The Effect of Co-speech Gestures on Learning a Foreign Language: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study is, largely, a systematic review that identifies and synthesizes research data from different resources with the aim of drawing conclusions about the effect of co-speech gestures on learning a foreign language (FL). We used PubMed and PubMed Central as the databases for our search; we narrowed the search mainly to experimental psychology and neuroscience studies that focus on the effect of gesturing on learning/learning a foreign language. Analysis of our synthesis of research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience suggests that gesturing positively affects learning in general. Interest in investigating the effect of gesturing on learning a foreign language appeared recently, and most studies in this area focus on teaching and learning foreign language vocabulary; however, research in this area is still limited in comparison to research on gesturing and cognition in general. The reviewed cognitive psychology studies suggest that gesturing enhances FL learning efficiency and memory retrieval. Research in modern neuroscience agrees that gesturing strengthens the neural interconnectedness of the cognitive process involved in learning a foreign language; this especially concerns supporting the networks of sensory and sensorimotor representations of words in the brain. Research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience provides strong evidence that gestures enhance and aid foreign language learning.