Gestures help with the learning of vocabulary

When we learn vocabulary, our brain has a lot of work to do. It must store every new word. But you can support your brain in learning. This is achieved through gestures. Gestures help our memory. It can remember words better if it processes gestures at the same time. A study has clearly proven this. Researchers had test subjects study vocabulary. These words didn't really exist. They belonged to an artificial language. A few words were taught to the test subjects with gestures. That is to say, the test subjects didn't just hear or read the words. Using gestures, they imitated the meaning of the words as well. While they studied, their brain activity was measured. Researchers made an interesting discovery in the process. When the words were learned with gestures, more areas of the brain were active. In addition to the speech center, sensomotoric areas showed activity as well. This additional brain activity influences our memory. In learning with gestures, complex networks form. These networks save the new words in multiple places in the brain. Vocabulary can be processed more efficiently this way. When we want to use certain words our brain finds them faster. They are also stored better. It's important, however, that the gesture is associated with the word. Our brain recognizes when a word and gesture don't go together. The new findings could lead to new teaching methods. Individuals that know little about languages often learn slowly. Perhaps they will learn easier if they imitate the words physically…