“Parlez-vous anglais?” I find myself saying this phrase in almost every interaction I have with a French speaker–ordering food, asking for directions, shopping. The answer I dread occasionally follows, “Non…” The first thought that comes to mind is “I should have kept up with French in elementary school.” Then I resort to my next resource: my hands. Hand gestures not only help me communicate but help me understand what the other person is saying. Over my past two weeks in France, much of my French vocabulary stems from these gestural experiences.
This resource came in “handy” (pun intended!) when I found out, after returning home from a group project meeting at 1am, that my room key deactivated. I went to the security guard in my dorm and said, “Bonsoir, Parlez-vous anglais?” His reply: “Non…” I proceeded to try to tell him through hand gestures and pantomime that my card does not work. He responded back to me in rapid French. Surely, the puzzled look on my face cued him to speak slower and provide some supplemental help: gestures. I understood and still remember nearly all the words he said after that cue.
Cité Universitaire – Where I live!
Why did I understand and can now remember the words the security guard said? In a study done by Mayer et al. (2015), researchers found that self-performed gestures enhance learning a foreign language. The study supports the cognitive neuroscience theory known as multisensory learning, a concept that “attributes the benefits of enrichment to recruitment of brain areas specialized in processing the enrichment” (Mayer et al., 2015).
How the human brain most effectively learns foreign languages still puzzles many researchers. Typical in-classroom settings use verbal learning techniques to teach new languages; however, Mayer et al. (2015) investigated the benefits of enriched learning methods, such as pictures and gestures, as compared to learning methods without enrichment, verbal learning. While they found learning with self-performed gestures more effective than learning with pictures, both enriched approaches benefitted the learner more than the utilization of strictly verbal learning.
Mayer et al. (2015) conducted the research by having two experimental groups. In the first experiment, 22 German adults, split into groups of seven or eight to simulate a classroom learning environment, learned foreign language words under three conditions. The participants first learned words by watching a large projection screen where a person performed gestures symbolic to the word’s meaning and then repeated the gesture. The second condition utilized the photo enrichment approach, where participants looked at a picture projected on a large screen and then, as the picture was presented a second time, traced a line on the picture with their finger in the air. The third condition acted as a control condition, where participants learned words with no enrichment.
My experience with the security guard somewhat mimicked the gestural enrichment condition of Experiment 1. As the security guard said to me, “Je” (pointing to himself), “donne” (pantomiming giving me something), “vous” (pointing to me), “un clé” (holding up the new key card), “fin” (crossing his hands), “après une jour” (distinguishing with his finger today versus tomorrow). As he made these gestures, I tried to follow him to make sure I understood what he was saying. Surely enough, I did. Even better, almost a week later, I remember the meaning of those words!
In the study, Mayer et al. (2015) confirmed the benefits of enriched learning through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain. After a week of learning foreign language words under the three conditions, the researchers collected brain images measuring blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) responses, a method of fMRI to observe activity in the brain or other organs, while they presented the participants with auditory foreign words and asked them to select the correct translation on a response screen.
For translated words learned with gesture enrichment, the fMRI images show brain activity in the biological motion superior temporal sulcus (bmSTS), an area sensitive to perception of others, and motor areas of the brain. For translated words learned with picture enhancement, the fMRI images show brain activity in the lateral occipital complex (LOC), an area of visual-object sensitivity.
A) LOC (Lateral occipital complex) BOLD responses
B) bmSTS (biological motion superior temporal sulcus) BOLD responses
C) Correlation of gesture and picture enrichment benefit
Figure S2 – Mayer et al. (2015)
In further analysis of the fMRI images, Mayer et al. (2015) found significant correlations between gesture and picture enrichment with distinct brain activity in sensory and motor areas as compared to neuronal activation for words learned without enrichment. The data show that using the gesture enrichment benefited the learner more than the picture enrichment; however, both enrichments benefited the learner more than no enrichment.
Mayer et al. conducted a second experiment where another 22 German adults learned foreign language words under the three enrichment conditions, but participants did not imitate the gesture or trace the picture, thus excluding a motor component. Photo enrichment benefitted the learner more than gesture, in this case; however, looking at the study as a whole, gesture enrichment enhanced learning the most.
Experiment 1 and 2 results demonstrating the benefits of enriched learning approaches to foreign words
Figure S3 – Mayer et al. (2015)
Each finding of the study supported the hypothesis that implementing enriched learning methods, as compared to learning methods without enrichment, would increase correct translation of foreign language words. The study also continuously supported the multisensory learning theory in that distinct brain activity occurred in sensory and motor areas of the brain when translating foreign words that participants learned with enriched learning approaches. Not only can language teachers use the findings of this study to enhance their students’ learning but also future researchers can apply the data to better understanding learning disorders, such as dyslexia or processing issues. While overall a compelling article, I believe Mayer et al. (2015) should have tested whether being monolingual, bilingual, or polylingual prior to the study had any confounding effects on acquisition of foreign words.
My enriched learning experience with the very patient and kind security guard probably influenced why I can remember the meanings of those French words. By watching him gesture almost every word and by copying these gestures, politely of course, to internalize them, I employed both visual and kinesthetic associations to the French words, and thus, enriched my learning of these words. Hopefully I experience more enriched learning of French words… without getting locked out of my room!
Resources:
Mayer KM, Yildiz IB, Macedonia M, Kriegstein K (2015) Visual and Motor Cortices Differentially Support the Translation of Foreign Language Words. Current Biology 25(4): 530–535
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