Neurosciences inform second language acquisition. Upgrading EFL educational settings with social modeling and observational

Abstract

Abstract – As research in cognitive psychology and neurosciences develops new models to describe the acquisition and emergence of cognitive skills, these findings call for an adjustment of EFL (and general L2) didactic approaches. The discovery of mirror neurons and social modeling theories have marked a turning point to understand the cognitive processes underlying language perception and L2 learning. This article provides an overview of the recent findings in the field of neurosciences and cognitive psychology and discusses their effects on language acquisition, with special reference to EFL learning, by taking into consideration the critical role played by emulation and the continuous improvement and spreading of technology. The article aims to provide food for thoughts in light of an interdisciplinary informed didactic approach to second language learning, with special reference to the implementation of modeling in EFL learning environments.