Dance your way to fluent language learning and enhanced wellbeing

A woman with headphones dancing in her living room
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Language learning can often feel daunting, with its endless vocabulary lists, grammatical structures and pronunciation rules. However, incorporating dance and movement into your study routine can transform this challenge into an engaging, enjoyable experience while significantly benefiting your overall wellbeing. This unusual approach is not only effective for language learners of all ages but also enriches the learning process with fun and physical activity.

Engaging in movement and dance can substantially impact mental health, as evidenced by various studies and academic research. For instance, a notable study published in the American Journal of Dance Therapy highlighted that dance, particularly in structured environments, can reduce anxiety and improve mood among participants. This connection between dance and mental health improvement can be attributed to the release of endorphins, often referred to as happiness hormones, which occur during physical activity.

How can dance help your language learning?
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The connection between movement and language learning

The link between physical movement and language learning is deeply rooted in cognitive science. Research suggests that our cognitive processes are intertwined with our bodily systems, meaning that physical activities, such as dance, can enhance memory, comprehension and expression. This concept, known as '', highlights how movement can serve as a powerful tool in internalizing new language concepts and vocabulary.

Here's how dance facilitates language learning:

  • Memorization enhancement: Associating vocabulary or phrases with specific movements can improve recall abilities. For example, performing a specific dance move when practicing a new word can create a mnemonic device, making the term easier to remember.
  • Increased engagement and concentration: Movement breaks up the monotony of traditional study methods, keeping the mind engaged and focused. This is particularly beneficial during longer study sessions, where concentration may start to wane.
  • Stress reduction: Dance is a well-known stress reliever. Lowering stress levels not only improves mental health but also creates a more conducive environment for language acquisition, as anxiety can be a significant barrier to effective learning.
  • Improved pronunciation through rhythm practice: Many languages have a unique rhythm and cadence. Engaging in dance can tune your ear to these rhythmic patterns, aiding in the understanding and reproduction of authentic pronunciation.

Ways to incorporate dance and language

Start simple

You don't need complex choreography to get started. Begin with simple movements that you can associate with the new language. This could be as straightforward as moving your hands up for high-tone languages like Mandarin or swaying to the rhythm of a Spanish guitar as you practice phrases.

Create a themed playlist

Music is a powerful companion to dance. Create a playlist of songs in the language you’re learning and try to move intuitively to the rhythm. This will not only help with learning new words and phrases but will also immerse you in the culture of the language.

Join a class

If possible, join a dance class that focuses on the culture of the language you're learning. Salsa, Bollywood, or even traditional Japanese dance can provide insights into the culture, which is a crucial part of mastering a language.

Practical activity examples

Merging language learning with dance isn't just effective; it's also incredibly fun. Here are some activity ideas to get you started on this harmonious path of acquiring a new language and enhancing your well-being through dance.

Spanish & Flamenco

  • Activity: After learning basic Spanish greetings and expressions, put on a Flamenco music playlist. Attempt to express these greetings and expressions rhythmically with Flamenco hand claps (palmas) or footwork. This can help solidify the language's rhythm and intonation in your memory.

French & Ballet

  • Activity: Ballet terminology is predominantly in French, which presents a unique opportunity to learn the language. Pick a few basic ballet positions or movements, such as "plié" (to bend) or "pirouette" (to spin), and practice saying them out loud while performing the steps. This can deepen your understanding of French pronunciation and terms.

Japanese & Bon Odori

  • Activity: Bon Odori is a traditional Japanese dance performed during the Obon Festival. Begin by learning simple phrases in Japanese related to greetings, farewells and thanks. Then, engage in learning the Bon Odori dance through online tutorials. Associate each dance movement with the phrases you've learned, enhancing both your linguistic and cultural comprehension.

Hindi & Bollywood

  • Activity: Bollywood dances are vibrant and full of expression, making them perfect for language learning. Start by learning key Hindi phrases and vocabulary related to emotions and actions. Watch a Bollywood dance video, focusing on songs with clear, easy lyrics. Try to dance along while singing the lyrics, connecting the words’ meanings with your movements.

Italian & Tarantella

  • Activity: The Tarantella is a fast-paced Italian folk dance. For this activity, choose an energetic Tarantella song and learn simple conversational Italian phrases or food vocabulary. As you practice the dance, say the phrases out loud with each step. Not only will this improve your memory recall, but it will also give you a feel for the Italian linguistic rhythm and culture.

Each of these activities combines the cognitive benefits of language learning with the physical and emotional joys of dance, creating a holistic approach to new language acquisition and overall wellness.

