When learning a foreign language, most people fall back on traditional methods: reading, writing, listening and repeating. But if you also gesture with your arms while studying, you can remember the vocabulary better, even months later. Linking a word to brain areas responsible for movement strengthens the memory of its meaning.
This is the conclusion a research team reached after doing multiple experiments recently. “Our results provide neuroscientific(神经系统科学的)evidence for why learning techniques that involve the body’s motor system should be used more often,” neuroscientist Brian Mathias, a member of the team, said in a news release.
As Mathias and his colleagues describe in The Journal of Neuroscience, they had 22 German-speaking adults learn a total of 90 invented artificial words over four days. While the test adults first heard the new vocabulary, they were shown a video of a person making a gesture that matched the meaning of the word. When the word was repeated, the adults performed the same gesture themselves.
Five months later, they were asked to translate the vocabulary they had learned into German in a multiple-choice test. At the same time, they had an equipment attached to their heads that sent weak magnetic pulses(磁脉冲)to their primary motor cortex(皮层)一the brain area that controls voluntary arm movements. When these interrupting signals were active, the adults found it harder to recall the words accompanied by gestures. When there were no interrupting signals, they found it easier to remember the words. The researchers concluded that the motor cortex contributed to the translation of the vocabulary learned with gestures. This applied to concrete words, such as “camera”, as well as abstract ones, such as “thought”.
“There’s now quite a lot of literature showing that gestures play a role in learning. I think this study takes it a step further and tries to understand why,” says Susan Goldin-Meadow, a psychologist at the University of Chicago. Research like this, as well as brain imaging, suggests the activation of the brain’s motor areas could be a factor. “It’s not necessarily the only reason,” Goldin-Meadow adds, “but it’s probably a contributor.”
12. What is a suggestion for language learners according to the research findings?
A.Combining listening with writing. |
B.Repeating the vocabulary regularly. |
C.Moving the body in the learning process. |
D.Talking with foreigners in the target language. |
13. What were the test adults asked to do in the first part of the test?
A.Translate the vocabulary into German. |
B.Remember about 100 existing words. |
C.Translate some foreign words into gestures. |
D.Repeat the movements of a person in a video. |
14. What’s the purpose of linking the equipment to the adults’ heads?
A.To affect their motor system. |
B.To inspire them to learn actively. |
C.To record their brain activity while learning. |
D.To stress the role of certain types of gestures. |
15. What’s the purpose of the text?
A.To argue for the importance of doing exercise. |
B.To introduce new research into language learning. |
C.To explore ways to improve human memory. |
D.To call on students to learn foreign languages. |