bibliotherapy.mp3
bibliotherapy.pdf
Neil
Hello This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English I’m Neil
Georgina
And I’m Georgina
Neil
What type of books do you like to read, Georgina?
Georgina
I love reading crime fiction - you know detective stories by authors like Ruth
Rendell or Agatha Christie
Neil
?Really? Do you find them relaxing
Georgina
I wouldn’t say relaxing exactly, but I get really involved in the story – trying to
work out who the murderer is then finding out on the last page
Neil
That's interesting because today we’ll be looking at how books can help us relax
and feel more alive during troubled times We’ll be finding out how reading is
one of the best ways to find relief from the pressures of modern life
Georgina
?Neil, are you talking about ‘Bibliotherapy’
Neil
Amazing detective skills, Georgina Exactly ‘Bibliotherapy’ is the prescription of
books as a remedy to sickness It has been around since 2013, when the UK
charity ‘Reading Agency’ published a list of books that doctors could offer to
patients, tackling topics from depression to dementia to chronic pain
Georgina
Since then, 12 million readers have borrowed the scheme's books from libraries
It's so successful that it's about to be extended to children as well
Neil
I wonder which books have been most popular over that time? In fact that’s my
quiz question for today What is the best-selling book of all time? Is it
a) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J K Rowling
b) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, or
c) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Georgina
I’ll say a) Harry Potter
Neil
OK Well, we’ll find out later if you’re right In ‘Bibliotherapy’, people meet up to
read together Professor Philip Davis, who runs these reading groups, believes
they help the participants ‘come more alive’ Here he is speaking to BBC Radio
4’s You and Yours about what he’s discovered
Philip Davis
Above all, that it’s not to do with scanning, with quick reading, when they’re
reading literature If they’re just scanning, if you’re just looking for information,
you go fast, it’s very easy, it’s automatic but when literature begins to do
something more complicated than that in an area that emotionally you care
about, the brain begins to work from different parts, from a different hemisphere
and it gets excited, it gets pre-emotional – you can see the brain coming to life
and it’s that life that is important in terms of these reading groups
Georgina
One type of reading is scanning – reading quickly in order to find specific
information or skimming the page to get a general understanding
Neil
But the real therapy happens when a group reads literature – written works such
as novels, poems or plays which are thought to have artistic merit When group
members read literature their brains get excited and start working from a
different hemisphere – a word meaning ‘half a sphere’ – usually half the Earth or
in this case, the human brain
Georgina
Reading literature in this this way makes both the left and right hemisphere of
the brain come to life - start to be activated again after a quiet period
Neil
And it’s this ‘coming to life’ that proves the therapeutic effects of
‘Bibliotherapy’ Here’s Professor Davis again explaining how the benefits of
group reading are observed
Philip Davis
There are two methods really – you can have ECG where you put electrodes on
the scalp and it measures electricity so that you can have a print-off of a graph of
the sudden leaps than can happen at particular moments in reading a poem or
short story or you can go into the scanner, the FMRI, and there, the blood flow,
the oxygen indicates again changes in the configuration of the brain as it takes in
this new stimulus
Neil
The benefits of reading literature with others can be felt by group members as
they begin to feel more alive and able to cope with life’s ups and downs But they
can also be measured scientifically by recording brain wave activity
Georgina
This can be done by carefully attaching metal wires called electrodes to the
reader’s scalp – the skin under the hair on the head
Neil
Brain activity is then measured by giving the reader a stimulus – something
that encourages activity in people In this case, it could be a poem or novel to
read
Georgina
Or something really stimulating – like a detective story
Neil
Or a work of literature – which reminds me of today’s quiz question I asked you
to name the most popular book of all time, and you said…
Georgina
a) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone…
Neil
…which is definitely the most popular book in the 21st Century But number one
of all time, selling over 500 million copies is c) Cervantes’ Don Quixote And
there’s even a detective in it
Georgina
Today, we’ve been discussing the therapeutic effects of meeting up with others
in a reading group to read literature – writing of artistic value, such as stories
and poetry
Neil
In contrast to scanning – reading quickly to find facts – reading groups use
literature as a stimulus - something that encourages activity in people
Georgina
Reading stimulates both the left and right hemispheres – the two halves of the
brain, and increases emotional activity which can be measured on the scalp – the
skin under the hair on a reader’s head
Neil
All of which helps people dealing with trauma to come to life – feel active and
more alive after a quiet period
Georgina
Right, that’s it – I’m off to the library
Neil
If only you could… Thanks for listening and remember you can find many more
stimulating topics and vocabulary here at 6 Minute English on BBC Learning
English Bye for now
Georgina
Bye
VOCABULARY
scanning
reading rapidly in order to find specific facts
literature
written works including novels, poetry and plays which are considered to have
artistic value
hemisphere
half of a sphere, usually the earth or the brain
coming to life
starting to be activated after a quiet period
scalp
skin under the hair on your head
stimulus
something that encourages activity in people or things
