Abstract
The current study aimed at investigating how different types of embodied learnings influence elementary school students’ English as a foreign language (EFL) listening performance. Two kinds of embodied learnings: real and physical body versus the 3D avatar, were compared with non-embodied learning. 69 fifth graders from two elementary schools participated in this study, and were randomly assigned into three groups (Kinect, Second Life, and paper). They learned the identical English phrases of doing sports by involving different types of embodied learnings. During the 11-week experiment, an identical EFL performance test was administered six times: before (once), during (3 times), and after (twice) the learning activities. The results depict that students learned better by watching their own 3D avatars doing motions than by moving their own bodies to produce the motions or doing nothing. Further analysis showed that the improvements made by those in the Second Life group were greater than those made by the participants in the other two groups when the performances of students with low achievement were compared. It was also found that learning by watching one self’s avatar benefits both students with high- and low-achievement in EFL performance. Some suggestions for pedagogical applications and future research are also provided.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asher, J. J. (1969). The total physical response approach to second language learning. Modern Language Journal, 53, 3–17.
Asher, J. J. (1977). Learning another language through actions: the complete teacher’s guidebook. USA: Sky Oaks Productions.
Asher, J. J., & Price, B. S. (1967). The learning strategy of the total physical response: Some age differences. Child Development, 38(4), 1219–1227.
Atkinson, D. (2010). Extended, embodied cognition and second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 31(5), 599–622.
Aziz-Zadeh, L., & Damasio, A. (2008). Embodied semantics for actions: Findings from functional brain imaging. Journal of Physiology, 102, 35–39.
Barsalou, L. W. (2008). Grounded cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 617–645.
Becker, A. S., Cummins, M., Davis, A., Freeman, A., Hall Giesinger, C., & Ananthanarayanan, V. (2017). NMC horizon report: 2017 higher education edition. Austin: The New Media Consortium.
Borghi, A. M., & Cimatti, F. (2010). Embodied cognition and beyond: Acting and sensing the body. Neuropsychologia, 48(3), 763–773.
Buccino, G., Riggio, L., Melli, G., Binkofski, F., Gallese, V., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Listening to action-related sentences modulated the activity of the motor system: A combined TMS and behavioral study. Cognitive Bran Research, 24, 355–363.
Chao, K. J., Huang, H. W., Fang, W. C., & Chen, N. S. (2013). Embodied play to learn: Exploring Kinect-facilitated memory performance. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(5), E151–E155.
Chen, N.-S., & Fang, W.-C. (2014). Gesture-Based Technologies for Enhancing Learning. In R.-H. Huang, Kinshuk, & N.-S. Chen (Eds.), The New Development of Technology Enhanced Learning (pp. 95–112). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
Cowart, M. (2005). Embodied Cognition. Retrieved April 23, 2014 from <http://www.iep.utm.edu/embodcog/>
Craik, F. I. M., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11, 671–684.
De Lucia, A., Francese, R., Passero, I., & Tortora, G. (2009). Development and evaluation of a virtual campus on Second Life: The case of SecondDMI. Computers & Education, 52(1), 220–233.
Derry, S. (1996). Cognitive schema theory in the constructivist debate. Educational Psychologist, 3, 163–174.
Deutschmann, M., Panichi, L., & Molka-Danielsen, J. (2009). Designing oral participation in second life: A comparative study of two language proficiency courses. ReCALL, 21(2), 206–226.
di Blas, N., & Poggi, C. (2007). European virtual classrooms How to build effective ‘virtual’ educational experiences. Virtual Reality, 11, 129–143.
Gao, M. (2009). Gestural coordination among vowel, consonant and tone gestures in Mandarin Chinese. Chinese Journal of Phonetics, 2, 43–50.
Gibbs, R. W. (2005). Embodiment and cognitive science. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Glenberg, A. M., Goldberg, A. B., & Zhu, X. (2011). Improving early reading comprehension using embodied CAI. Instructional Science, 39(1), 27–39.
Glenberg, A. M., & Kaschak, M. P. (2002). Grounding language in action. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(3), 558–565.
Goldin-Meadow, S., & Beilock, S. L. (2010). Action’s influence on thought: The case of gesture. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(6), 664–674.
Goldin-Meadow, S., & Wagner, S. M. (2005). How our hands help us learn. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(5), 234–241.
Holme, R. (2012). Cognitive linguistics and the second language classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 46(1), 6–29.
Hostetter, A. B. (2011). When do gestures communicate?. A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 137(2), 297–315.
Hung, I. C., Hsu, H. H., Chen, N. S., & Kinshuk. (2015). Communicating through body: A situated embodiment-based strategy with flag semaphore for procedural knowledge construction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63(5), 749–769.
Hung, I.-C., Lin, L.-I., Fang, W.-C., & Chen, N.-S. (2014). Learning with the body: An embodiment-based learning strategy enhances performance of comprehending fundamental optics. Interacting with Computers, 26(4), 360–371.
Johnson, L., Adams, B. S., Cummins, M., Estrada, V., Freeman, A., & Hall, C. (2016). NMC horizon report: 2016 Higher education edition. Austin: The New Media Consortium.
Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall International.
Krauss, R. M. (1998). Why do we gesture when we speak? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 7, 54–60.
Lan, Y. J. (2014). Does second life improve Mandarin learning by overseas Chinese students? Language Learning & Technology, 18(2), 36–56.
Lan, Y. J. (2015). Contextual EFL learning in a 3D virtual environment. Language Learning & Technology, 19(2), 16–31.
Lan, Y. J., Chen, N. S., Li, P., & Grant, S. (2015a). Embodied cognition and language learning in virtual environments. Educational Technology Research & Development, 63(5), 639–644.
