Interhemispheric foreign language learning is a form of learning that activates both hemispheres of the brain, based especially on the discovery of the mirror neurons by Giacomo Rizzolatti. It could be applied to many types of learning, but so far has been scientifically applied only to second language teaching and foreign language learning. Traditional foreign language learning, which focuses on learning vocabulary and grammar and using textbooks, mainly activates the left hemisphere. Interhemispheric learning, however, also stimulates the right hemisphere and enhances interaction between both hemispheres. Research shows that gestures and all nonverbal communication activate Brodmann area 44 and 45, responsible for language (Broca's area) in the left hemisphere. Research on mirror neurons also shows that mental imagining gestures without actually carrying out gestures also activate the same area of the brain. Those results are used now for foreign language teaching and learning.
Read more about Interhemispheric Foreign Language Learning: How Does It Work?, The Crucial Factor: The Behavior of The Language Teacher, Empirical Studies
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