Mechanisms underpinning the gestural facilitation of second language word learning: an investigation through speeded and un-speeded tasks

Minton-Branfoot, Erin

Abstract

Vocabulary learning is one of the many challenges faced by second language learners, particularly when full immersion is not available. Iconic gesture cues have been found to provide benefits in such learning. However, the full extent of the gesture advantage has not been investigated, with gestures rarely tested as the sole cue in learning, and limited behavioural outcome measures being implemented that are unable to measure if the gesture benefits can extend to more automatic processing conditions. The series of experiments presented in this thesis aimed to test this using a new implicit, speeded task and an explicit, speeded task. Additionally, a number of proposed mechanisms that may underline the gesture advantage were investigated by systematically manipulating the cues provided during learning.
Studies 1-5 demonstrated that the gestural advantage persists when presented as the only cue during learning, but that the benefits are stronger when presented alongside an L1 translation. This may be a result of an extra level of disambiguation and the presence of an additional cue which provides encoding into the verbal store. However, the implicit, speeded task did not produce consistent results, raising questions as to whether the inclusion of these two components of automatic processing created a task that was too demanding to allow any early direct semantic effects to be detectable. Study 6 therefore implemented an explicit, speeded task to determine if the gestural advantage could extend beyond controlled retrieval. Overall, this series of studies showed that when the number of cues and level of disambiguating information provided was controlled for across conditions, the gesture-based learning method still displayed greater learning in both the explicit un-speeded task (Study 4) and the speeded task (Study 6). This research further demonstrates the robustness of the gestural advantage, with the semantic learning benefits evident in early L2 learners under rapid processing conditions. A number of factors were identified as contributing to this advantage, including the central concept that gestures have specialist, privileged access to some form of motor traces or action representations that are not provided by other cues. This research further highlights the benefits and importance of incorporating gesture-based learning methods into second language vocabulary learning, in order to develop strong conceptual links early on that are evident under automatic-like processing conditions.

Citation

Minton-Branfoot, E. (2024). Mechanisms underpinning the gestural facilitation of second language word learning: an investigation through speeded and un-speeded tasks. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4913290

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 19, 2024
• Keywords: Psychology
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4913290
• Additional Information: Psychology; School of Psychology and Social Work; University of Hull
• Award Date: Sep 24, 2024