Event

English as Therapy

Sunday, December 20th, 2015, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Speaker: Spencer M. Robinson (Reconstitutive Psychocognitive Training (RPT); National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences (NISAN), AUT University)

Humans--through the biological determinants of evolutionary selection--have developed a uniquely social brain. In the human social brain, learning is the principal mechanism that shapes all behavior, and language is the medium through which learning takes place and cognition is acquired. Cognition is the understanding of ourselves, others and the world around us. But the processes of cognitive development--that is, how we learn, what we learn, how we understand the world around us, and, consequently, how we are molded to behave--can be blocked or can become distorted. We explore how this blockage or distortion can occur, how it can be prevented or repaired, and how the English language can be an especially powerful facilitator, not only for learning, but equally as a medium for the remediation of, and even full recovery from, cognitive and behavioral disorders. We explore the processes in the human social brain by which learning is realized and cognition and behavior are shaped, and the techniques and power of English that can be used, both in the classroom and in a remedial setting, to affirmatively stimulate these processes in fostering learning realization and positive, socially adaptive behavior.

Dr. Spencer M. Robinson has worked with the Department of Neuropsychiatry and with the Child Development Research Centre, University of Fukui Hospital and Faculty of Medical Sciences, Fukui, Japan; in the former as developer and presenter of the seminar, "Contemporary Issues in Psychology and Psychiatry" for the staff psychiatrists, and in the latter, as lecturer in autism diagnostic protocols for the staff psychiatrists, psychologists and paediatricians. Spencer has also held the position of Associate Professor of social psychology in the urban studies programme at the University of Fukui. Currently Spencer has consolidated resources through the vehicle of Reconstitutive Psychocognitive Training for the purpose of pioneering the field of applied social neuroscience focusing on developing a model of the mind by an understanding of the evolution of the social brain of the anatomically modern human and the socialisation process through which the antecedents of behaviour are constructed. From this framework Spencer has derived a model of non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical intervention addressing a broad spectrum of cognitive and behavioural problems.

Organization: Kyoto Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Kyoto JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 500 yen

Venue: Campus Plaza Kyoto (map)

Location: Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

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