Brain Sides and New Language Learning | Science

Summary

Neuroscientist Shipra Guranandan explores how the brain processes language, particularly in adults learning new languages. Her study shows that speaking primarily activates the left hemisphere, while comprehension tasks like reading and listening can vary and involve both hemispheres, indicating a more bilateral processing. Guranandan encourages language learning despite its challenges, emphasizing that brain plasticity is not a barrier.

Takeaways

• 📚 Learning a new language as an adult is challenging, with comprehension typically preceding the ability to speak fluently.
• 🧠 The ease of language comprehension might be due to changes in the brain's language processing areas.
• 🌐 Historically, the left hemisphere has been considered essential for language, but recent studies show the right hemisphere can also participate in language tasks after brain injuries.
• 🔍 Neuroscientist Shipra Gurunandan and her team investigated brain activity during language learning by scanning Spanish-speaking volunteers learning Basque or English.
• 🗣️ Speaking a new language primarily activates language regions in the left hemisphere, regardless of proficiency level.
• 👂 In the early stages of learning, both native and new languages activate the same hemisphere for listening comprehension.
• 👀 Reading comprehension also activates the same hemisphere in the brain for both native and new languages in beginners.
• 🔄 Advanced learners show a shift, with reading and listening activating different hemispheres compared to their native language.
• 🔄 The switch from the same to the opposite hemispheres is most pronounced in reading, less so in listening, and not present in speaking.
• 🏗️ Speech may be more constrained to the left hemisphere due to specialized circuits for motor control of speech production.
• 🎓 Comprehension involves both auditory and visual systems, which are more bilaterally represented in the brain, explaining the bilateral activation in comprehension tasks.
• 🚀 Despite the challenges, language learning is achievable for everyone, and maintaining enthusiasm is key to success.

Q & A

What is generally easier for adults when learning a new language, comprehension or speaking?

Comprehension is generally easier for adults when learning a new language compared to speaking.

Who is Shipra Guranandan and what is her field of study?

Shipra Guranandan is a cognitive neuroscientist at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language.

What has been known about the left hemisphere of the brain since the 1800s?

It has been known since the 1800s that the left hemisphere of the brain is essential for language.

What recent discovery challenges the idea that language is exclusive to the left hemisphere of the brain?

The discovery that the right hemisphere can take over language tasks when the left hemisphere is injured challenges the idea that language is exclusive to the left hemisphere.

What method did Guranandan and her team use to study brain activity in language learners?

Guranandan and her team scanned the brains of Spanish-speaking volunteers learning Basque or English while they performed language tasks involving reading, listening, and speaking.

What did the researchers find about brain activation during speaking in language learners?

The researchers found that speaking primarily activated language regions in the left side of the brain, regardless of the learner's proficiency level.

How did reading and listening comprehension differ in brain activation compared to speaking?

Reading and listening comprehension showed more variable brain activation, with native and new languages activating the same hemisphere in early learners and different hemispheres in more advanced learners.

Why do researchers believe speech production is more constrained to the left hemisphere?

Researchers believe speech production is more constrained to the left hemisphere because it contains specialized circuits dedicated to motor control of speech production.

How do the auditory and visual systems contribute to comprehension being more bilateral in the brain?

The auditory and visual systems are more bilateral, which likely contributes to comprehension being more bilateral in the brain.

What is Shipra Guranandan's message about learning a new language?

Shipra Guranandan's message is that language learning is challenging but possible for everyone, and it's not due to a lack of brain plasticity. She encourages maintaining a positive attitude and perseverance.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Language Learning Challenges and Brain Activation

This paragraph discusses the difficulty adults face when learning a new language, emphasizing that comprehension usually precedes speaking ability. It introduces cognitive neuroscientist Shipra Gurunandan, who investigates how the brain processes language during learning. The text explains that while the left hemisphere is traditionally associated with language, the right hemisphere can also participate, especially after brain injuries. Gurunandan's study involved scanning the brains of Spanish speakers learning Basque or English, focusing on reading, listening, and speaking tasks to understand the brain's response to language comprehension and production. The findings suggest that speaking activates the left hemisphere regardless of proficiency, while reading and listening show more variability, with advanced learners activating different hemispheres.

Keywords

💡Language Learning

Language learning refers to the process of acquiring a new language after childhood. It is a central theme of the video, highlighting the challenges adults face when learning a new language compared to children. The script discusses how comprehension often precedes speaking ability in language learners, emphasizing the complexity of achieving fluency in a new language.

💡Comprehension

Comprehension, in the context of language learning, is the ability to understand spoken or written language. The script mentions that comprehension usually comes before the ability to speak a new language, suggesting that learners can grasp the general meaning without needing to understand every detail.

💡Hemispheres of the Brain

The hemispheres of the brain refer to the left and right halves of the cerebral cortex. The script discusses how these hemispheres play different roles in language processing, with the left hemisphere traditionally associated with language but the right hemisphere also capable of taking over language tasks after brain injury.

💡Cognitive Neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience is the study of how the brain processes cognitive functions such as learning, memory, and language. Shipra Gurunandan, a cognitive neuroscientist mentioned in the script, investigates the brain's role in language comprehension and production, contributing to our understanding of language learning.

