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The ability to learn a new language is influenced by mood and emotional state. This connection between memory and emotion is being explored by cognitive scientists. T&P publishes an excerpt from English for Adults: How Cognitive Science Helps Adults Learn a Foreign Language, due out by Alpina Publisher in late September, about the phenomenon when the word “turns on the tip of the tongue”, and how to create an emotional environment in which learning a foreign language will be pleasant and effective.
Wait, wait, don't say
The “spinning on the tongue” state is one of the well-study phenomena of memory. You are sure that you know the right word, and almost got it out of your memory, but for some reason you still cannot do it. No doubt you have had conversations with friends, during which everyone endlessly tried to remember the name of an actor: “Well, he played that guy in the Superman movies in the seventies ... fund ... Well, so tall, handsome. .. What was his name? "(In case we caused you to feel" spinning on the tongue ", this is all about Christopher Reeve).
The state of "spinning on the tongue" is of great interest to cognitive scientists for its paradoxical nature: how can you remember so much about someone, but not remember the name? Fortunately, it is fairly easy to induce this condition in study participants. Researchers Roger Brown and David McNeill found that they could induce this condition in subjects by giving them a dictionary definition of a rare or unusual concept. Before describing the results of Brown and McNeill's experiments, let's see if we can induce this state in you. Below are some of the definitions they used. After reading each, rate your feelings. There are three options:
a) You have no idea what this is about, and you do not have a feeling of something familiar. These are rare and unusual words, so this option is quite possible. Just move on to the next definition.
b) You are confident that you know the described item or concept and are able to say its name out loud. In that case, you can congratulate yourself on your impressive vocabulary and move on to the next definition.
c) It seems to you that you know the word, but cannot remember it exactly. If you find yourself in such a state, we ask you to guess, (1) this word is short or long; (2) how many syllables it contains and (3) which letter it starts with. Even if you're not sure, just try it. Ready? Answers are given at the end of the paragraph. If you experience the "spinning on the tongue" state, be sure to write down your guesses about the length, the number of syllables, and the first letter of the word.
1) What is the name of a small rowboat usually with a roof made of mats, found on rivers and in the sea bays of Asia?
2) What is the name of the semicircular lowered ledge adjacent to the main building of the church?
3) What is the name of the phenomenon when representatives of business or politicians provide support to members of their own family?
4) What kind of object surrounded by two snakes is a symbol of medicine?
5) What is it called receiving money or support through intimidation or threats of violence?
6) What is the name of a gathering of people with a common purpose, for example, to hold a conference?
7) What is another name for a stamp collector?
8) What is the name of excessive flattery or ingratiating behavior?
9) What is the name of the navigation instrument that is used at sea to measure the heights of the Sun, Moon and stars?
10) What is the name of the cavity at the end of the digestive tract of the bird?
Hopefully you have experienced the spinning state by reading one or more of these definitions. Brown and McNeill gave a similar assignment to students at Harvard University, and they reported the condition "spinning on the tongue" about 13% of the time. After analyzing the results, the researchers found that participants considered short words to be short, the length in syllables was often recalled correctly, and in many cases they correctly named the first letter. Even errors in this study are of interest. For example, some participants gave sexton's answer to the penultimate definition. The word sexton (gravedigger) in its meaning does not at all look like a navigational instrument, but it looks like a sextant (sextant) in length and number of syllables, as well as a set of sounds.
Adults learning a foreign language can draw a number of important lessons from this study. First, it is reassuring that even Harvard students experience the "spinning on the tongue" state, so you shouldn't be upset when this happens to you. So-called diary studies, in which participants were asked to record incidences of spinning on their tongues, showed an increase in incidence from about once a week in younger participants to about once a day in older participants.
These discoveries can, again, be viewed from a negative or positive side, depending on the situation. It is clear that such episodes are more frequent with age, but they should not be considered as evidence of general memory impairment. A large amount of knowledge, apparently, does not lead to an increase in the frequency of the "spinning on the tongue" state. However, it should be comforting to you that if you experience it, the word you are looking for is present in your memory, even if you cannot retrieve it right now. Often you experience this state right before the word comes to mind, so if it seems to you that the word is spinning in the language, it may be so. You just have to wait for it to pop up.
