I am taking READ2230 with Dr. Moore. It is a really hard class, but I am learning a lot of new things about how the brain learns to read and how language is an innate human ability. Maryanne Wolfe, the author of Proust and the Squid, takes takes the human brain and divides it into sections that we use for reading. Steven Pinker, author of Language as an instinct, proposes that language is a natural ability that is uniquely human.
As I was reading the passage from Wolf's book, I did exactly what Wolf described after I read it. I thought about quiet places I would go to read and about books I've read that were hard to put down. Although I am not one who reads often, I still remember the books that really stood out, and the “secret” places I would go to read them. While reading the passage, I was remembering all of this, making connections between the words on the page and my personal life. I did all of this, but was not conscious of the processes being applied. Wolf was exactly right and I was intrigued as I read her analysis of what my brain went through while reading those 233 words from Proust. I am now starting to understand how powerful reading is and how much work the brain does while reading.
On page 25 of Pinker’s book, it explains how deaf children often struggle with sign language because most are born to hearing parents. This goes against my thinking (from last week’s class) that children do not acquire language from their parents. Now, after reading this section, I do think a lot of how children learn to speak comes directly from parents. As I read more into this book, I am sure I will discover more about language and be able to think more in-depth about this topic.
Both of these books are very interesting, and are making me think about reading and language and the brain. I am excited to learn and explore more!
I remember talking about how deaf children struggle harder with language when they are born to deaf parents. I recall them saying that the parents are basically learning with them so it fustrates them when nobody understands them. We learn by associating new objects with things that have happened in our past or present. So I can see how the same process goes on when we read books whether for fun or school. The human brain is interesting and is capable of doing amazing things as we grow.
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