Listen&Learn: Dominant hands

Learn about the differences between right-handed and left-handed people.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• dominant: more powerful or useful
• competent: able to do something
• ambidextrous: able to use both hands almost equally well
• speculate: to make guesses about something
• disproportionate: not the expected number

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17 — 1.2MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Most people in the world have a hand that is more competent at performing tasks. The majority of people are right-handed. Left-handed people make up about 10% of the population. Some people are ambidextrous, which means that they can use both hands effectively. A person’s dominant hand can be related to the structure of their . This has caused many people to speculate about in the minds of left-handed and right-handed people. There are disproportionately large amounts of left-handed people in artistic and musical fields, which has led to the common that left-handed people are naturally more . Humans are not the only species with dominant hands. Many animals prefer a specific paw or leg. However, scientists still don’t understand why most humans prefer their right hand.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. About 10% of people are
   a. mixed-handed
   b. left-handed
   c. ambidextrous
   
2. There is a common belief that left-handed people are more
   a. logical
   b. athletic
   c. creative
   
3. Scientists still don’t understand
   a. why humans are the only animals with dominant hands
   b. why most humans prefer their right hand
   c. why dominant hands are related to brain structure

Discussion/essay questions

1. Which hand do you use to write?
2. Some people who are not fully ambidextrous still prefer different hands for different tasks. This is called mixed-handedness. Do you use the same hand for everything?

Transcript

Most people in the world have a hand that is more competent at performing tasks. The majority of people are right-handed. Left-handed people make up about 10% of the population. Some people are naturally ambidextrous, which means that they can use both hands effectively. A person’s dominant hand can be related to the structure of their brain. This has caused many people to speculate about differences in the minds of left-handed and right-handed people. There are disproportionately large amounts of left-handed people in artistic and musical fields, which has led to the common belief that left-handed people are naturally more creative. Humans are not the only species with dominant hands. Many animals prefer a specific paw or leg. However, scientists still don’t understand why most humans prefer their right hand.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2c 3b