Answers on questions:
1) Sampan (also called junk by some people)
2) Apse
3) Nepotism
4) Caduceus
5) Extortion
6) Convocation
7) Philatelist
8) Sneakiness
9) Sextant
10) Cloaca
Emotional aspects of memory
Tune in positive
When exploring the relationship between thoughts and feelings, one should keep in mind the basic principle: positive information is processed more efficiently and is remembered better and longer than negative information. The superiority of positive information over negative information has been demonstrated in numerous studies, including those that dealt with memorizing words, grammatical structures, the content of dialogues and texts. The penchant for remembering positive information may be of particular importance (and possibly relief) to adult learners, because unpleasant memories have been shown to fade over time. Margaret Matlin and David Stang called the general propensity of cognitive systems for positive information the Pollyanna principle, named for the little girl, heroine of popular books and films,
Of course, it is impossible to achieve any level of proficiency in the language if you study only positively colored words and build only affirmative sentences. But since positive linguistic phrases are easier to process, remember and recall than negative ones, then when you need to somehow use your knowledge of a foreign language (tell a story, prepare a presentation or start a conversation), you will get an advantage if you approach this with a positive point of view. For example, you may find it easier to make a sentence like “President is a woman” than “President is not a man”. And it will be easier for listeners to understand what you are trying to say, since it is easier to process positive information as well.
Choose conditions
When Richard was a student, he prepared for tests in the same classroom at the same place where he studied the material and where then he had to take these tests (it's incomprehensible!). On the evening before the test, he came to the classroom and took notes on the blackboard. Then he sat down in his seat and studied them, so that on the day of the test, if necessary, he would visualize these notes and remember the necessary information. Unbeknownst to himself, Richard tried to take advantage of a cognitive phenomenon called the principle of specific coding.
The principle is that information is remembered better when the context in which you learn it (coding) matches the context in which it will need to be reproduced. Conversely, when the contexts do not match, memory can fail. Perhaps this has happened to you. You perfectly memorized the words in class and passed the tests with ease. But as soon as you tried to apply these words in real life, they seemed to evaporate from your head. Do not blame your age for this, blame the principle of specific coding. The problem arises when you have learned words in some conditions and want to apply them in others.
Remember, too, that context isn't just about the environment. Other characteristics are also subject to the principle of specific coding, for example, an internal affective state. So, people who learn words by drinking alcoholic beverages remember them better when drunk than when sober. Gulf War veterans are more likely to show negative symptoms of PTSD as the anniversary of the stressful event approaches. Mood also affects the ability to recall information. Knowledge is easier to extract from the head if the mood in which the material was memorized coincides with the mood in which it is remembered. For example, if you are angry, it is easier for you to remember other times or situations when you felt the same way. This explains why
Knowing that the assimilation of the material depends on the mood, you can guess that if you are calm and relaxed in the classroom, then, worrying in the exam, you will demonstrate lower results. No, we do not advise to worry and worry in the classroom. It's just that if you recall information better in class than during the test, do not blame your age or cognitive abilities, these are just the consequences of specific coding. This is normal and happens to people of all ages. Of course, it is impossible to study information in all possible contexts and moods in order to avoid blackouts due to the effect of specific coding or dependence on mood. However, when learning a foreign language, there are a few things that adults can do to make a particular coding work for them, or at least reduce its impact.
For example, at some point in his Portuguese studies, Richard lived in Iceland. He traveled to Brazil for a month to study intensively, and then returned to Iceland, from where he tried to take a phone test in Portuguese. And failed. But since he is a cognitive scientist, he considered what went wrong and decided to try again. So he went to Brazil again, but this time he tried to make the internal and external coding context match the one in which he would have to take the test. Richard even spoke to his Portuguese teacher on the phone for practice. He tried to take the test again (this time in Brazil) and succeeded, which allowed him to enter the diplomatic service. Unsurprisingly, however, when Richard took the face-to-face exam (necessary to make sure that the same person took the test on the phone), he did not perform as well because the context of this exam was different, and his level of language proficiency was not high enough to be free from the influence of the context. However, Richard scored enough points to make sure the examiners weren't cheating on the phone test.
Switch
Despite the presence of the effect of specific coding even among native speakers, most of us strive for such a level of language proficiency in which there will be no dependence on the context. For this, it is important to change the place, time and way of learning the language, that is, to use the effect of distribution of practice. If you have two hours for class, then it is better to work out for an hour, then interrupt for another activity, and then return to studying the material again. The distribution of practice depends on time, but we suggest changing the context as well. We do not mean the option to study at home, and then go with the same notebook to the library. It would be better to study for an hour in writing, and then meet with a native speaker, in conversation with whom you can practice the words you just learned.
The following should be remembered about the distribution of practice: each time you return to the material, you will be worse off than when you finished the previous lesson. This is not just normal, this is exactly what you need. The point of distributed practice is to give yourself the opportunity to forget the material and learn it again after a while. And since re-learning is faster than starting from scratch, you will increase your learning a little differently each time. If you change the place of study at the same time, you will reduce the effect of the previous specific coding and allow yourself to use the language more freely in different situations.
