SECOND-LANGUAGE TEACHING: A VIEW FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN.
Marcel Danesi. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2003. Pp. xi + 172. $89.95
cloth, $49.95 paper.
Danesi proposes an understanding of second language (L2) teaching
based on the characteristic differences between right hemisphere and left
hemisphere processing. He argues that certain language teaching techniques
are more compatible with one hemisphere or the other and suggests that
successful L2 teaching involves techniques that engage initially the right
hemisphere, then the left hemisphere, and finally both together. Based on
the neurobiological literature, he argues that left hemisphere (L-Mode)
functions are such things as pronunciation, grammar, literal meaning,
sequential relations, verbal memory, and logical thinking. Right
hemisphere (R-Mode) functions include prosodic systems, metaphorical and
emotional meaning, spatial relations, nonverbal memory, intuitive
reasoning, and associations and synthesis (see Table 1, p. 35).