Our amazing brain

Hi, guys and girls! Sorry for not posting, but I had a lot of things to do. I had a very difficult exam to sit for, and I started a new job, so I've been very busy. I have good news! My favorite singer, Joss Stone, is coming to Argentina. So, I'm really looking forward to it. By the way, I want to invite you to the next BA Celebra.

In today's post, I want to talk about a video Miss Racker sent me about neuroplasticity. I think that is very important for us, as teacher, to know these kind of things. But before starting, we have to define what neuroplasticity means. Basically, the word “Neuro” has to do with the brain, and “Plastic” has to do with something that can be changed.

The lecturer of this TED talk is Lara Boyd. She is a brain researcher at the University of British Columbia.  

In 2006, she was recruited by the University of British Columbia to become the Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology and Motor Learning. Since that time she has established the Brain Behaviour Lab, recruited and trained over 40 graduate students, published more than 80 papers and been awarded over $5 million in funding.

According to Lara Boyd, we can shape the brain, we want to have. She says that every time we learn a new skill, we change our brain. She also says that these changes are not limited by our age. What's more, your brain can change in three ways to support learning; chemical (related to short-term memory), by altering its structure (related to long-term memory), and by altering its function. According to Boyd, all these processes take place in concert, and together they support learning.  She also says that the best driver of neuroplastic change in our brain is our behavior. And sorry guys, there is no neuroplasticity drug we can take. The more you practice, the more you learn.  Boyd also says that our brain is shaped by everything we do, but also by everything we don't do. She says something that for me is very important, “the uniqueness of your brain will affect you both as learner and also as a teacher.” And she wonderfully ends the talk by encouraging the audience to build the brain they want.

This TED talk gave me a great idea for my lessons. I’m not going to give too much information about this idea, but in my next post, I will tell you everything about it.

I hope you have a great week! Btw, thank you, Miss Racker for the video.

Never stop learning

안녕하세요? 어떻게 지내셨어요? 저는 그저 그래요. How was your week? I’m going to prepare a cup of tea for me. I found writing more relaxing if I have a nice cup of tea.

Well, last week, I went to the “Magic Meeting,” and it was amazing. I had a great time, and I bought some things for my niece, Ambar. On Sunday, I couldn’t attend Ambar’s birthday, so I bought a gift for her.

She loved it. She already has a Harry Potter pillow that I bought for her last year. She is going to be a Potterhead, or she won’t inherit all my fortune.

Today, I started the second level in the Korean course. I was sad because only eight people passed from level 1B to second. In the second level, there are thirty-seven people. Most of them are from level 1ª, and there are some students who are taking the course again. Re-taking the course will not be possible from now on. Only 20 students will pass to the third level.  Welcome to the Hunger Games everybody!

This week, I also passed one of my two finals (August finals). Oral 4 is now part of my past. I really had fun preparing that final. I had to read some tales and passages, but I also had the opportunity to talk about something I really love: English and its teaching.

If you know me really well, you are aware of my love for that subject. It’s the only subject I really enjoyed during my time in the prof. “English and its teaching” was the only reason I didn’t drop the prof years ago. I connected with this subject on another level.

You are going to say that I am a selfish person. And I’m not going to apologize for that. I’m not going to talk about how this subject helped me to understand my students. That’s why I’m not going to talk about methods and approaches. I hate learning about methods, and all that stuff. I know it’s necessary, but it’s boring.  

EAIT helped me to realize how my brain works, when I’m learning another language. Now, that I’m learning Korean, I’m aware of the stages, and functions Willis, Pinker, Krashen, and Chomsky talked about. Sometimes, I found myself correcting a sentence and I say, “Oh, transfer.”

Now, I am a more responsible student, because I know about these concepts. I can even anticipate some errors, when I’m writing in Korean. It’s amazing to know about overgeneralization, misinformation, and transfer. It is also important to know about the silent period, the effect plateau, and the critical period hypothesis.  

You have no idea how much knowing all this has helped me to become a better student. It’s not that I didn’t know this subject was important, but studying another language really puts the things into perspective.

I think it’s nice to reflect on the things we have learned. I truly believe that if you really want to spread the love for another language, you have to feel it first. You have to go deeper into the language and keep on learning.

It’s like Brian Herbert says, “The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.”

That’s all folks!

 See you next week.