Memorisation enhancement and language learning improvement—a clinical experiment
Albert So1，Trevor Leutscher2，Rose Wong3,4，T. F. Kwan5，Cho-Yee To3,6
1. City University of Hong Kong，Hong Kong，China；2. Determinant LLC，Ann Arbor，USA；3. The Chinese University of Hong Kong，Hong Kong，China；4. WAY Psychological Services，Hong Kong，China；5. Hong Kong Society of Physiology of Education，Hong Kong，China；6. The University of Michigan，Ann rbor，USA
Abstract：Language acquisition relies on memorisation of vocabulary，phrases，idioms，and pronunciations；therefore，enhancing the efficiency of memorisation is crucial to improve language learning. How（by what means）and when（at what age）memorisation should be systematically carried out，are the two important questions to be addressed. This study focuses on the first question，identifying the most efficient ways through verification by clinical experiments. One hundred and seventy-two subjects were selected from Hong Kong schools to participate in a series of language experiments and tests on memorising rhymed materials. Subjects were trained in similar classroom settings by using three different methods of repetition，i.e.，monotone reading，choral reading，and singing，in memorising Chinese and English poems. The results were compared and analyzed with two sets of neurological data obtained from electroencephalograms and functional magnetic resonance imaging scans under different experimental paradigms. It was found that the best approach to learn the mother tongue is different from that for the learning of a second language. The implication is that the first language and the second language might have to be taught and learned differently.
