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Language and communication
Humans create a society through communication, and language is its powerful tool to convey feelings and move people. Elucidation of the neural bases of these functions and their acquisition is expected to contribute to understanding humanity and to educational applications.
202410.24 The Role of Gesture in Second Language Acquisition: an fMRI study (Poster Presentation) Posted in RESEARCH
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I attended the Society for the Neurobiology of Language 2024 conference from October 24 to October 26, where I presented my poster. It is well-established that speech and gesture form a unified system in one’s native language, with gestures helping listeners understand the speaker's intentions and meaning. However, how does this dynamic change for second-language speakers when gestures accompany speech? How does it differ from the native-language context? These questions guided my research, titled The Role of Gesture in Second Language Acquisition: an fMRI Study. During my presentation, many researchers stopped by to discuss my work, and the hour and a half flew by.
One of the highlights was meeting Professor Karen Emmorey, a renowned scholar in sign language research. She kindly visited my poster, and we exchanged a wealth of ideas. Her insights helped me further clarify the distinctions and connections between gesture and sign language. We also had the chance to continue our conversation over lunch, which deepened my understanding and appreciation of this topic.
This conference allowed me to experience the vibrant energy of the academic and research community, and I left feeling inspired and grateful for the experience.