Intertextual catalyst for interpreting a text: emotional impact as fuel for cognition and interpretation
The authors examine the linguodidactic potential of an implicit rapport between an emotive “projector” and the main text to be discussed, with the former acting as a spotlight or floodlight for the latter. Topicality: we proceed from the interaction of the emotional and the rational in processing information, which is recognized in psychology, psycholinguistics and cognitive studies. Thence the interest in examining the language-teaching potential of this interaction. Originality: the paper takes a new look at the issue by tapping the possibilities of intertextual associations as a catalyst for more profound text interpretation. Goal: the authors attempt to prove that, within the structure of a lesson, short emotively-charged messages can launch forth filaments affecting the interpretation of the main text under analysis (a story, an essay, a journalistic article, a popular science videotext etc.). Methods: Text-centered discourse analysis, use of analogy, integrative approach to lesson-planning. Results and conclusions. It is shown that the interaction is reciprocal: the main text, in its turn, may affect the treatment of the “projector'. The “projector”, or “catalyst” can be represented by a short verse, a maxim, a proverb, a citation, a non-verbal image etc. With its compression based on imagery, the “projector” channels the students' comprehension of the main text, fosters subtle inferences and nuances of its interpretation, and, in its turn, may undergo multiple interpretations under the influence of the main text. Another source of emotiveness is the sheer excitement of a cognitive emotively-charged task intensifying anticipation and analysis. The emotive “projector” can be offered as an introduction to the main text, as the finishing touch suggesting a re-appraisal of the main text, or as an allusion to students' previous cognitive-emotive experience.