💡Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language

The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language is an institution where research on cognitive processes, including language learning, is conducted. Shipra Gurunandan is associated with this center, and the script discusses her research on how the brain processes new languages.

💡Language Regions

Language regions in the brain are areas that are particularly active during language processing. The script discusses how these regions, especially in the left hemisphere, are activated during speaking tasks, indicating a specialized role in language production.

💡Motor Control

Motor control refers to the brain's ability to regulate body movements. In the context of the script, it is mentioned that speech production involves specialized circuits in the left hemisphere dedicated to controlling the motor aspects of speech.

💡Auditory and Visual Systems

The auditory and visual systems are parts of the brain that process sound and sight, respectively. The script suggests that these systems are more bilateral, contributing to the variable activation of both hemispheres during language comprehension.

💡Brain Plasticity

Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to change and adapt as a result of experience. The script reassures viewers that despite the challenges of language learning, brain plasticity allows adults to learn new languages, emphasizing that it is not a limitation of the brain but rather a skill to be developed.

💡Joie de Vivre

Joie de vivre is a French term meaning 'joy of living'. In the script, Gurunandan encourages language learners to maintain their enthusiasm and enjoyment for life as they face the challenges of learning a new language, suggesting that a positive attitude can support the learning process.

💡Language Tasks

Language tasks in the script refer to the specific activities performed by the volunteers in the study, which include reading, listening, and speaking in both their native and new languages. These tasks were used to observe brain activation patterns during language processing.

Highlights

Learning a new language as an adult is challenging, with comprehension usually preceding speaking ability.

Comprehension may be easier due to the brain glossing over details, while speaking requires precise reproduction of foreign sounds.

Cognitive neuroscientist Shipra Guranandan investigates how the brain processes language during learning.

It has been known since the 1800s that the left hemisphere is essential for language processing.

Recent research shows the right hemisphere can take over language tasks after left hemisphere brain injuries.

Language is not exclusively processed by the left hemisphere, indicating brain flexibility.

Guranandan's team scanned the brains of Spanish-speaking volunteers learning Basque or English.

Volunteers performed reading, listening, and speaking tasks in both their native and new languages.

Speaking primarily activated language regions in the left hemisphere, regardless of language proficiency.

Reading and listening comprehension showed variable activation in the brain's hemispheres.

In early language learning stages, both native and new languages activated the same hemisphere.

Advanced learners showed different hemisphere activation for native and new languages.

The switch from same to opposite hemispheres was most significant in reading, less in listening, and non-existent in speaking.

Speech may be more constrained to the left hemisphere due to specialized motor control circuits.

Comprehension involves auditory and visual systems, which are more bilaterally processed in the brain.

The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Language learning remains challenging but should not be discouraged by brain plasticity limitations.

Maintaining a positive attitude and joy for learning can enhance language acquisition.

Transcripts

[Applause]

anyone who's tried to learn a new

language

as an adult knows how hard it can be and

usually

the ability to comprehend someone else

comes before the capacity for speaking

the new tongue

when you're listening you can kind of

gloss over the details

so you may not need to understand every

single syllable

every single word perfectly cognitive

neuroscientist

shipra guranandan of the basque center

on cognition

brain and language but actually speaking

a new language fluently

takes much more work adults are not

quite able to

reproduce or re-hear foreign sounds

guranandan suspected that as we learn

the relative ease of comprehension

might be explained by changes in the

area of the brain that processes

language

it's been known since the 1800s that for

most people

the left hemisphere of the brain is

essential for language

however in more recent times we've

started to realize that

it's not quite that simple for example

when people suffer brain

injuries to the left hemisphere the

right hemisphere can take over language

tasks

that flexibility suggests that language

is not the exclusive domain

of the left hemisphere to find out if

the two sides of the brain

process comprehension and speech

differently during language learning who

renandan and her team

scanned the brains of spanish-speaking

volunteers who were learning either

basque

or english they performed language tasks

in the scanner

involving reading listening and speaking

in their native and their new language

and

then we looked at whether activation in

the language regions was greater in the

left hemisphere or in the right

hemisphere for each of the languages in

each task

the researchers found that speaking

primarily activated language regions in

the left side of the brain

no matter how advanced the language

learner was

but reading and listening comprehension

were much more variable

in the earlier stages of language

learning the native and new languages

tended to activate the same hemisphere

while in the more advanced learners

they activated different hemispheres and

the switch

from the same to the opposite

hemispheres was largest in reading

it was slightly smaller and listening

and it was non-existent in speaking

the researchers reason that speech may

be more constrained to the left

hemisphere

because it contains specialized circuits

dedicated to the motor control of speech

production

while in comprehension you have the

auditory system and the visual system

which are more bilateral and

is possible that is why comprehension is

more bilateral in the brain

the study is in the journal of

neuroscience

learning a new language will always be

challenging

but guru nandan says you shouldn't let

that stop you

language learning is a hard skill it's

hard for everybody but it's not because

of your brain plasticity

you can learn words you can learn drama

roles your language learning capacity is

just fine

as long as you maintain your joie de

vivre