The Role of Gesture Observation and Imitation in Learning (Artificial) Grammar Rules From Dynamic Visualizations

The main research question of this dissertation was: What is the effect of gesture observation and imitation on grammar rule learning from dynamic visualizations in primary education?
The main conclusions are as follows. When learning grammar rules from dynamic visualizations,
(1) only observing gestures has no clear benefits compared to dynamic visualizations without gesture observation,
(2) simultaneously observing and imitating gestures is not helpful and can even be detrimental when children have low language ability,
(3) imitating the observed gestures can improve children’s learning under the right circumstances (i.e., when done after observing the complete demonstration, not after each step), and
(4) imagining imitating the gestures can be equally effective for learning as physical imitation.