Abstract:

The aim of this study is to investigate the implication of the mirror neuron system and the imitative abilities in the development of foreign language.

At two years old, the child is in the phase called "explosion of language" and he begins to assimilate and perceive words and phrases in a clear and orderly way. Through a properly stimulation, the child will be able to understand and deal with the mother tongue and the foreign language, assimilating and imitating the different sounds of the two languages.

At school, children learn what they are not able to do, what is accessible to them with the help of the teacher. What is fundamental in learning is that children learn things that they do not know yet. According to Vygotskij, the proximal development area is precisely the most significant element linked to learning. Therefore, the author advises to focus on the next one stage of development in which pupils are collocated, because the purpose of the teacher is to transform the pupils current potential in proximal potential (skills that the pupil learns at a certain age only if helped by an adult). This idea is not shared by Piaget who suggests that teachers should focus on the current development stage of the pupils.

Learning a foreign language means assimilation of meanings already acquired through the process of abstraction and generalization of the mother tongue in another linguistic code. Vygotskij points out that «the child’s learning of a foreign language is based on knowledge of his mother tongue», which means that «the child assimilates a foreign language because he has already a system of knowledge in his mother tongue and he transfers it into the other language».

In addition, the contribution of neuroscience has been crucial in learning foreign languages. To build a foreign language learning plan, the teacher should know how the mirror neuron system works. This system was discovered by a group of Italian researchers who first noticed the activation of a group of motor neurons in a primate’s brain while observing the unfolding of an action; such neurons are therefore able to activate not only during the course of the action but also when someone else is observed to perform the same action. This discovery allowed to map this system also in human being. This system is located in various brain zones including one close to the Broca’s area. This correlation seems to reinforce the thesis of some authors who believe that the evolution of language did not start from the vocalizations but by gestures: the observation of another subject who makes movements with his hands determines the activation of these mirror neurons. This zone is part of the motor areas of the language: it allows the activation of the muscles of the phonation and the motor act of the vocalization.

In conclusion, the same nerve structures that preside over the organization of the motor execution of actions also play a role in the semantic understanding of the linguistic expressions used to describe them.

Keywords:

Early Imitation, Foreign Language Learning.