Improving wellbeing: Language learning with all five senses

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Language learning does not just help us communicate better; it also opens up pathways to personal growth and well-being. By engaging all five senses in the learning process, you can elevate your experience, making it more immersive and enriching. The association of senses can also make it easier to remember words, giving you an excuse to take some time for yourself while still giving you a way of passive learning. Here’s how tapping into your senses can foster wellness through language learning.

Using your senses to improve language learning
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Touch

Incorporate touch into language learning by using physical objects associated with the culture of the language you're studying. Handling items like traditional textiles, pottery, or even tools can create a tangible connection to the language. As you touch and describe these objects in your new language, you activate sensory memory, which can improve retention and understanding.

You can do this with the clothes you wear or the objects around you, take a moment to clear your mind and feel the fabrics on your skin, or the furniture around you, using words from your target language think of ways to describe them. Is the fabric soft, scratchy or furry? Is the furniture cold, hard or smooth? We don't often pay much attention to the things around us every day, so giving them a little attention can pull us away from all the busy thoughts in our minds.

Additionally, engaging in activities such as calligraphy or crafting can link language learning with creative expression, further enhancing well-being through relaxation and mindfulness.

Smell

Smell is a powerful sense that can evoke memories and emotions. Use this to your advantage by exploring the aromas associated with the culture of the language you are learning. For instance, cooking or visiting markets with spices and foods specific to the region can stimulate your sense of smell while expanding your vocabulary. Describing these smells in the target language can help anchor words and phrases through scent associations, enriching your learning experience.

You can also do this in your everyday life, and it could be as simple as smelling food being made or drinking something you love; think of the ways to describe it in the language you're learning - is it woody, spicy, etc.? Take the time to take in and experience the different kinds of smells and simple everyday things you come across.

Sight

Sometimes, we get so used to the spaces we frequent we often overlook the finer details and features around us. It's easy to get so absorbed in studying or life in general that it's important to step away and take a breather.

Take a few minutes to look around you and look at the environment's fine details. What colors are around you? What textures and objects can you see on the walls? You can also take the time to do this outdoors. Think of the words in the language you're learning to describe the environment and colors around you. You may already go for walks as breaks from studying, so adding this step isn't much effort. Exercises like this can gently encourage learning and support well-being.

Sound

Listening is a crucial part of language acquisition and engaging with the auditory aspect of your target language can significantly enhance your learning journey. By now, most people know about listening to music, podcasts and audiobooks in the language you're studying to help you learn, but you can use sounds as an excuse to meditate and try to listen and take in the sounds around you, thinking about what they are and how they make you feel.

Think of words in the language you are learning to describe where they're coming from and what kind of sound they are (loud, sharp, quiet, etc.). If done right auditory engagement also reduces stress levels and boosts mood, as music and sounds often have a calming and grounding effect, contributing to overall well-being.

Taste

Explore the culinary traditions of the language you are learning to experience taste as a dimension of language learning. Trying authentic recipes or dining in culturally significant restaurants allows you to encounter the language in a practical setting while savoring the flavors that define a culture. This sensory experience creates a memorable context for language use, such as ordering in a new language or reading recipes, which aids in vocabulary retention.

This doesn't have to be for new foods or going out to eat either; it can be for familiar everyday things you eat and drink in your own home. Make sure to focus on the tastes you are experiencing and think of descriptive words in your target language to describe them (Sweet, chalky, sour, etc). This can also be a way to expand your vocabulary with more specific and nuanced words related to food and taste.

The power of multisensory learning

By engaging all five senses in language learning, you create an immersive experience that goes beyond just memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules. Multisensory learning allows for a deeper understanding of the culture, traditions and people associated with the language you are studying. This not only promotes personal growth but also fosters a sense of connection and well-being as you develop a stronger bond with the language and its speakers. So, use all your senses to enhance your language learning journey for improved wellness.

Learn more about wellbeing and learning in our posts 'Using language learning as a form of self-care for wellbeing' and 'Understanding and managing technostress'.

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    Por James Warwick

    Systemic racism has a negative impact on the education of many students across the world. This can start as early as preschool.

    Studies have also shown a correlation between teacher expectations and student achievement. Worryingly, these expectations can be negatively affected by racial prejudice.

    Education should be a powerful force for social change

    In recent history, various events have sparked a global uprising against systemic racism and discrimination. Protests have touched every part of society, from arts to sports to politics to education. A key demand is for real, structural change to society so that the lives of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) are valued as they should be.

    Mutuma Ruteere, former UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, “education has a central role in creating new values and attitudes and providing us with important tools for addressing deep-rooted discrimination and the legacy of historical injustices.”

    Promoting diversity and inclusion

    As we look to the future, and imagine a world we want to live in, it’s important to examine how we create these materials and courses. Our aim is to ensure that what we produce is bias-free, inclusive and actively anti-racist.

    Education will always remain a key instrument for disarming ignorance and bigotry.

    We set up an Employee Resource Group (ERG), which has created a set of principles for app authors and editors. The group’s aim is to lay the groundwork for courses that reflect all parts of a diverse society.

    The guidelines were developed by our BAME and African American ERGs. Ade Gachegua led the project alongside internal and external consultants, including the author of the , Dr. Jason Arday.

    Challenges to overcome together

    The guidelines identified five main challenges and suggested the following ways to overcome them:

    1. Underrepresentation

    Are people from a BIPOC background equally represented in educational products? The guidelines recommend that people of different ethnicities should be included in all course material and portrayed as equal to one another.

    Choosing texts and pictures which promote racial equality is also important.

    2. Exaggerated negative associations

    Negative associations are exaggerated when unfavorable characteristics or traits are linked to people of minority ethnicities again and again. This is how stereotypes are built and reinforced in the minds of learners.

    We can take steps to prevent this by choosing our language carefully, avoiding racist texts and refuting any suggestion that behavior is linked to one ethnicity more than another.

    3. Limited positive associations

    Stereotypes of all kinds can be harmful - even positive ones. The guidelines recommend including people from minority ethnicities as positive role models in all contexts, not just the ones they might be traditionally associated with.

    This way, we broaden our learners’ horizons and show them that they have the potential to succeed in any field, regardless of their background.

    4. Missing stories

    When it comes to contributing to public life, individuals from minority ethnicities are often overlooked. For example, when it comes to history, educators tend to disregard contributions from ethnic minorities.

    It’s not because their contributions are less significant, but because the long history of racism has led to their contributions to public life being more limited and deliberately overlooked.

    It’s important that educational materials include these ‘missing stories.’ This helps learners to develop a richer and more diverse view of society and its participants.

    5. The ‘problem’ frame

    Educational texts often speak about people from BIPOC backgrounds as helpless victims of their ‘own’ disadvantage. Instead, we need to view racism as a systemic, social and institutionalized problem, external to the individuals that it affects.

    Authors and editors use the guidelines and an accompanying checklist to ensure that our courses reflect all parts of a diverse society. This means that you can be confident that the classroom materials you’re using to teach your students will empower each and every one of them to reach their full potential.

    You can apply this checklist to your own teaching and resources to help you ensure that what you are covering is diverse and inclusive. Making for a more positive classroom experience for all.