Spatial Embodiment In Word Learning

Embodied cognition is one of the essential concerns in language cognition,which emphasizes the importance of sensorimotor experience in conceptual representation.In the framework of embodied cognition,Experiential-Trace Model further puts forward that sensorimotor experience co-occurring with language expression leaves experiential traces on this expression and establishes a close language-experience association,and sensorimotor experience is reactivated when the corresponding language expression is processed again.However,it is still unclear whether this embodied association can be established in short-term initial word learning or is just a by-product of the long-term experiential accumulation.To explore the formation mechanism of the embodied language-space association,the current study used an interactive learning paradigm of artificial words and two tests to answer the following questions:（1）Can an embodied language-space association be established during initial artificial word learning?（2）Is the language-space association modulated by learning difficulty from different languages?（3）Is the sensorimotor activation in the language-space association modulated by the level of semantic processing?To address these questions,the current study used an interactive artificial word learning paradigm in a multisensory environment where an expected language-space association is established in words with lower or higher level of learning difficulty.Lower level difficulty was manipulated as word learning in alphabetic language（English-like words）,whereas higher level in orthographic language（Chinese-like words）,because the former system reflects the pronunciation of the words directly while the latter requires a more complex morpho-phono transcription.Each participant took part in the experiment twice at an interval of one week,each time using one language.Each task consisted of two phases,a learning phase and a test phase.In the learning phase,participants were required to name the objects in the upper or lower position with artificial words according to the feedback of the experimenter,and making upward/downward arm movement to point out the corresponding object,so as to establish the spatial association between the newly learnt words and the upper and lower positions of the object presentation.After three cycles of reinforcement learning,they entered the test phase.The test phase consisted of two experiments.Experiment 1 used a revised Stroop Color paradigm to test the possible spatial sensorimotor reactivation,in which participants were required to make upward/downward responses according to the font color of the target words on the screen.The upward/downward response would be congruent/incongruent with the up/down spatial referent established in the learning phase.Results showed that there was no spatial congruency effect in artificial words of both lower and higher learning difficulty,indicating that the sensorimotor experience of word learning was not activated in implicit semantic processing.Experiment 2 used a more explicit name-object matching judgment task,in which participants were required to judge whether the name matched the actual object by the same upward/downward response.Results showed that in words of lower learning difficulty,especially words in the lower position（the corresponding object located in lower position in the learning phase）,when the response was congruent with the word referent,participants’ reaction time was significantly shorter;on the contrary,when the response was incongruent with the word referent,the reaction time was significantly longer.This suggested that the language-space association had been established in initial word learning,and its reactivation interfered the incongruent response.However,no congruency effect was found in words of higher learning difficulty,.Together,the two tests showed that:（1）The embodied language-space association can be established during initial artificial word learning,and can be automatically activated in semantic processing.However,such a language-space association is subtle and may be susceptible to various influencing factors such as the level of word learning difficulty and the level of semantic processing;（2）Sensorimotor experience was activated only in languages of a relatively lower learning difficulty,while a higher learning difficulty may inhibit its reactivation;（3）The task involving semantic processing of a deeper level can trigger a stronger experiential reactivation.In conclusion,the current study deepens our understanding about embodied cognition in language-space association by providing empirical evidence for the subtlety of the formation and reactivation of sensorimotor information in new word learning.These findings further endorse the impact of language learning difficulty and task type on the embodied effect,which needs to be incorporated into future language processing models in the framework of embodied cognition.These results also provide enlightenment to the design of more efficient language teaching tasks from the embodied cognition perspective.