Examining the role of aerobic exercise on second language learning

• Johana García Mendoza, Cognitive Science, University of Delaware

• Giovanna Morini, Communication Sciences Disorder, University of Delaware

Previous research has shown that aerobic exercise can boost vocabulary learning in a native language (L1). We examined whether aerobic exercise may also facilitate word learning in a second language (L2). Aerobic exercise has been linked to enhanced cognitive processes (including improvements associated with memory and learning).  Adults often have greater difficulty acquiring an L2 compared to young children. It is important to understand whether aerobic exercise can be used to improve L2 learning in adults. 

Adults the ages of 18 and 23 completed a word learning task in Spanish (their L2). Novel word-object pairs were taught in two experimental conditions: exercise and resting. During training, participants were taught the names of objects that would be unfamiliar in the L2 by being presented an object on the screen and hearing a label for it. In the exercise condition, participants ran on a treadmill for 5 minutes before being tested. During the resting condition, participants colored for 5 minutes before testing. During testing trials, participants saw a set of 4 objects and heard a sentence asking them to look at one of the objects. A Fitbit watch was used to measure the heart rate of participants during exercise to ensure that they were remaining within a target heart-rate zone that has been linked to aerobic exercise. We recorded participant’s eye-gaze during the task, and calculated the proportion of time spent looking at the target object on the screen.

To date, we have analyzed data from 5 participants. Our preliminary data suggest that accuracy is higher for words trained in the exercise condition (62% accuracy) compared to the resting condition (58% accuracy). Additional data will be collected in the upcoming weeks. If the pattern of results holds, our work will support the idea that aerobic exercise can be used to promote not only learning in a native language, but also L2 learning in adults.