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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.
202410.25 fMRI Study on Deep Comprehension in Second Language Reading (Poster Presentation) Posted in RESEARCH
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How can we promote "deep comprehension" beyond surface-level understanding when reading in a second language (L2)? And how does actively recalling information through "retrieval practice" affect brain activity? To address these questions, we conducted an fMRI study and presented our findings at the Society for the Neurobiology of Language conference held in Brisbane, Australia, from October 24-26, 2024.
In this study, Japanese students reading texts in their native language (L1) and in L2 (English) showed significantly improved comprehension when using retrieval practice, where they summarized the content in their own words. Notably, we observed increased activity in the left angular gyrus during L2 reading, suggesting this brain region’s key role in supporting deep comprehension.
These findings highlight the potential of retrieval practice as an effective personalized learning strategy in L2 acquisition, drawing considerable interest from conference attendees.(Jeong)
Society for the Neurobiology of Language (neurolang.org)