Gestures: is watching as good as doing?

All language teachers instinctively use gestures. We also probably use them more than average in everyday life - an example of what French calls 'déformation professionnelle'. If you've read around the research a bit, you'll know what there is research support for gesturing, both in terms of making input comprehensible and assisting memory - helping words stick. In one language teaching method, AIM, developed by Wendy Maxwell in Canada, gesture is actually a central part of lessons.

A 2023 study looked into whether it is better to perform gestures yourself, or simply watching someone else, probably the teacher, do them. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis of seven studies, the researchers compared two popular methods: gesture enactment (physically performing gestures) and gesture observation (watching someone else gesture). Here’s what they found:

 1. Watching works just as well as doing

Perhaps a little surprisingly, the analysis revealed no significant advantage to physically performing gestures over observing them. Whether learners acted out the motions themselves or just watched, both groups saw similar benefits in vocabulary retention.

 2. Learning gains were consistent

Researchers looked at different types of recall: free recall, recognition of the L2 word, and recognition of the L1 word. They found gesture observation was just as effective across all types. This consistency suggests that gesture-based learning supports a wide range of memory tasks.

3. Results weren’t identical across all studies

Not every study in the meta-analysis showed the same effect size. There was considerable variation in the strength of the results, pointing to differences in study designs, word types, or learner populations. Gestures seem to work, but not always in the same way.

 4. The brain might be doing the work anyway

Why does simply watching gestures help? Researchers suggest it’s due to what they call sensorimotor activation, i.e. our brains simulate the movement even if we’re not doing it. This supports the theory of embodied learning, where the body and mind work together to process new information. New words are processed more deeply when the body is involved in the learning. In cognitive psychology, there has been for some years something of a movement away from purely the Working Memory/Long-Term memory models you may be familiar with.

What This Means for Language Learners and Teachers

An obvious takeaway for teachers is that in language lessons is that both watching and performing well-designed gestures can be an aid to memory, as well as being fun - which may be part of the deeper learning going on.

To finish, here is an example French lesson plan where gesture performs a central role. This is from my 50 Lesson Plans for French Teachers (2020) book.

1. Talk through your typical school day routine and accompany each sentence with a gesture. You can shorten the sequence for some classes if you want to avoid cognitive overload.

a)    Je me réveille à sept heures.

b)    J’écoute la radio.

c)    Je me lève.

d)    Je vais à la salle de bains.

e)    Je prends ma douche.

f)     Je me brosse les dents.

g)    Je retourne à ma chambre.

h)    Je m’habille.

i)     Je descends à la cuisine

j)     Je prends mon petit déjeuner.

k)    Je quitte la maison.

l)     Je vais à l’école en voiture.

m)   Le matin j’ai cours.

n)    Je prends le déjeuner à la cantine.

o)    Je rentre à dix-sept heures.

p)    Je prends le dîner.

q)    Je travaille.

r)     Je regarde la télé.

s)    Je me couche à 23 heures.

 

2. Repeat the sequence twice more, as students copy your gestures and say the sentences.
3. Display the sentences and do choral repetition. Provide a parallel translation if useful.
4. With the sentences still visible, make statements at random as students have to make the right gesture.
5. Now make a gesture yourself and students must respond with the correct sentence. Chorally repeat each response.
6. Pairs can now take turns doing the same task, this time with a gapped version of the statements left on the board. Partner A makes a gesture, partner B gives the sentence.
7. Remove the sentences from the board. In pairs each partner tries to recall as many sentences as they can in the right order.
8. Display English translations of each sentence for students to translate back into French. This could be done orally or in writing.
9. This might be a good time to pick up one or two grammatical issues, e.g. how reflexive verbs work (“I wake myself up”). Also worth highlighting is the use of prendre in “I have my breakfast”.

And here is another gesture-based lesson plan on daily routine.

Reference

Oppici, L, Mathias, B., Narciss, S., & Proske, A. (2023). Benefits of Enacting and Observing Gestures on Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis. Behavioral Sciences, 13(11), 920.

Available to read here.

More on making words memorable here.