UNIT 3. THINKING AND LEARNING
3.1 Proverbs
3.1.6
1. Your friend thinks that a piece of modern sculpture is beautiful. You think it is very ugly. You can’t agree about it.
2. You take a job as a hotel receptionist and you meet some very strange people. At first you are rather surprised and shocked, but then you learn to accept it.
3. You are very angry because a friend has made a joke about you. Your friend thinks you are over-reacting.
4. Your friend accidentally breaks an expensive present and is very upset about it. You tell your friend not to be unhappy about something that cannot be changed.
5. You always go on holiday with your friend to the same place every year. Your friend is bored with this place and says it would be more interesting to visit many different places.
6. You see your friend in the park having a romantic conversation with someone. You decide it would be better not to start talking to your friend in these circumstances.
7. You make a mistake at work. All your colleagues tell you what you should have done. You think it is easy for them to say this after the result is known.
8. Your boyfriend or girlfriend is going abroad for several months. You are afraid that he or she will forget you while he or she is away.
9. You are having difficulties finding a job. You believe that if you are determined, you will eventually find one.
10. Your boss is very strict and will be away at a conference for two weeks. You think this may be a good opportunity to have some fun at work.
3.3 Knowledge, thought and desire
3.3.1 The Human Brain
… You see the human brain weighs about 1-½ kilos. It contains ten to fifteen thousand million nerve cells. Now, each nerve cell can connect with any number or combination of other neurons – that’s what you call a nerve cell, a neuron – the total number of possible connections, of course, is enormous. Now, if you want to type that number so you’d have to start by typing a one, then follow that with ten million kilometers of zeros.
Every human brain has an unlimited potential – only a small fraction of neurons are used for … er … everyday routine tasks like eating, moving, routine work, etc. The rest are constantly available for thought.
Now, our brains consist of various parts, some of which control routine functions. But the important parts that make us into those marvelous thinking machines, we like to think we are, are the two hemispheres or the two sides of the brain: the left and the right. Now, the left hemisphere controls the right half of the body, that’s right, the left controls the right, and the right controls the left half. Normally, the left half of the brain is dominant.
Now, the left side, which is known as the rational side, controls the … these functions: language, numbers, linearity, analysis, logic, lists and sequencing.
The right side, which is known as the irrational side, sometimes people call it the artistic side of your brain, controls those things … er … which are … well, less specific perhaps: rhythm … er … er … colour, imagination, daydreaming, space: spatial dimension, three-dimensional thought … erm … seeing collections of things as one, as a whole. One interesting thing is that left-handed people often have a dominant right hemisphere, and in this case the priorities of the things I’ve just mentioned are all reversed.
The corpus callosum is very important. That’s corpus CORPUS, callosum CALLOSUM –you should make a note of that, it’s very important – that’s the link between the two hemispheres in the brain and it’s the key to successful thinking, linking the two parts of the brain, so you don’t use them independently.
By the way, you … you could try this experiment – you’ll see the two halves being used. Ask someone two questions; one to do with numbers … you could say ‘What’s 12 multiplied by 137?’ and the other one to do with space. For example, you could say, ‘What piece of furniture is directly above this chair in the room upstairs?’ OK? Now, while they’re trying to answer the first question, that was the … the numbers one, they’ll probably look to the right to prevent being distracted by visual information, and while they’re trying to answer the second, that’s the spatial one about what’s upstairs above the chair, they’ll probably look to the left. But of course, some people just close their eyes and that ruins the whole test!
According to experts, as we get older our memories do not get worse. Er … that’s just an old wives’ tale. In fact, we forget things at all ages. Now, if you expect your memory to be bad or to get worse, it probably will. Lack of stimulation, brain exercise and lack of interest can mean that you forget things more easily. Lack of concentration simply. Ah, lack of fresh air can also lead to your brain being less efficient because it gets starved of oxygen, and an unhealthy lifestyle – take note – can also damage your brain: er … alcohol, smoke, um … pollutants in the air like lead, er … chemicals in food, they can all add to a generally deteriorating condition of the brain.
You’ve probably heard a lot of people say, ‘I’m not brainy’ or ‘That’s too difficult for my brain’ – but this is not true because everyone’s brain has an equal potential.
There are a few rules – Golden Rules of brainpower. One: use your senses. Don’t only think in an abstract, logical way. Try to imagine a problem visually. Second rule: use both halves of your brain. For example, if you’re faced with … er … an abstract, logical problem, try thinking about it imaginative … er … try thinking about it imaginatively. Or if you’re faced with a creative problem, try to analyze it. Think logically about it. And don’t ever say you can’t solve a problem because your brain is just as good as anyone else’s.
