Abstract
This paper aims to discuss the role of body movement in ESL/EFL vocabulary learning in immersive environments in the light of the Embodied Cognition theory. To achieve this goal, we investigated studies in the Applied Linguistics field addressing English vocabulary teaching and learning in immersive environments, such as virtual and augmented realities, including dissertations, thesis and academic articles between 2014 and 2020. It is assumed that cognition emerges from the interdependence involving body, mind and environment, and such relationship becomes relevant for understanding the effects of body actions on learning. The results indicate that body movement in immersive environments can enhance ESL/EFL vocabulary learning, since the immersive multimodal experience allows the learner to explore with their body, on different levels, the virtual world in a dynamic, interactive and autonomous way, with greater engagement and control over learning. The literature also highlights positive results in vocabulary learning in the short and long term in immersive environments, indicating that the embodied approach can favor vocabulary learning and retention in memory.
Keywords
Vocabulary Acquisition;; Embodied Cognition; ESL/EFL Teaching and Learning; Virtual and Augmented Reality