Contribution of neuroscience in the teaching-learning of foreign languages: attention and memory

Abstract

21st-century education is based on four fundamental pillars: learning to be, learning to know, learning to learn, and learning to do. When discussing about education and the teaching-learning process, it is necessary to mention the contribution of neuroscience. This discipline provides knowledge to understand the cognitive and metacognitive processes involved in "learning to learn" and "learning to do." This article focuses on systematizing the contribution of neuroscience to two of the most significant cognitive processes for the teaching-learning: attention and memory. Authors performed a non-systematic documentary study using a primarily qualitative approach. The study period includes the last ten years. Literature review includes works addressing English teaching-learning as a foreign language (L2) and Spanish as a first language (L1), in the context of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. There is a high scientific productivity, indexed in important databases, on the contribution of neuroscience and related disciplines to teaching foreign languages. However, there are limitations in some areas of study. It is concluded that the application of neuroscience generates significant advances in the teaching-learning binomial and contributes to enhancing the neurocognitive and emotional capacities of both the student and the teacher. Likewise, incorporating this neurodidactic approach requires teacher training and the design of strategies consistent with the student's cognitive development, motivations, skills, and socio-affective environment.