By distracting yourself from your activities, you also contribute to the incubation effect. As it turned out, stepping aside from the problem being solved, it is easier to find a better solution and be creative. In addition, sleep has also been shown to contribute to the incubation effect. What conclusion should be drawn from all this? Be sure to study, but if you feel confused or stuck in one place, stop and do something else. Anything, you can even sleep. Returning to the study material, you will be surprised how much you remember.
Wait, wait, don't say
The “spinning on the tongue” state is one of the well-study phenomena of memory. You are sure that you know the right word, and almost got it out of your memory, but for some reason you still cannot do it. No doubt you have had conversations with friends, during which everyone endlessly tried to remember the name of an actor: “Well, he played that guy in the Superman movies in the seventies ... fund ... Well, so tall, handsome. .. What was his name? "(In case we caused you to feel" spinning on the tongue ", this is all about Christopher Reeve).
The state of "spinning on the tongue" is of great interest to cognitive scientists for its paradoxical nature: how can you remember so much about someone, but not remember the name? Fortunately, it is fairly easy to induce this condition in study participants. Researchers Roger Brown and David McNeill found that they could induce this condition in subjects by giving them a dictionary definition of a rare or unusual concept. Before describing the results of Brown and McNeill's experiments, let's see if we can induce this state in you. Below are some of the definitions they used. After reading each, rate your feelings. There are three options:
a) You have no idea what this is about, and you do not have a feeling of something familiar. These are rare and unusual words, so this option is quite possible. Just move on to the next definition.
b) You are confident that you know the described item or concept and are able to say its name out loud. In that case, you can congratulate yourself on your impressive vocabulary and move on to the next definition.
c) It seems to you that you know the word, but cannot remember it exactly. If you find yourself in such a state, we ask you to guess, (1) this word is short or long; (2) how many syllables it contains and (3) which letter it starts with. Even if you're not sure, just try it. Ready? Answers are given at the end of the paragraph. If you experience the "spinning on the tongue" state, be sure to write down your guesses about the length, the number of syllables, and the first letter of the word.
1) What is the name of a small rowboat usually with a roof made of mats, found on rivers and in the sea bays of Asia?
2) What is the name of the semicircular lowered ledge adjacent to the main building of the church?
3) What is the name of the phenomenon when representatives of business or politicians provide support to members of their own family?
4) What kind of object surrounded by two snakes is a symbol of medicine?
5) What is it called receiving money or support through intimidation or threats of violence?
6) What is the name of a gathering of people with a common purpose, for example, to hold a conference?
7) What is another name for a stamp collector?
8) What is the name of excessive flattery or ingratiating behavior?
9) What is the name of the navigation instrument that is used at sea to measure the heights of the Sun, Moon and stars?
10) What is the name of the cavity at the end of the digestive tract of the bird?
Hopefully you have experienced the spinning state by reading one or more of these definitions. Brown and McNeill gave a similar assignment to students at Harvard University, and they reported the condition "spinning on the tongue" about 13% of the time. After analyzing the results, the researchers found that participants considered short words to be short, the length in syllables was often recalled correctly, and in many cases they correctly named the first letter. Even errors in this study are of interest. For example, some participants gave sexton's answer to the penultimate definition. The word sexton (gravedigger) in its meaning does not at all look like a navigational instrument, but it looks like a sextant (sextant) in length and number of syllables, as well as a set of sounds.
Adults learning a foreign language can draw a number of important lessons from this study. First, it is reassuring that even Harvard students experience the "spinning on the tongue" state, so you shouldn't be upset when this happens to you. So-called diary studies, in which participants were asked to record incidences of spinning on their tongues, showed an increase in incidence from about once a week in younger participants to about once a day in older participants.
These discoveries can, again, be viewed from a negative or positive side, depending on the situation. It is clear that such episodes are more frequent with age, but they should not be considered as evidence of general memory impairment. A large amount of knowledge, apparently, does not lead to an increase in the frequency of the "spinning on the tongue" state. However, it should be comforting to you that if you experience it, the word you are looking for is present in your memory, even if you cannot retrieve it right now. Often you experience this state right before the word comes to mind, so if it seems to you that the word is spinning in the language, it may be so. You just have to wait for it to pop up.
Answers on questions:
1) Sampan (also called junk by some people)
2) Apse
3) Nepotism
4) Caduceus
5) Extortion
6) Convocation
7) Philatelist
8) Sneakiness
9) Sextant
10) Cloaca
Emotional aspects of memory
Tune in positive
When exploring the relationship between thoughts and feelings, one should keep in mind the basic principle: positive information is processed more efficiently and is remembered better and longer than negative information. The superiority of positive information over negative information has been demonstrated in numerous studies, including those that dealt with memorizing words, grammatical structures, the content of dialogues and texts. The penchant for remembering positive information may be of particular importance (and possibly relief) to adult learners, because unpleasant memories have been shown to fade over time. Margaret Matlin and David Stang called the general propensity of cognitive systems for positive information the Pollyanna principle, named for the little girl, heroine of popular books and films,
Of course, it is impossible to achieve any level of proficiency in the language if you study only positively colored words and build only affirmative sentences. But since positive linguistic phrases are easier to process, remember and recall than negative ones, then when you need to somehow use your knowledge of a foreign language (tell a story, prepare a presentation or start a conversation), you will get an advantage if you approach this with a positive point of view. For example, you may find it easier to make a sentence like “President is a woman” than “President is not a man”. And it will be easier for listeners to understand what you are trying to say, since it is easier to process positive information as well.
