B2 – Upper Intermediate
Determining the cause of left-handedness has long been a scientific mystery. Experts in neuroscience have been working hard to come close to an understanding of this trait.
At present, there are approximately 708 million left-handers. This is a little less than 10% of the world population.
Let’s watch the video and know more details on a recent study conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics on the correlation between having rare gene variants and being left-handed.
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0hsy12y/why-is-only-10-percent-of-the-population-left-handed-
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does the phrase “strong bias towards something/someone” mean? “The human genome encodes a kind of strong bias towards right-handedness, but it doesn’t completely determine it.” Use it in your own sentence.
- Define the word “asymmetry“. “The asymmetry is important in the brain for various functions, including language and hand and motor control, and also visual attention.” Use it in a sentence and give two synonyms.
- What is the meaning of the word “suppression“? “The strongest environmental effect that we know of on handedness is actually the suppression of left-handedness in children.” Use it in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- According to the video, what factors cause left-handedness?
- Share some thoughts that went through your mind as you watched the video.
- What are the negative views of left-handedness?
- Are you a lefty? If not, do you know anyone who is? What do you think are the struggles of left-handed people?
- Do left-handed people have advantages over right-handed people? If so, what are they?