Book Launch: The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, the Human Mind, and Culture

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - 9:30pm to Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - 12:00am

The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, the Human Mind, and Culture by Robert K. Logan (University of Toronto Press) ISBN 978-0-8020-9303-5
The ability to communicate through language is such a fundamental part of human ex-istence that we often take it for granted, rarely considering how sophisticated the process is by which we understand and make ourselves understood. In The Extended Mind, acclaimed author Robert K. Logan examines the origin, emergence, and co-evolution of language, the human mind, and culture.
Building on his previous study, The Sixth Language (2000), and making use of emer-gence theory, Logan seeks to explain how language emerged to deal with the complexity of hominid existence brought about by toolmaking, control of fire, social intelligence, coordinated hunting and gathering, and mimetic communication. The resulting emergence of language, he argues, signifies a fundamental change in the functioning of the human mind ' a shift from per-cept-based thought to concept-based thought.
This study will be of particular interest to linguists because of the way in which the origin of language is tied to the emergence of cognitive science and culture.From the perspective of the Extended Mind model, Logan provides an alternative to and critique of Noam Chomsky's approach to the origin of language. He argues that language can be treated as an organism that evolved to be easily acquired, obviating the need for the hard-wiring of Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device.
In addition Logan shows how, according to this model, culture itself can be treated as an organism that has evolved to be easily attained, revealing the universality of human culture as well as providing an insight as to how altruism might have originated. Bringing timely insights to a fascinating field of inquiry, The Extended Mind will be of interest to readers in a wide range of disciplines.
Media inquiries please contact Andrea-Jo Wilson at 416-978-2239 Ext. 248.

Venue & Address: 
Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity, Rm 600 100 McCaul St., Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
Free

Rebecca Smollett presents paper at Symposium on Second Language Writing

Tuesday, November 18, 2014 - 5:00am

Last week, Writing & Learning Centre (WLC) English Language Learning Specialist Rebecca Smollett, in collaboration with Leora Freedman, Coordinator, English Language Learning, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto, presented the paper “Applying the Lexical Approach to One-on-One Writing Instruction” at the Symposium on Second Language Writing hosted by Arizona State University. The paper highlighted the strategies and resources developed for use with OCAD U students in the WLC’s English language learning programs.

Abstract:
The "lexical approach" is an approach to language teaching which focuses on the importance of the mastery of "lexical bundles" to fluency in all modalities. In academic writing, the use of lexical bundles is highly specialized and discipline specific. Research has shown that one of the ways that academic writing by first and second language writers differs is in the use of lexical bundles.  In this talk, two university program administrators demonstrate the effectiveness of a lexical approach to one-on-one work with second language writers at the university level. Leora will focus on the use of the approach as a means to improving fostering critical thinking while Rebecca will focus on the benefits of focusing on lexis as a way of addressing apparent grammatical difficulties. Both will reflect on ways that this approach allows them to bring together work on language and content in the context of one-on-one work with students. They will also touch on their successes sharing the essentials of this approach with tutors and instructors who do not have specific language teaching experience.