3 things that happen to your brain when you go to the movies
and how they can be applied to cross-border teams
When you go to the movies...
(1) YOU IGNORE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
The exit signs, the time, your own body you don't notice
them
(2) YOU BELIEVE IN THINGSTHAT AREN'T REAL
The city's attacked by dragons? OK
(3) YOU FEEL EMOTIONS
You care about what happens in the movie
You become transported
One reason for this is that...
AT THE MOVIES, THE PROJECTORIS IN CONTROL
There is nothing you can do to change what happens in the
movie
YOUR BRAIN IS VERY EFFICIENT IT LIKES TOSAVE ENERGY WHEN IT
CAN
When your brain knows it can't change what happens in the movie,
it shuts down its systems for planning and doing things
So your brain stops being aware of your environment because
there's no need you're not going to do anything
Your brain also stops trying to evaluate whether things are real
or not
BUT YOUR EMOTIONAL SYSTEMS STILL WORK AND NOW THERE'S NOTHING TO
STOP THEM
So you feel happiness, sadness, hope, fear even though the
things you are watching are not real
Now what if...
INSTEAD OF WATCHING A MOVIE, YOU DO A READ-THROUGH?
I work on a project called SkypeRead: we read through movie
scripts in cross-border groups of non-native English-speakers
WE FIND IT'S A POWERFUL ACTIVITY FOR TEAM-BUILDING AND IMPROVING
ENGLISH SKILLS
The results we get are closer relationships and better
communication between group members
One reason for this is that...
IN A READ-THROUGH, THE SCRIPTIS IN CONTROL
Your brain doesn't have to think or plan about which words to
say
You become transported
But you still feel emotions, and...
To put it simply: things that excite the brain are things that
get processed
EMOTIONS DRIVE BONDING AND LEARNING
REFERENCESYour Brain on Movies Norman N. Holland, PSYART, Dec 15
2009
The proposed maxims of neuroELT developed by Robert S. Murphy
and the other brainy folks behind the FAB conferences
Is doing a read-through of a movie good for non-native
English-speakers? a presentation I gave at the 2013 Kansai ELT
Expo
To see what SkypeRead can do for your team, click here
Graham JonesMODERATOR, SKYPEREAD
