Abstract
This article presents a study performed to investigate the role of simulation in second language learning while using a virtual environment. Participants were asked to explore a virtual park while learning 15 new Czech verbs (action verbs that describe movements performed with either the hand or the foot, and abstract verbs). This learning condition was compared with a baseline condition, where movements (either virtual or real) were not allowed. The goal was to investigate whether the virtual action (performed with the feet) would promote or interfere with the learning of verbs describing actions that were performed with the same or a different effector. The number of verbs correctly remembered in a free recall task was computed, along with reaction times and number of errors during a recognition task. Results show that the simulation per se has no effect in verbal learning, but the features of the virtual experience mediate it.
Highlights
The link between action and language has been widely acknowledged by the scientific community
Results highlighted that for the number of items recalled, there was an effect of the type of Verb, F(2, 78) = 27.261, mean square error (MSE) = 0.91, p < .001, η2 = 0.41, but not of the Condition, F(1, 39) = 0.618, MSE = 3.94, p =
Contrasts computed on the variable Verb demonstrated that there were fewer abstract verbs correctly remembered than hand- or foot-action verbs, F(1, 39) = 66.751, MSE = 1.09, p < .001, η2 = 0.631, but hand-action verbs and foot-action verbs did not differ, F(1, 39) = 0.952, MSE = 2.18, p =
Summary
The link between action and language has been widely acknowledged by the scientific community. It has been highlighted that foreign language learning is enhanced by linking verbal and action information (see Macedonia & von Kriegstein, 2012, for an extensive review). How to investigate this link poses an interesting methodological question. We know that verbal information is usually communicated by words or sentences, whereas action information is derived from gestures. After a review of the key points of traditional studies on action information and language learning, the present study will focus on the feasibility of using simulation as an alternative, innovative method to explore these same processes
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