Considering Anatomy Pedagogy

Through the Lens of Second Language Learning

LANGFORD Sydney J.1 and Jonathan J. WISCO1,2

1Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

2University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
 Linguistics Anatomy

• Study of the
• Study of
body
language
• Structures
• Structures
• Owner’s • Basic idea for
• Building blocks
Manual more complex
for learning
scientific/
any other
biological
subjects
topics

“Language is the blood of the soul into which our

thoughts run and out of which they grow”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
 Traditional
Sciences

Chemistry Biology Physics

Elements Invertebrates Vertebrates Problems

Molecules Observations Psychology

Anatomy Anatomy Physiology Math

Experiments Systems
Case Studies

Experiments Mechanisms
Anatomy is not a language, but it is acquired in similar
ways to one and has similar characteristics
 Acquisition Characteristics
Second Language Anatomy

• Natural Language • Latin, Greek roots

• Creole/Pidgin • New vocabulary
• ESP/LSP • Different way of thinking
• LAP • Memorization
• Register • Fundamentals for other
topics
Content Based Instruction (CBI)
Content-Based
Instruction
1. Curriculum takes into account
the interests AND needs of the
learners
2. Incorporates eventual uses of
target information
3. Builds on on previous learning
experiences
4. Use and Usage
5. Helpful exposure to
“meaningful language in use”
Brinton, Donna. Content-Based Second Language Instruction. 1998
Significance
• Professors
– Discipline Knowledge
• Students
– Motivation
– Cram and Dump vs Keeping and Adopting
• Reconciling
– “The purpose of formal education is transfer.” (Halpern and Hakel)
 Reconciliation
Second Language Teaching Anatomy Teaching
• Authentic usage examples • Lab time
• Hierarchic/systematic approach • Information in organized hierarchy
• Acquiring information via new language • Usage of specialized vocabulary
• Realize why • Relevance to students

Content Based Instruction (CBI)

 Approach
• Logistics

• Efficacy
• ~98% Success rate (Brinton, 1998)

“...the same thing recurring on different days in

different contexts, read, recited, referred to again
and again, related to other things and reviewed,
gets well wrought into mental structure.”
William James

Carey, Benedict. How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens.
 Conclusion
• Quality and longevity of understanding
• Stepping stones to
self-directed learning
• Pathway to lifelong
learning

“Learning another language is not only learning

different words for the same things, but learning
another way to think about things.” Flora Lewis
 Acknowledgements
• BYU Linguistics Department
• Dr. Deryle Lonsdale
• Dr. Dirk Elzinga
• Dr. Dan Dewey
• Dr. Catherine Pavia
• Stacey A. Call
• Jeff Passey
• Samuel Smith
 Resources
• Brinton, Donna. Content-Based Second Language Instruction. New York: Newbury House Publishers, United States,
1998.
• Carey, Benedict. How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens. , 2014. Print.
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in the Processing of Linear and Nonlinear Texts " Review of Educational Research, vol. 64, no. 2, 1994, pp. 201-252.
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15, no. 2, 2003.
• Chung, Teresa M., and Paul Nation. "Technical Vocabulary in Specialized Texts." Reading in a Foreign Language, vol. 15,
no. 2, 2003, pp. 103, ProQuest Central K12,
• Gaffield-Vile, N. "Content-Based Second Language Instruction at the Tertiary Level." ELT Journal, vol. 50, no. 2, 1996,
pp. 108-114, CrossRef, doi:10.1093/elt/50.2.108.
• Halpern, Diane F., and Milton D. Hakel. "Applying the Science of Learning to the University and Beyond: Teaching for
Long-Term Retention and Transfer." Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, vol. 35, no. 4, 2003, pp. 36-41,
CrossRef,
• Phelps, Amy J., and Cherin Lee. "The Power of Practice: What Students Learn from how we Teach." Journal of Chemical
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• Wendell Holmes, Oliver. The Complete Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Volume 2. , 1892.