Benefits of Autonomy in a Synesthetic Learner: Awareness and Understanding of Learning Styles Conditioned by Grapheme-Colour Synaesthesia

Dvoršek, Leja (author), Sicherl, Eva (mentor)

Grapheme-colour synaesthesia is firmly linked to a written text and thus offers the possibility of being utilized by grapheme-colour synaesthetes as a tool for learning a (foreign) language. This M. A. thesis examines and compares cognitive processes of two grapheme-colour synaesthetes as learners of English as L2. Through the method of a closed interview, it first evaluates the scope and workings of the participants’ synaesthetic perceptions (e.g. whole-word colour, effect of neighbouring letters, focus on morphemes, etc.), and secondly, it examines possible unique learning strategies based on associations between concurrent colours and the mental imagery of words. In other words, it examines how a grapheme-colour synaesthete perceives letters in a word, and how he/she can use the perceived colours as a mnemonic aid, especially in the English language, which is orthographically complex. The findings show that grapheme-colour synaesthesia has great potential to be consistently used as a mnemonic aid. However, identifying synaesthesia should first become a common practice in schools, in order for the synaesthetes to start actively utilizing it. Autonomy in the creation of one‘s own learning strategy, supported by one’s perceived concurrent colours, is of great importance due to the idiosyncratic nature of synaesthetic perceptions.

• Language: English
• Keywords: grapheme-colour synaesthesia, associative learning, mnemonic device, English as L2
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Year: 2022
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135090
• COBISS.SI-ID: 98954499
• Publication date in RUL: 22.02.2022

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Koristi avtonomije pri sinestetskem učencu: Zavedanje in razumevanje učnih stilov, pogojenih z grafemsko-barvno sinestezijo

Abstract

Grafemsko-barvna sinestezija je tesno povezana s pisanim besedilom, zaradi česar ima potencial kot orodje sinestetov pri učenju (tujega) jezika. V nalogi raziščem in primerjam kognitivne procese dveh grafemsko-barvnih sinestetov, ki se učita angleščino kot tuji jezik. Z metodo zaprtega intervjuja najprej ocenim obseg in delovanje sinestetskih zaznav obeh udeležencev (npr. barva celotne besede, učinek sosednjih črk, osredotočenost na morfeme, itd.), nato pa še preverim možne edinstvene učne strategije, ki temeljijo na asociacijah med dojetimi barvami in mentalnimi slikami besed. Povedano drugače, v nalogi preverim kako grafemsko-barvni sinestet zaznava črke v besedi in kako lahko zaznane barve uporabi kot mnemotehnično sredstvo, zlasti pri ortografsko zapletenem angleškem jeziku. Moje ugotovitve nakazujejo, da ime grafemsko-barvna sinestezija velik potencial za uporabo kot mnemotehnično sredstvo. Vendar pa bi morala identifikacija sinestezije najprej postati stalna praksa v šolah, da bi jo lahko ti učenci aktivno uporabili. Avtonomija pri zasnovanju lastne učne strategije, ki temelji na zaznavanih barvah, je osnovnega pomena zaradi svojevrstne narave sinestetskih zaznav.

• Keywords: grafemsko-barvna sinestezija, asociativno učenje, mnemotehnično sredstvo, angleščina kot tuji jezik