3.4 Student life
3.4.2 ‘Five Students’
Chris: Barbara, before you go, could you tell me about these students that are coming into my class?
Barbara: Oh, yes. Now, let me think, well there’s … er … Paul. He’s … er … he’s the tall slim … slim lad with fair hair. Very … very friendly face, lovely smile. He’s … er … particularly good with group activities, he’s a very helpful person to have in the class and very helpful with the other students. He … er … speaks fluently, but does make a lot of mistakes! Doesn’t seem to mind making mistakes, mind you. He asks a lot of questions … er … tends to speak first and think later, he’s a bit impetuous. But he’s got lots of interesting ideas.
Chris: Good.
Barbara: Er … Susan … Susan. Now, she’s very lively, quick, very bright. Now she talks all the time but not always in English.
Chris: What, is she difficult or anything?
Barbara: N… No … She’s quite young but she does behave in quite a grown-up way really for her age. She … ah …. It can be a bit difficult to actually shut her up sometimes and make her listen to you but she’s … er …
Chris: Ah, right.
Barbara: She’s … er … very nice. And she’s … um … what does she look like? Just as … yes, she’s dark hair, dark eyes.
Chris: Right, well … er … is there … any other girls in the …
Barbara: Yes, there’s Maria, that’s Susan’s sister.
Chris: Yes.
Barbara: Actually, it’s quite difficult to tell them apart although … er … Maria is slightly older. She’s a bit … a bit plumper and has longer hair … than Susan. Er … she’s not quite as bright as her sister and I think that makes her feel a bit inferior really. Well, you know, she sulks a bit when she gets things wrong or if she misunderstands you. But on the whole, very sensible girl.
Chris: OK.
Barbara: Then there’s, oh, Helen. Er …
Chris: Er … Helen, Helen, Helen, Helen …
Barbara: Yes, she’s very very pretty with a … with a nice smile and she’s … but she …she’s quite shy and quiet, so you have to sort of encourage her a bit. And she’s very bright. Er … does tend to seem … well, she seems a bit wrapped up in her own little world but the … er … written work she does shows that she’s learning a lot. Oh, she laughs at my jokes, too.
Chris: Oh, hope, she laughs at mine!
Barbara: Yes. And then there’s Peter, who’s older than the others. He’s sort of … um … a bit more distinguished, he’s got sort of moustache and spectacles and wavy dark brown hair. And he usually wears a jacket and sometimes a suit. Very smart and very … takes notes all the time and very serious and determined to learn as much as possible. He also …
Chris: Oh, soon put a stop to that!
Barbara: Ah, but he asks quite difficult questions. He doesn’t … doesn’t mean to be nasty but if you’re not careful, he can catch you out.
Chris: Well, thanks, Barbara. It’s all up to me now, isn’t it? Have a good holiday, won’t you?
Barbara: Thanks.
Chris: Bye.
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3.4.9 |
B | Examination Stress |
Today you are going to listen to Margaret Felton, a psychologist who has been working with people suffering from stress.
- Dr Felton, we know that there are different kinds of stress, but as our listeners are young people who will sooner or later face examinations, we would very much like you to tell them how to cope with examination stress.
- Examinations are the most stressful events facing any student. After years of study the pressure of examination threatens many students’ chances of success. Stress can lead to panic, blanking-out in examinations and insomnia. Cases of insomnia are quite common and students should know that sleeping pills will not solve their problem. Stress can be spotted by signs of irritability, a lack of concentration, impatience and lethargy.
- Does blanking-out happen very often?
- Blanking-out in examinations usually affects only one or two students a year but it does happen and students who are likely to face this problem must be helped in advance.
- But how can one discover whether a student is likely to have a major problem in the examination?
- Specialists say that a trial run, I mean, a mock examination, is the most useful way of preparing for examinations and discovering whether they are likely to be major problems.
- Can you do anything for panic-stricken students?
- Those who are panic-stricken have to be taught how to handle the situation, they must be taught to control their breathing and to concentrate on the task in hand and not worry what is going on around them.
- And what about the period before the examinations, when the tension is mounting?
- All students are advised to include relaxation periods in their timetables. The most dangerous time is the revision period before examinations. It very often happens that over-conscientious students have the most serious problems. They sometimes negate their own efforts by working into the early hours and getting up too early.
- What do you advise for them?
- While revising, students are advised to make notes and refer to them regularly, but never to learn facts that they don’t understand. They should never work for more than two hours and break the time up into 20 minutes’ sessions with a ten minutes’ break in between. Revision should begin six weeks before the examination, provided they have studied conscientiously over the year. When it comes to the examination, students often forget to read the question carefully to make sure they understand it.
- Yes, how can this be avoided?
- Students are advised not to start writing straight away, but think the question over beforehand.