of English for International Communication. A standardized exam for Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English to conduct business. It is used by some businesses, predominantly in Asia, in hiring.
Test of English as a Foreign Language. A standardized exam from Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English as the language of insruction .It is used as an admissions requirement by most US universities and colleges for international students.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. A term that encompasses both TEFL and TESL. It is the name of the professional organization to which many teachers belong. TESOL the organization has many regional affiliates both in the US and abroad.
Teaching English as Second Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as a tool necessary for some daily task like instruction, shopping, or interpersonal interactions.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as an intellectual, academic pursuit to non-native speakers of English.
Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who acquired English in infancy and young childhood as a first language.
Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a language is that it was encountered in infancy and young childhood as the dominant language of the environment.
Non-Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who didn't acquire English as a first language, but came to it after another language was established.
Non-Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a particular language is that he/she didn't encounter it while initially acquiring language, but came to it after another language was established.
Limited English Proficient. An adjectival phrase used to refer to the same students as ELL refers to. LEP is falling into disuse as it focuses attention on student deficiency rather than on the positive attribute of learning. Is being replaced by ELL.
Second Language. Refers to any language gained subsequent to the first or native language. It is acquired or learned secondarily to the native language. Doesn't refer to the ordinal numbering of languages, only to the relationship of a particular language to a persons native language.
First Language. Refers to the language that an individual encounters as an infant and young child; a persons native language.
English for Specific Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it for highly focused activity, such as for business or for aviation communication.
English as a Second Language Program. refers to a school program that is purposefully structured to provide instruction on the English language to NNSEs. An ESL program does not typically include instruction in any other subjects than English. An ESL program may be a component of a larger ELL program at a school.
English as a Second Language. Refers to the subject matter of the English language and the methodology for teaching the English language to non-native speakers. ESL makes no reference to the subjects other than English, but it is not methodology alone either, it refers to teaching the English language as content area. Typically, ESL refers to the study of English in a country where it is used for at least one daily task, such as instruction, interpersonal relations, or shopping.
English Langauge Learner Program. Refers to a school program that is purposly structured to provide instruction on the English language and instruction in other content areas to English Language Learners.
English Language Learner. Refers to students who are in the process of learning English, whether they are in ESL classes exclusively or a combination of ESL classes and other subject area classes.
English as a Foreign Langauge. Refers to the study of English as an intellectual, academic pursuit, not a a language whose use is necessary or desirable for daily life, although it may be used as a research tool. Typically, EFL is the study of English in a country where English is not a language of instruction or daily interactions, such as in Italy or in Saudi Arabia.
English for Academic Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it as the language of instruction for other subject areas.
Refers to a school program that is purposely structured so that students will use two languages on a daily basis.
Refers to the use of two languages in any capacity on a daily basis. A bilingual person uses two languages on a daily basis--for work and at home, perhaps, or for different subjects at school. Can also refer to the ability to use two languages, even if not used daily.