Choose conditions
When Richard was a student, he prepared for tests in the same classroom at the same place where he studied the material and where then he had to take these tests (it's incomprehensible!). On the evening before the test, he came to the classroom and took notes on the blackboard. Then he sat down in his seat and studied them, so that on the day of the test, if necessary, he would visualize these notes and remember the necessary information. Unbeknownst to himself, Richard tried to take advantage of a cognitive phenomenon called the principle of specific coding.
The principle is that information is remembered better when the context in which you learn it (coding) matches the context in which it will need to be reproduced. Conversely, when the contexts do not match, memory can fail. Perhaps this has happened to you. You perfectly memorized the words in class and passed the tests with ease. But as soon as you tried to apply these words in real life, they seemed to evaporate from your head. Do not blame your age for this, blame the principle of specific coding. The problem arises when you have learned words in some conditions and want to apply them in others.
Remember, too, that context isn't just about the environment. Other characteristics are also subject to the principle of specific coding, for example, an internal affective state. So, people who learn words by drinking alcoholic beverages remember them better when drunk than when sober. Gulf War veterans are more likely to show negative symptoms of PTSD as the anniversary of the stressful event approaches. Mood also affects the ability to recall information. Knowledge is easier to extract from the head if the mood in which the material was memorized coincides with the mood in which it is remembered. For example, if you are angry, it is easier for you to remember other times or situations when you felt the same way. This explains why
Knowing that the assimilation of the material depends on the mood, you can guess that if you are calm and relaxed in the classroom, then, worrying in the exam, you will demonstrate lower results. No, we do not advise to worry and worry in the classroom. It's just that if you recall information better in class than during the test, do not blame your age or cognitive abilities, these are just the consequences of specific coding. This is normal and happens to people of all ages. Of course, it is impossible to study information in all possible contexts and moods in order to avoid blackouts due to the effect of specific coding or dependence on mood. However, when learning a foreign language, there are a few things that adults can do to make a particular coding work for them, or at least reduce its impact.
For example, at some point in his Portuguese studies, Richard lived in Iceland. He traveled to Brazil for a month to study intensively, and then returned to Iceland, from where he tried to take a phone test in Portuguese. And failed. But since he is a cognitive scientist, he considered what went wrong and decided to try again. So he went to Brazil again, but this time he tried to make the internal and external coding context match the one in which he would have to take the test. Richard even spoke to his Portuguese teacher on the phone for practice. He tried to take the test again (this time in Brazil) and succeeded, which allowed him to enter the diplomatic service. Unsurprisingly, however, when Richard took the face-to-face exam (necessary to make sure that the same person took the test on the phone), he did not perform as well because the context of this exam was different, and his level of language proficiency was not high enough to be free from the influence of the context. However, Richard scored enough points to make sure the examiners weren't cheating on the phone test.
Switch
Despite the presence of the effect of specific coding even among native speakers, most of us strive for such a level of language proficiency in which there will be no dependence on the context. For this, it is important to change the place, time and way of learning the language, that is, to use the effect of distribution of practice. If you have two hours for class, then it is better to work out for an hour, then interrupt for another activity, and then return to studying the material again. The distribution of practice depends on time, but we suggest changing the context as well. We do not mean the option to study at home, and then go with the same notebook to the library. It would be better to study for an hour in writing, and then meet with a native speaker, in conversation with whom you can practice the words you just learned.
The following should be remembered about the distribution of practice: each time you return to the material, you will be worse off than when you finished the previous lesson. This is not just normal, this is exactly what you need. The point of distributed practice is to give yourself the opportunity to forget the material and learn it again after a while. And since re-learning is faster than starting from scratch, you will increase your learning a little differently each time. If you change the place of study at the same time, you will reduce the effect of the previous specific coding and allow yourself to use the language more freely in different situations.
By distracting yourself from your activities, you also contribute to the incubation effect. As it turned out, stepping aside from the problem being solved, it is easier to find a better solution and be creative. In addition, sleep has also been shown to contribute to the incubation effect. What conclusion should be drawn from all this? Be sure to study, but if you feel confused or stuck in one place, stop and do something else. Anything, you can even sleep. Returning to the study material, you will be surprised how much you remember.
