We learn languages better by using gestures
Speak English like Italians speak Italian
This is suggested by Giuliana Salvato, a Canadian professor of Italian and second language pedagogy. In her book, Looking Beyond Words: Gestures in the Pedagogy of Second Languages in Multilingual Canada, she emphasizes the importance of gestures in an effective language learning environment and suggests that teachers can use gestures "to clarify concepts, capture students' attention, and make a class more dynamic and lively." She also states that, for a learner, gestures promote "their reasoning, help them convey ideas, and facilitate task completion."
Her book is based on numerous studies that suggest gestures are an essential element of acquiring a new language and indicate that nonverbal language "enhances learning outcomes."
Countless studies support the idea that gestures facilitate foreign language learning
Researchers Macedonia and Kriegstein examine the concept that accompanying foreign words with gestures aids in their memorization in their article Gestures Enhance Foreign Language Learning. They explain that, as early as the 18th century, it was already noted that native speakers often explained vocabulary to children using images or gestures to help them understand what an object is. For example, when teaching a child the word piano, it is common to move fingers over an imaginary piano.
In another report, Bringing Back The Body Into The Mind: Gestures Enhance Word Learning In Foreign Language, Macedonia mentions a study conducted by Asher in 1969, which clearly states that the memorization of phrases such as 'close the door' was significantly improved when learners performed the action while saying the phrase. It cites other studies, conducted by Zimmer and Quinn-Allen, which all suggest that gestures enhance the memorization of words and phrases and help learners not forget newly acquired vocabulary.
In the 2008 report, The Effect Of Gestures On Second Language Memorisation By Young Children, Tellier explains the results of an experiment aimed at determining how young children would learn common vocabulary with the help of gestures. Half of the group learned using images; the other half with the help of gestures. The group that learned using gestures was able to memorize a significantly larger amount of the presented vocabulary. Tellier concludes that "when reproduced, gestures are not only a visual modality but also a motor modality, thus leaving a richer trace in memory." She then mentions another experiment conducted in 1998 by Feyereisen, which suggests that phrases accompanied by relevant gestures, rather than unrelated gestures, were much better retained by a group of adults.
In Reactivation Of Physical Motor Information In The Memory Of Action Events, scientists went even further than observational studies in 2002 and assessed brain activity. They found significantly greater activity in the motor region of the brain during recognition tests involving words studied through action encoding, which consists of performing the action described in the sentence.
How can gestures exactly help you learn?
According to Clark and Paivio, “movements and actions add concreteness and imagery to verbal information and contribute to a better representation and understanding of knowledge.” In How Our Hands Help Us Learn, the authors argue that gestures lighten some of the load associated with learning, allowing our brain to focus on memorizing vocabulary. They also suggest that gestures help the speaker place words in a context that is personal to them. A person will find it easier to remember the word 'walking' after associating it with a personal memory of actual walking.
Vanessa Van Edwards, an author specializing in human behavior and a captivating speaker, teaches others how to use gestures effectively. She summarizes here how the use of gestures can facilitate the study of a foreign language. In this regard, we highly recommend visiting her website to learn more about her theories and discover how you can apply them when communicating with others.
Gestures are a major element of our courses
As adult learners, it can sometimes seem a bit ridiculous to hold an imaginary phone in your hand or to write with an invisible pen. However, LV Linguistics emphasizes that this way of learning is extremely beneficial, as demonstrated by the abundance of research available on the subject. When our students gesture, they mentally place themselves in situations that are memorable for them. For example, when they try to remember a phrase like 'write a report', they think back to that moment in class when they were actually writing an important report for their manager. We essentially believe that gestures help students to place new vocabulary in context and facilitate its memorization because they associate it with a real experience.