Lan, Y. J., Fang, S. Y., Legault, J., & Li, P. (2015b). Second language acquisition of Mandarin Chinese vocabulary: context of learning effects. Educational Technology Research & Development, 63(5), 671–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-015-9380-y.
Lan, Y.-J., Kan, Y.-H., Hsiao, I. Y. T., Yang, S. J. H., & Chang, K.-E. (2013). Designing interaction tasks in Second Life for Chinese as a foreign language learners: A preliminary exploration. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 29(2), 184–202.
Lan, Y. J., Kan, Y. H., Sung, Y. T., & Chang, K. E. (2016). Oral-performance language tasks for CSL beginners in Second Life. Language Learning & Technology, 20(3), 60–79.
Lin, T. J., & Lan, Y. J. (2015). Language learning in virtual reality environments: Past, present, and future. Educational Technology & Society, 18(4), 486–497.
Linck, J. A., Kroll, J. F., & Sunderman, G. (2009). Losing access to the native language while immersed in a second language: Evidence for the role of inhibition in second-language learning. Psychological Science, 20(12), 1507–1515.
Macedonia, M., & Knösche, T. R. (2011). Body in mind: How gestures empower foreign language learning. Mind, Brain, and Education, 5(4), 196–211.
Mahon, B. Z., & Caramazza, A. (2008). A critical look at the embodied cognition hypothesis and a new proposal. Journal of Physiology, 102, 59–70.
McCafferty, S. (2002). Gesture and creating zones of proximal development for second language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 86, 192–203.
McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and mind: What the hands reveal about thought. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.
Monahan, T., McArdle, G., & Bertolotto, M. (2008). Virtual reality for collaborative e-learning. Computers & Education, 50(4), 1339–1353.
Morett, L. M., & Chang, L. Y. (2015). Emphasising sound and meaning: pitch gestures enhance Mandarin lexical tone acquisition. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 30(3), 347–353.
Negueruela, E. J., & Lantolf, J. P. (2004). The “private function” of gesture in second language communicative activity: A study on motion verbs and gesturing in English and Spanish. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14, 113–147.
Regenbrecht, H., Schubert, T., & Friedmann, F. (1998). Measuring the sense of presence and its relations to fear of heights in virtual environments. International Journal of HumanComputer Interaction, 10, 233–249.
Rueschemeyer, S. A., Lindemann, O., van Rooij, D., van Dam, W., & Bekkering, H. (2010). Effects of Intentional Motor Actions on Embodied Language Processing. Experimental Psychology, 57(4), 260–266. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000031.
Ryu, D. (2013). Play to learn, learn to play: Language learning through gaming culture. ReCALL, 25(2), 286–301.
Sanchez, C. A., & Wiley, J. (2006). An examination of the seductive details effect in terms of working memory capacity. Memory & Cognition, 34(2), 344–355.
Schubert, T., Friedmann, F., & Regenbrecht, H. (1999). Embodied presence in virtual environments. In R. Paton & I. E. Neilson (Eds.), Visual Representations and Interpretations (pp. 268–278). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Stevanoni, E., & Salmon, K. (2005). Giving memory a hand: Instructing children to gesture enhances their event recall. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 29(4), 217–234.
Taipei City Government’s Department of Education (2000). Curriculum guidelines of elementary English language teaching and learning. Retrieved Dec 09, 2017 from http://www.google.com.tw/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDYQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.estmue.tp.edu.tw%2Fimages%2F3%2F3e%2F%25E8%258B%25B1%25E6%2596%2587.doc&ei=5_i9UKWeAe7smAX1ioC4Bw&usg=AFQjCNFH892OVzBhiIfHrboQlUkRt8afiQ&sig2=Zc6kUlIoAnTwKrGDE_Q8pw
Tellier, M. (2008). The effect of gestures on second language memorisation by young children. Gesture, 8(2), 219–235.
Tsai, R. (2011). Teaching and learning the tones of Mandarin Chinese. Scottish Language Review, 24, 43–50.
Wan, C. Y., Bazen, L., Baars, R., Libenson, A., Zipse, L., Zuk, J., et al. (2011). Auditory-motor mapping training as an intervention to facilitate speech output in non-verbal children with autism: a proof of concept study. PLoS ONE, 6(9), e25505. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025505.
Willems, R. M., & Casasanto, D. (2011). Flexibility in embodied language understanding. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 116.
Wilson, M. (2002). Six views of embodied cognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(4), 625–636.
Yang, H. W. (2010). On writing Chinese characters and building Chinese character perception (zì gǎn) in teaching Chinese as a second language (Master’s thesis). Taipei: National Chengchi University.
Yoon, H., & Park, J. (2013). Avatar animation using skeleton tracking with Kinect sensor. International Journal of Advancements in Computing Technology, 5(12), 339.
Zinszer, B. D., & Li, P. (2012). Predictors of native-like lexical categorization in Chinese learners of English. Paper presented at the Second language Research Forum 2012, Pittsburgh, PA, October, 2012.
Zwaan, R. A., Stanfield, R. A., & Yaxley, R. H. (2002). Language comprehenders mentally represent the shape of objects. Psychological Science, 13(2), 168–171.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C., for financially supporting this research under Grant Nos. NSC 101-2511-S-003-031-MY3, MOST 104-2911-I-003-301, MOST 105-2511-S-003 -018 -MY3, MOST 106-2511-S-003 -015 -MY3, and MOST 103-2628-S-003-002-MY3. They are also thankful that this research was partially supported by “Chinese Language and Technology Center” and “Higher Education Sprout Project” of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lan, YJ., Fang, WC., Hsiao, I.Y.T. et al. Real body versus 3D avatar: the effects of different embodied learning types on EFL listening comprehension. Education Tech Research Dev 66, 709–731 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-018-9569-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-018-9569-y