Languages in a Global World
Learning for Better Cultural Understanding

The rise of globalisation makes language competencies more valuable, both at individual and societal levels. This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages. It begins by asking why some individuals are more successful than others at learning non-native languages, and why some education systems, or countries, are more successful than others at teaching languages.
The book comprises chapters by different authors on the subject of language learning. There are chapters on the role of motivation; the way that languages, cultures and identities are interconnected; the insights that neuroscience provides; migrants, their education and opportunities to learn languages; language learning and teaching in North America; and new approaches to language learning.
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Language learning in Peru
“De mi cerebro, su neurona”
Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
This chapter aims to analyse language acquisition and educational outcomes in the Peruvian Quechua native speakers learning Spanish, considering the implications of neuroscientific analysis in the reinforcement of cultural paradigms. Based on the relationship between history, culture and linguistics, the issues resulting from learning Spanish as second language are presented. These are then concretely examined through the impact of functional convergence to establish how learning both languages efficiently becomes a complex yet necessary endeavour. This bridges the analysis to temporally-relevant brain functions that are affected when learning both languages, using the Event-Related Potential framework. Cognitive stimulation through effective child-rearing practices is exemplified as a potential tool for improving language acquisition of either, and both, languages at an early age, taking into consideration socio-cultural concerns.
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