subject: Using the Right Brain to Learn French [print this page] If you know anything about the French, you know they have a proud tradition of art. Art, of course, is more connected to the right brain than the left and it's only appropriate that it's easier to learn French by using this part of your brain. In fact, the same can be said of any language. The right brain does not judge, does not deconstruct and functions more on intuition and emotion than does the left. To stimulate this part of the brain, art is called for. The art of storytelling is a good way to go about it.
Where languages are concerned, there are numerous ways to learn. French is rather predisposed to being learned by listening to people converse. The French tend to blend one word with the next and, if you've only seen the language written, you're in for a surprise when you hear it spoken. French has a musical quality to itit's often described as one of the most attractive of European languagesand this is something you can learn to understand by hearing it over and over again. Hearing it over and over again, however, should be enjoyable.
Hearing an engaging story is a good way to learn French. When we hear stories, our right brain is stimulated to create images that go along with those stories. We also experience the fear, joy, disappointment and accomplishments of the protagonists by hearing stories. All of this takes the process of learning out of the left brainthink memorization and critical thought when you think about the left brainand transfers it to our right brain, where we create instead of assess. The creative process is very effective for teaching people new things.
Learning French should expand your mind, not pin you down with endlessly boring rote exercises. You can learn how to say "Hello", "Good Evening" and "Thank you" by listening to people use those phrases in real life situations much more quickly than you can by memorizing them with no context. Instead of trying to remember what was said on a page, you'll be remembering what a person said in a similar situation when it comes time to use your new French language skills. You'll also know pronunciation very well, as you'll have heard a word pronounced over and over again in different contexts, rather than all at once.
Using the Right Brain to Learn French
By: Dr. Dennis Dunham
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
