| Keywords [eng] |
embodied language learning, lexico-semantic integration, motor encoding, enactment effect, picture-word interference, įkūnytas kalbų mokymasis, leksikos ir semantikos integracija, motorinis kodavimas, įkūnijimo efektas, paveikslėlio ir žodžio interferencija |
| Abstract [eng] |
This master’s thesis examines the effect of embodied language learning, specifically, gesture-enhanced learning, on lexico-semantic integration of newly acquired second-language (L2) vocabulary. The study aims to investigate whether gesture-enhanced learning facilitates integration into the mental lexicon and whether varying degrees of embodiment (gesture observation and enactment) produce distinct effects. The theoretical part outlines the main accounts of embodied cognition, a perspective that views cognitive processes as grounded in sensorimotor experience, and how it extends to language, complemented by supporting neuroscientific evidence, which illustrates how sensorimotor systems are activated during language processing. Further, the discussion focuses on embodied language learning, encompassing the core underlying motor-encoding mechanism and the enactment effect, and provides an overview of studies on movement-based approaches to L2 learning, particularly gesture-enhancement studies, presenting the main findings, followed by limitations and criticism. To address the observed issues, the thesis emphasises the need for empirical research on implicit knowledge, which involves the automatic processes of linguistic competence. The experimental paradigms used in the present study are examined to ensure a justified experimental design. The empirical study was conducted with 30 high school students learning novel concrete nouns in English as their second language in three conditions: 1) zero-embodiment, 2) gesture-observation, and 3) gesture-enactment. After a learning phase, the participants completed a lexical decision task (LDT) to examine whether the items had been integrated into the mental lexicon, followed by a picture-word interference (PWI) paradigm. In this study, previously learned nouns were used as distractor words to examine whether they would cause interference, thereby signalling more robust lexico-semantic integration. The experimental design was partially replicated from a study by Kalénine et al. (2025). The statistical analysis did not reveal a significant effect of gesture-enhanced learning. The findings and the experimental design were then compared to Kalénine et al. (2025) and similar studies to identify limitations and possible explanations. Main conclusions reveal that 1) the role of the chosen analysis method might influence the results and their interpretations, which is a significant issue in empirical science; 2) embodied language learning research lacks a unified system regarding terminology and movement classification, which leads to misleading comparisons of studies; 3) the enactment effect is a conditional phenomenon, which cannot manifest until certain criteria above specific thresholds are met, however, due to the systematisation issues, robust measurement systems haven’t been implemented. |
