Abstract
Despite a rise in the use of “learning by doing” pedagogical methods in praxis, little is known as to how the brain benefits from these methods. Learning by doing strategies that utilize complementary information (“enrichment”) such as gestures have been shown to optimize learning outcomes in several domains including foreign language (L2) training. Here we tested the hypothesis that behavioral benefits of gesture-based enrichment are critically supported by integrity of the biological motion visual cortices (bmSTS). Prior functional neuroimaging work has implicated the visual motion cortices in L2 translation following sensorimotor-enriched training; the current study is the first to investigate the causal relevance of these structures in learning by doing contexts. Using neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation and a gesture-enriched L2 vocabulary learning paradigm, we found that the bmSTS causally contributed to behavioral benefits of gesture-enriched learning. Visual motion cortex integrity benefitted both short- and long-term learning outcomes, as well as the learning of concrete and abstract words. These results adjudicate between opposing predictions of two neuroscientific learning theories: While reactivation-based theories predict no functional role of specialized sensory cortices in vocabulary learning outcomes, the current study supports the predictive coding theory view that these cortices precipitate sensorimotor-based learning benefits.
Highlights
Foreign language (L2) vocabulary learning by adults is effortful and time-consuming
Using neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation and a gesture-enriched L2 vocabulary learning paradigm, we found that the biological motion visual cortices (bmSTS) causally contributed to behavioral benefits of gesture-enriched learning
Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) post hoc tests revealed that response times for words that had been learned with gesture enrichment were significantly delayed when transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the bmSTS compared with sham stimulation (P = 0.005, Hedge’s g = 0.33)
Summary
Foreign language (L2) vocabulary learning by adults is effortful and time-consuming. Words must be relearned often to build up robust memory representations. L2 vocabulary learning typically relies on unisensory materials such as written word lists or audio recordings (Choo et al 2012). More recent learningby-doing-based approaches contrast with these techniques. Learning by doing have shifted from the periphery of educational science toward its center over the past few decades. Learning by doing strategies make use of visual and somatosensory information as well as motor information. We in the following refer to learning by doing strategies as “sensorimotorenriched” learning. Sensorimotor-enriched learning methods boost test performance in science, engineering, mathematics, and L2 learning compared with other learning methods (Freeman et al 2014; reviewed in Macedonia 2014)
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