Extra benefits

Apart from language acquisition, integrating dance into your routine can have profound effects on your physical and mental health.

  • Physical fitness: Regular movement improves cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility.
  • Mental health: Dance reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, creating a happier and healthier mindset.
  • Social connections: Sharing dance experiences with others can lead to meaningful social connections, reducing feelings of isolation and promoting a sense of community.

Integrating dance and movement into language learning is beneficial for acquiring new languages and promotes a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. It's a fun and effective strategy that can break the monotony of traditional learning methods, providing a refreshing path to fluency and beyond. Whether practiced alone or in a group, through music, rhythm and culture, dance can enhance your language learning experience significantly.

Read more of our language learning posts to get inspired

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    Mindfulness activities for kids to reduce stress

    By Amy Malloy

    How can we help children (and ourselves) deal with turbulent situations?

    As humans, we are programmed to position ourselves according to the constants around us: people, structures and boundaries. When those constants shift, it can be unsettling for adults and children.

    Sometimes we find ourselves in unprecedented situations, and we each have our own approach to managing things. If you feel confused and without direction because of a turbulent situation, please know that that is okay.

    We’ll look today at why that is, to help us understand ourselves a little more and why these simple mindfulness activities can help us navigate it.

    What causes social stress?

    There may be many reasons for feeling stressed in life, but during turbulent times in society, it is often due to not feeling safe.

    Something in our environment is alerting our survival instinct. This makes our brains produce stress hormones, which get us ready to fight the threat, run from it, or freeze until it’s gone away.

    The threat might be to our physical or even social survival – and the two are linked. Things can feel even scarier when we also feel isolated from our social group, which keeps us protected from that threat.

    Human beings are social by nature. We live and work in communities, we connect through love and empathy and we protect each other. There’s truth to the saying“there’s safety in numbers”.

    But it’s not just about safety. We also define ourselves by comparing ourselves to others and working out what we are not.

    Research has found that we identify deeply with our role in society and the ‘pack’ to which we belong. This holds deep ties with our sense of safety, contentment and self-esteem. If the boundaries by which we define and position ourselves have shifted or continue to shift, we will feel unsafe, threatened and therefore stressed.

    Are children affected by social stress in the same way?

    If we then apply this to children, the constants to whom they look for security are the adults in their life. If the adults are behaving differently, the children will feel a shift and feel unsafe and stressed too. If they don’t have their friends alongside them for social positioning, this too can lead to them feeling confused and uncertain.

    Here are some key ways we can help:

    Communicating and listening

    Children may often lack the language to express what they are feeling, or even to recognize it themselves. Therefore, we must offer ways to help them make sense of the world around them, to help them feel safe and to help express their concerns.

    Communication provides the necessary social interaction and models for them on how to handle the new situation. It firms up their boundaries, and provides a safe space where they feel listened to and acknowledged and this, in turn, helps diffuse their stress.

    The activity below is a lovely way to invite children to express any worry they might be feeling, mindfully and with support – and give them something to do with their feelings. It also has the benefit of helping them breathe fully and slowly, which will calm down their nervous system.

    Breath activity: Worry bubbles

    1. Sit together and invite your child to put their palms together.
    2. Invite them to take a big breath in. As they breathe in, they can draw their palms further and further apart, spreading their fingers as they imagine blowing up a big bubble between their hands.
    3. Invite them to whisper a worry into the bubble.
    4. Invite them to blow the breath out nice and slowly. As they breathe out, they can imagine blowing the bubble (and the worry) away with a big sigh.
    5. Twinkle the fingers back down to the lap, and start again, either with the same worry or a new one

    Helping them find a safety anchor inside themselves

    By helping children focus on breathing, we can teach them that even if things feel wobbly around them, their breath is always there. The act of focusing on the breath also helps settle the fight or flight branch of their nervous system into a calmer, more balanced state.

    Breath Activity: Counting breaths

    1. Invite your child to sit with you.
    2. Invite them to place their hands on their tummy and breathe in slowly so they push into their hands, counting slowly up to four.
    3. As they breathe out, invite them to count up to six, as they slowly empty the belly and their hands lower back down.
    4. Continue until they feel calmer. You can do this every morning or evening to help sustain balance. With younger children, they might like a teddy on their tummy to push up and down!

    These two activities can be lovely daily practices to try and provide some safety and structure to your child or students’ mental health right now. They are also enjoyable activities to try for yourself – you may like to increase the in and out count of the breath a little bit for an adult breath.