Gestures in Learning Foreign Language Prosody: The Importance of Considering Task and Learner Characteristics
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2021-04-26
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en
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The present study aimed to disentangle the influence of different gesture types, different physical involvement levels, and learner characteristics (WM capacity and musicality) in determining the effectiveness of FL lexical stress training. To this end, Dutch learners were instructed to read aloud Spanish phrases that differ in lexical stress from their Dutch cognates (e.g., ‘piRÁmides’ in Spanish, and ‘piraMIde’ in Dutch) at different time points (i.e., T1, T2, and T3). In between T1 and T2, subjects received lexical stress training in one of five conditions which varied in gesture type (beat versus metaphoric) and physical involvement level (producing versus perceiving gestures). Subjects also performed a WM and musical aptitude task. The present study found that the effectiveness of gesture type and physical involvement level in FL lexical stress training was significantly influenced by WM capacity and musical aptitude. Therefore, present findings underline the importance of considering task and learner characteristics.
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